1944 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 1944 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. This year is dominated by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Incumbents

  • MonarchKing George VI
    George VI of the United Kingdom
    George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...

  • Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
    Winston Churchill
    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

    , coalition

Events

  • January – Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service officially formed.
  • 21–22 January – World War II
    World War II
    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

    : Start of Operation Steinbock
    Operation Steinbock
    Operation Steinbock was the nocturnal Second World War Luftwaffe offensive operation to destroy British military and civilian targets in southern England, between January and May 1944. The attacks were mainly in and around the Greater London area...

    (the "Baby Blitz"), a nocturnal Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

    bombing offensive chiefly targeted at the Greater London
    Greater London
    Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

     area (continues until May). On this attack, few aircraft reach the target area.
  • 10 February – PAYE
    PAYE
    Pay as you earn or PAYE refers to a system of withholding of income tax from payments to employees. Amounts withheld are treated as advance payments of income tax due. They are refundable to the extent they exceed tax as determined on tax returns. PAYE may also refer to withholding of the...

     (Pay as you earn) system of tax collection introduced.
  • 26 February – World War II: Last heavy air-raids
    Airstrike
    An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...

     on London.
  • March – Lifting of prohibition on married women working as teachers.
  • 28 April – Allied convoy T4, forming part of amphibious Exercise Tiger
    Exercise Tiger
    Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, were the code names for a full-scale rehearsal in 1944 for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. During the exercise, an Allied convoy was attacked, resulting in the deaths of 946 American servicemen....

    , a full-scale rehearsal for the Normandy landings off the Devon
    Devon
    Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

     coast, is attacked by Schnellboots, resulting in the deaths of 749 American
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     servicemen from LSTs.
  • 1 June – World War II: The BBC
    BBC
    The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

     transmits a coded message (the first line of a poem by Paul Verlaine
    Paul Verlaine
    Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...

    ) to underground resistance
    Resistance during World War II
    Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...

     fighters in France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

     warning that the invasion of Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

     is imminent.
  • 5 June – World War II: Final preparations for D-Day
    D-Day
    D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

     take place in the South of England.
  • 6 June – World War II: Battle of Normandy
    Operation Overlord
    Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

     begins – Operation Overlord, code named D-Day
    D-Day
    D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

    , commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied
    Allies
    In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...

     troops on the beaches of Normandy
    Normandy
    Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

     in France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

    .
  • 13 June – World War II: The first V-1 Flying Bomb
    V-1 flying bomb
    The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....

     attack on London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

     takes place.
  • 12 July – Release of Laurence Olivier
    Laurence Olivier
    Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

    's Henry V
    Henry V (1944 film)
    Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...

    , the first work of Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

     filmed in colour.
  • 3 August – The Education Act
    Education Act 1944
    The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...

    , promoted by Rab Butler
    Rab Butler
    Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC , who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician...

    , creates a Tripartite System
    Tripartite System
    The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state funded secondary education between 1944 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland....

     of secondary education with Secondary Modern
    Secondary modern school
    A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...

    , Technical, and Grammar schools, entrance being determined in most cases by the results of the Eleven plus exam.
  • 21 August – American, British, Chinese, French and Soviet representatives meet to plan the foundation of the United Nations
    United Nations
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

    .
  • 7 September – The Belgian government leaves the UK and returns to Belgium following the liberation of Brussels
    Brussels
    Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

     on September 3.
  • 8 September – World War II: The first V-2 Rocket
    V-2 rocket
    The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...

     attack on London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

     takes place.
  • 17 September – World War II: Restrictions imposed by the Blackout
    Blackout (wartime)
    A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...

     are relaxed.
  • 9 October – Prime Minister Winston Churchill
    Winston Churchill
    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

     and Soviet Union
    Soviet Union
    The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

     Premier Joseph Stalin
    Joseph Stalin
    Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

     begin a nine-day conference in Moscow
    Moscow
    Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

     to discuss the future of Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

    .
  • 12 November – World War II: Sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz
    German battleship Tirpitz
    Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...

     by RAF Lancaster bombers
    Avro Lancaster
    The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

    .
  • 25 November – World War II: A V-2 rocket destroys the Woolworth
    Woolworths Group
    Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...

    's store in New Cross
    New Cross
    New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross. The ward covered by London post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich...

     Road, south east London, killing 168, the highest death toll from one of these weapons.
  • 27 November – RAF Fauld explosion
    RAF Fauld Explosion
    The RAF Fauld explosion was a military accident which occurred at 11:11am on Monday, 27 November 1944 at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot...

    : Between 3,450 and 3,930 ton
    Ton
    The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...

    s (3,500 and 4,000 tonne
    Tonne
    The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

    s) of ordnance explodes at an underground storage depot in Staffordshire
    Staffordshire
    Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

     leaving about 75 dead and a crater
    Explosion crater
    An explosion crater is a characteristically shaped hole formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosive event just above, at, or below the surface....

     1,200 metres (0.75 miles) across and 120 metres (400 ft) deep, one of the largest explosions in history and the largest on UK soil.
  • 3 December – World War II: The Home Guard
    British Home Guard
    The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...

     is stood down.
  • 24 December – World War II: V-1 Flying Bomb
    V-1 flying bomb
    The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....

     attack kills 27 in Oldham
    Oldham
    Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

    , having been aimed at Manchester
    Manchester
    Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

    .

Undated

  • Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act
    Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944
    The Housing Act 1944 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed in order to provide solutions to the housing crisis which occurred at the end of World War II....

     makes arrangements for postwar provision of adequate housing for all who need it.
  • Ministry of Works
    Ministry of Works
    The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943, during World War II, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. After the war, the Ministry retained responsibility for Government building projects....

     builds the first demonstration temporary prefab houses
    British post-war temporary prefab houses
    British post-war temporary prefab houses were the major part of the delivery plan envisaged by war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill in March 1944, and legally outlined in the Housing Act 1944, to address the United Kingdom's post–World War II housing shortage.Taking the details of the public...

     designed for postwar reconstruction (in Northolt
    Northolt
    Northolt is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The town has London Underground and Network Rail stations and is on the A40 road...

    ).
  • Council of Industrial Design
    Design Council
    The Design Council is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body incorporated by Royal Charter and registered as a charity.Registered charity number 272099.- In the beginning :The Design Council started in 1944 as the Council of Industrial Design...

     established.

Publications

  • H. E. Bates
    H. E. Bates
    Herbert Ernest Bates, CBE , better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer and author. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May, and My Uncle Silas.-Early life:...

    ' novel Fair Stood the Wind for France
    Fair Stood the Wind for France
    Fair Stood the Wind for France is a novel written by English author H. E. Bates, it was first published in 1944 and was his first financial success...

    .
  • Joyce Carey
    Joyce Carey
    Joyce Carey, OBE was a British actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1984, and she was performing on television in her nineties. Though never a star, she was a familiar face both on stage and screen...

    's novel The Horse's Mouth
    The Horse's Mouth
    The Horse's Mouth is a 1944 novel by Joyce Cary, the third in his First Trilogy, whose first two books are Herself Surprised and To Be A Pilgrim...

    .
  • Agatha Christie
    Agatha Christie
    Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...

    's novels Towards Zero
    Towards Zero
    Towards Zero is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in June 1944 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in July of the same year...

    and Death Comes as the End
    Death Comes as the End
    Death Comes as the End is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1944 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the following year...

    .
  • L. P. Hartley
    L. P. Hartley
    Leslie Poles Hartley was a British writer, known for novels and short stories. His best-known work is The Go-Between , which was made into a 1970 film, directed by Joseph Losey with a star cast, in an adaptation by Harold Pinter...

    's novel The Shrimp and the Anemone, first in the Eustace and Hilda trilogy.
  • F. W. Hayek
    Friedrich Hayek
    Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...

    's book The Road to Serfdom
    The Road to Serfdom
    The Road to Serfdom is a book written by the Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek between 1940–1943, in which he "warned of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning," and in which he argues...

    .
  • W. Somerset Maugham
    W. Somerset Maugham
    William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...

    ’s novel The Razor's Edge
    The Razor's Edge
    The Razor’s Edge is a book by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1944. Its epigraph reads, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard." taken from a verse in the Katha-Upanishad....

    .
  • L. T. C. Rolt
    L. T. C. Rolt
    Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford...

    's book Narrow Boat.
  • G. M. Trevelyan
    G. M. Trevelyan
    George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...

    's book English Social History: a survey of six centuries from Chaucer to Queen Victoria.

January – June

  • 9 January – Jimmy Page
    Jimmy Page
    James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

    , English guitarist (Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

    )
  • 27 January
    • Mairead Corrigan
      Mairead Corrigan
      Mairead Maguire , also known as Mairead Corrigan Maguire and formerly as Mairéad Corrigan, is a Northern Irish peace activist. She co-founded, with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown, the Community of Peace People, an organisation dedicated to encouraging a peaceful resolution of the Troubles in...

      , Northern Irish activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
      Nobel Peace Prize
      The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

    • Nick Mason
      Nick Mason
      Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...

      , English drummer (Pink Floyd
      Pink Floyd
      Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

      )
  • 3 February – Dave Davies
    Dave Davies
    David Russell Gordon "Dave" Davies is an English rock musician best known for his role as lead guitarist and vocalist for the English rock band The Kinks....

    , British musician (The Kinks
    The Kinks
    The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

    )
  • 13 February – Jerry Springer
    Jerry Springer
    Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

    , English-born television host
  • 14 February – Alan Parker
    Alan Parker
    Sir Alan William Parker, CBE is an English film director, producer, writer and actor. He has been active in both the British cinema and American cinema and was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.-Life and career:...

    , English film director
  • 17 February – Karl Jenkins
    Karl Jenkins
    -Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...

    , Welsh composer
  • 24 February – Nicky Hopkins
    Nicky Hopkins
    Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....

    , British musician (died 1994
    1994 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is noted for the opening of the Channel Tunnel.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – John Major, Conservative-January:...

    )
  • 1 March – Roger Daltrey
    Roger Daltrey
    Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...

    , English musician (The Who
    The Who
    The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

    )
  • 7 March – Ranulph Fiennes
    Ranulph Fiennes
    Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...

    , adventurer
  • 11 March – Don Maclean
    Don Maclean
    Don Maclean is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series Crackerjack with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze, and Jan Hunt in the 1970s....

    , British comedian
  • 6 April – Felicity Palmer
    Felicity Palmer
    Dame Felicity Joan Palmer, DBE , is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983....

    , English soprano
  • 27 April – Michael Fish
    Michael Fish
    Michael Fish MBE is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....

    , British TV weatherman
  • 5 May – John Rhys-Davies
    John Rhys-Davies
    John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...

    , Welsh actor
  • 8 May – Gary Glitter
    Gary Glitter
    Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...

    , English singer
  • 12 May – Sara Kestelman
    Sara Kestelman
    Sara Kestelman is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey's mother, in Lady Jane.-Biography:...

    , British actor
  • 20 May – Joe Cocker
    Joe Cocker
    John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

    , British singer
  • 25 May – Frank Oz
    Frank Oz
    Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...

    , English puppeteer and film director
  • 28 May – Patricia Quinn
    Patricia Quinn
    Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens is a Northern Irish actress best known for her role as Magenta in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Hers were the red lips that appeared in the film's opening song "Science Fiction/Double Feature"...

    , Northern Irish actress
  • 24 June
    • Jeff Beck
      Jeff Beck
      Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

      , British musician
    • John "Charlie" Whitney, British rock guitarist (Family
      Family (band)
      Family were an English rock band that formed in late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles like as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and rock and roll...

      )

July – December

  • 21 July – Tony Scott
    Tony Scott
    Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...

    , English film director
  • 27 July – Tony Capstick
    Tony Capstick
    Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Capstick was an English comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster.-Life and career:...

    , English comedian, actor, and musician (died 2003
    2003 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 2003 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:* January - Toyota launches an all-new Avensis to be built at TMUK....

    )
  • 2 August – Jim Capaldi
    Jim Capaldi
    Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...

    , British drummer, singer, and songwriter (Traffic
    Traffic (band)
    Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...

    ) (died 2005
    2005 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 2005 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the 7/7 London bombings.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Tony Blair -January:* 1 January...

    )
  • 11 August – Ian McDiarmid
    Ian McDiarmid
    Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...

    , Scottish actor
  • 26 August – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
    Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
    Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...

  • 31 August – Roger Dean, British artist
  • 22 September – Frazer Hines
    Frazer Hines
    Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...

    , British actor
  • 26 September – Anne Robinson
    Anne Robinson
    Anne Josephine Robinson is an English journalist and television presenter, known for her assertive views and acerbic style of presenting. She was one of the presenters on the long-running British consumer affairs series, Watchdog, from 1993 to 2001 before returning in 2009...

    , British television host
  • 30 September – Jimmy Johnstone
    Jimmy Johnstone
    James Connolly "Jimmy" Johnstone was a Scottish football player. Johnstone was best known for his time with Celtic, and was voted their best ever player by the club's fans in 2002...

    , Scottish footballer
  • 9 October – John Entwistle
    John Entwistle
    John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...

    , English bassist (The Who
    The Who
    The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

    ) (died 2002
    2002 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 2002 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:...

    )
  • 15 October – David Trimble
    David Trimble
    William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party , was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland , and was a Member of the British Parliament . He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party...

    , Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
    Nobel Peace Prize
    The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

  • 28 October – Ian Marter
    Ian Marter
    Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...

    , British actor (died 1986
    1986 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1986 in the United Kingdom. It is particularly noted for the "Big Bang" deregulation of the financial markets.-Incumbents:*Monarch - HM Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:...

    )
  • 10 November – Tim Rice
    Tim Rice
    Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...

    , lyricist, writer and broadcaster
  • 6 December – Jonathan King
    Jonathan King
    Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...

    , British music producer
  • 21 December – Bill Atkinson
    Bill Atkinson (footballer)
    William Atkinson was an English professional footballer, playing as a winger. He was born in Sunderland.Atkinson began his professional football career as an apprentice at Birmingham City, turning professional in March 1962. He remained at St...

    , English footballer

Deaths

  • 1 January – Edwin Lutyens
    Edwin Lutyens
    Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...

    , architect (born 1869
    1869 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1869 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 6 March — The first international cycle race is held at Crystal Palace, London....

    )
  • 13 April – Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale
    Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale
    Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, KG, GCVO was an English nobleman.-Biography:The second son of the 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, he succeeded his brother, the 4th Earl, in 1882. Lord Lonsdale was an avid sportsman and bon vivant and was known by some as "England's greatest sporting gentleman"...

    , sportsman after whom the brand Lonsdale
    Lonsdale (brand)
    Lonsdale is a boxing and clothing brand that was founded in London, England in 1960. Ex-boxer Bernard Hart started the brand as a boxing equipment company, but it eventually branched out into clothing as well...

     is named (born 1857
    1857 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating....

    )
  • 8 May – Ethel Smyth
    Ethel Smyth
    Dame Ethel Mary Smyth, DBE was an English composer and a leader of the women's suffrage movement.- Early career :...

    , composer and a leader of the women's suffrage movement (born 1858
    1858 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1858 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:...

    )
  • 28 July – Ralph H. Fowler
    Ralph H. Fowler
    Sir Ralph Howard Fowler OBE FRS was a British physicist and astronomer.-Education:Fowler was initially educated at home but then attended Evans' preparatory school at Horris Hill and Winchester College...

    , astronomer and physicist (born 1889
    1889 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1889 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...

    )
  • 19 August – Henry Wood
    Henry Wood (conductor)
    Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences...

    , conductor (born 1869
    1869 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1869 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 6 March — The first international cycle race is held at Crystal Palace, London....

    )
  • 13 September – W. Heath Robinson
    W. Heath Robinson
    William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator, best known for drawings of eccentric machines....

    , cartoonist and illustrator (born 1872
    1872 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1872 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — C. P...

    )
  • 23 October – Charles Glover Barkla
    Charles Glover Barkla
    Charles Glover Barkla was a British physicist, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays .-Biography:...

    , physicist, Nobel Prize
    Nobel Prize in Physics
    The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...

     laureate (born 1877
    1877 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1877 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:...

    )
  • 26 October
    • William Temple
      William Temple (archbishop)
      William Temple was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Manchester , Archbishop of York , and Archbishop of Canterbury ....

      , Archbishop of Canterbury
      Archbishop of Canterbury
      The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

       (born 1881
      1881 in the United Kingdom
      Events from the year 1881 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Postal orders issued for the first time in Britain....

      )
    • The Princess Beatrice
      Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
      The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...

      , the last surviving child of Queen Victoria (born 1857
      1857 in the United Kingdom
      Events from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating....

      )
  • 22 November – Arthur Stanley Eddington
    Arthur Stanley Eddington
    Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS was a British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science...

    , astrophysicist (born 1882
    1882 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1882 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 25 January — London Chamber of Commerce founded....

    )
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