1941 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1941 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the Second World War.
Incumbents
Events
- 9 January – Avro Manchester Mark III BT308, prototype of the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, first flies, from RAF Ringway.[1]
- 19 January – British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
- 20 January – Firewatching mandatory for business premises, to limit incendiary damage.
- 21 January – the Daily Worker, newspaper of the Communist Party of Great Britain, is suppressed by the (Labour) Home Secretary in the Churchill war ministry, Herbert Morrison[2] [3] (until September 1942) in view of its continuing pro-Soviet stance.
- 21 - 22 January – Battle of Tobruk: Australian and British forces attack and capture Tobruk (Libya) from the Italians.
- 31 January – German spy Josef Jakobs parachutes into the village of Ramsey, Cambridgeshire; he breaks his ankle on landing and is immediately arrested.[4]
- 5 February – Air Training Corps formed.[2]
- 11 February – begins her first voyage as a troopship, from Singapore.
- 12 February – Reserve Constable Albert Alexander, a patient at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, becomes the first person treated with penicillin intravenously, by Howard Florey’s team. He reacts positively but there is insufficient supply of the drug to reverse his terminal infection. A successful treatment is achieved during May.[5]
- 19 February – "Three nights' Blitz" over Swansea, South Wales, begins. 230 are killed and 409 injured.
- 2 March – John Gilbert Winant takes up post as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom in succession to Joseph P. Kennedy; he will serve for 5 years.
- 11 March
- 13 March – Clydebank Blitz: bombing of Clydebank. 528 people die, 617 more are seriously injured, and hundreds more are injured by blast debris. Another 35,000 people are made homeless.
- 15 March – Plymouth Blitz: bombing of Plymouth. 336 people lose their lives.[8]
- 27 - 29 March – Battle of Cape Matapan: Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships.
- 15 April – Belfast Blitz: Belfast is heavily bombed, killing 900 and injuring 1,500.
- 7 April – Budget Day: Chancellor of the Exchequer Kingsley Wood presents a Keynesian budget that increases taxes;[9] for the first time in British history, a majority of the population is liable to income tax.[10]
- 18 April – heaviest air-raid of the year on London.[6]
- 21 April – Greece capitulates. British troops withdraw to Crete.
- May
- The Ministry of Information issues more than 14 million copies of a leaflet Beating the Invader, with a preface from Churchill, giving advice on what to do "if invasion comes".[11]
- Meatless Woolton pie introduced.[12]
- 2 - 8 May – 'May Week Raids', sustained heavy bombing on Merseyside, result in over 1,700 deaths and well over 1,000 injuries.[6]
- 6 - 7 May – Greenock Blitz: Greenock in Scotland is intensively bombed. 280 people are killed, and 1,200 more injured.
- 9 May – is captured by the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic with its Enigma cryptography machine and codebooks intact.[13]
- 10 May
- 15 May – first British jet aircraft, the Gloster E.28/39, is flown[2] at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire.
- 17 May – Tipton, near Dudley in the midlands, is bombed by the Luftwaffe for the second time in six months, with a further six civilian deaths.
- 24 May – in the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks killing all but three crewmen on what was the pride of the Royal Navy.
- 26 May – in the North Atlantic, Fairey Swordfish biplanes from the carrier HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the German battleship Bismarck in torpedo attack.
- 1 June – clothes rationing introduced.[6]
- 4 June – Britain invades Iraq; the pro-Axis government there is overthrown.
- June – Noël Coward's comedy Blithe Spirit is premiered at Manchester Opera House. Opening in London on 2 July,[14] its run of 1,997 consecutive performances sets a record for non-musical plays in the West End theatre which will not be surpassed for more than twenty years.
- 12 July – Anglo-Soviet Agreement signed.
- August – Political Warfare Executive is formed to disseminate information to Germany and its Occupied countries.
- 9 August
- 12 August – Dudley, which suffered 10 fatalities in a landmine attack in November last year, suffers five more fatalities when a second landmine is dropped in the town.
- 15 August – Josef Jakobs becomes the last person executed at the Tower of London when he faces execution by firing squad following conviction for an offence under the Treachery Act 1940.[15]
- 16 August – HMS Mercury Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire.
- 18 August – National Fire Service established.[2]
- 30 August – first official 'Shetland bus' clandestine mission using Norwegian fishing boats between Shetland and German-occupied Norway.
- October – the first Ronald Searle cartoon to feature St Trinian's School is published, in the magazine Lilliput.[16]
- 30 October – J. Arthur Rank purchases the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, with its 251 cinemas and its subsidiary operations, Gainsborough Pictures and Lime Grove Studios.[17]
- 31 October – a Huddersfield factory fire kills 49, many of them young women.[18]
- End October – President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt approves US$1bn in Lend-Lease aid to Britain.
- 1 November – announcement that radical politician Sir Charles Trevelyan is donating his family home, Wallington Hall, Northumberland, to the National Trust, its first such stately home acquisition.[19]
- 13 November – the aircraft carrier is hit by the off Gibraltar; she capsizes and sinks under tow the next day.[2]
- 27 November – Tobruk is relieved by the Eighth Army (which has controlled British and other Allied ground forces in the Western Desert from September) in Operation Crusader.
- 5 December – Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.[20]
- 8 December – the Battle of Hong Kong begins less than eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor when Imperial Japanese forces invade British Hong Kong. British Malaya is also attacked and there follows the declaration of war on Japan.[6]
- 10 December – sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse in the South China Sea: two Royal Navy capital ships, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, are sunk by Japanese aircraft.
- 13 December
- Battle of Cape Bon off Tunisia: two Italian cruisers are sunk without Allied losses.
- Britain declares war on Bulgaria.
- 15 December – Crofter Hand Woven Harris Tweed Co Ltd v Veitch decided in the House of Lords upholds the right of trade unionists to strike as part of collective bargaining.
- 18 December – National Service (No. 2) Act comes into effect: All men and women aged 18–60 are now liable to some form of national service, including military service for men under 51 and unmarried women between 20 and 30. The first military registration of 18½-year-olds takes place. The schedule of reserved occupations is abandoned.[6]
- 25 December
- 27 December
Undated
Publications
Births
- 1 January – Martin Evans, biologist
- 2 January – Celia Birtwell, textile and fashion designer
- 5 January – Kevin Keelan, English footballer
- 7 January
- 8 January – Graham Chapman, English comedy writer-performer (died 1989)[25]
- 10 January – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician
- 12 January – Long John Baldry, blues singer (died 2005)[26]
- 19 January
- 20 January – Allan Young, English footballer (died 2009)
- 27 January – Beatrice Tinsley, English-born astronomer (died 1981)
- 28 January – Ann Leslie, English journalist, born in British India (died 2023)[28]
- 5 February – Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn, Labour politician, Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council (died 2003)
- 7 February – Kevin Crossley-Holland, English author and poet
- 10 February – Michael Apted, English film director (died 2021)
- 26 February – Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (died 1972)
- 27 February – Paddy Ashdown, Liberal Democrat politician, born in the British Raj (died 2018)[29]
- 28 February – Tristan Garel-Jones, Welsh-born Conservative politician (died 2020)
- 4 March – Adrian Lyne, English film director
- 5 March – Errol Le Cain, children's book illustrator and animator (died 1989)
- 25 March
- 26 March – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-born British scientist[30]
- 28 March – Jack Simmons, English cricketer
- 30 March – Graeme Edge, rock drummer and songwriter (The Moody Blues) (died 2021)
- 5 April – Dave Swarbrick, folk rock fiddle player (died 2016)
- 7 April – Gorden Kaye, comic actor (died 2017)
- 8 April – Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer (died 2022)
- 10 April – John Kurila, Scottish footballer (died 2018)
- 11 April – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (died 2015)
- 12 April – Bobby Moore, English football player and World Cup winning captain (died 1993)
- 23 April – Ed Stewart, English disc jockey (died 2016)
- 26 April – Robin Jacob, English academic and judge
- 3 May – Paul Ferris, film composer and actor (died 1995)
- 10 May – Chris Denning, English radio presenter and convicted sex offender (died 2022)[31]
- 11 May
- 13 May – Miles Kington, journalist and humorist (died 2008)
- 18 May – Miriam Margolyes, actress
- 19 May – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, lord chief justice (died 2023)[32]
- 21 May – Martin Carthy, English folk singer and guitarist
- 22 May – Menzies Campbell, politician
- 26 May – Ron Wallwork, English race walker
- 27 May – Derek Robinson, physicist (died 2002)
- 29 May – Doug Scott, English mountaineer (died 2020)
- 2 June – Charlie Watts, English rock drummer (died 2021)
- 5 June – Jeff Rooker, Baron Rooker, English academic and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
- 7 June – Lady Elizabeth Shakerley, English party planner, socialite and first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II (died 2020)
- 8 June – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer and politician (assassinated 1981)
- 9 June – Jon Lord, composer, pianist and organist (died 2012)[33]
- 14 June
- 18 June – Delia Smith, cook
- 20 June – Stephen Frears, film and television director
- 25 June – Eddie Large, born Edward McGinnis, Scottish-born comedian (died 2020)
- 27 June
- 7 July
- 10 July – Jackie Lane, actress (died 2021)
- 11 July – Tommy Vance, disc jockey (died 2005)
- 18 July – Duncan Worsley, cricketer
- 29 July - David Warner, actor
- 4 August – Martin Jarvis, actor
- 6 August – Andrew Green, Baron Green of Deddington, diplomat
- 16 August – David Dickinson, British antiques expert, television presenter
- 21 August – Howard Lew Lewis, English comedian, actor (died 2018)
- 22 August – Barry Jackson, English track and field athlete
- 26 August – Chris Curtis, drummer (The Searchers) (died 2005)
- 29 August – Robin Leach, television personality (died 2018)
- 30 August – Sue MacGregor, radio broadcaster
- 10 September – Christopher Hogwood, English conductor (died 2014)
- 17 September – Marit Allen, film costume designer (died 2007)
- 26 September – Martine Beswick, actress and model
- 27 September – Peter Bonetti, England football goalkeeper (died 2020)
- 29 September – Fred West, English serial killer (suicide 1995)
- 30 September – Angela Pleasence, actress
- 4 October – Jackie Collins, English-born novelist (died 2015)
- 5 October
- 12 October – Michael Mansfield, barrister
- 19 October – Peter Thornley, English professional wrestler best known for the ring character Kendo Nagasaki[34]
- 20 October – Anneke Wills, actress
- 21 October – Dickie Pride, rock and roll singer (died 1969)
- 23 October – Greg Ridley, rock bassist (died 2003)
- 28 October
- 29 October – George Davies, English fashion retailer[36]
- 30 October – Bob Wilson, football player and broadcaster
- 31 October – Joy Grieveson, British sprinter
- 1 November – Nigel Dempster, columnist (died 2007)[37]
- 2 November – Bruce Welch, born Bruce Cripps, English guitarist
- 6 November – James Bowman, countertenor (died 2023)
- 10 November – Graham Clark, operatic tenor (died 2023)
- 18 November
- 24 November – Pete Best, English drummer
- 1 December – Nigel Rodley, English international human rights lawyer (died 2017)[38]
- 5 December – Sheridan Morley, theatre critic (died 2007)
- 7 December – Val Wilmer, photographer and writer
- 17 December – Alan Sinfield, English academic (died 2017)
- 18 December – Prince William of Gloucester (died 1972)
- 22 December – M. Stanley Whittingham, English-born solid-state chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- 24 December
- 31 December – Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and football manager[39]
Deaths
- 5 January – Amy Johnson, aviator (born 1903; aviation accident)
- 8 January – Lord Robert Baden-Powell, soldier and founder of the Boy Scouts (born 1857)
- 10 January – Frank Bridge, composer (born 1879)
- 24 January – Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (born 1901; murder)
- 4 February – George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd, politician and diplomat (born 1879)
- 12 February – Charles Voysey, Arts and Crafts designer and domestic architect (born 1857)
- 11 March – Sir Walford Davies, composer (Royal Air Force March Past) (born 1869)
- 13 March – Tom Mann, trade unionist (born 1856)
- 28 March – Virginia Woolf, novelist (born 1882; suicide)
- 5 April – Sir Nigel Gresley, railway steam locomotive designer (Flying Scotsman and Mallard) (born 1876)
- 16 April – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, economist (born 1880; enemy action)
- 17 April – Al Bowlly, big band singer (born 1898 in Mozambique; enemy action)
- 23 May – Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin, car designer and manufacturer (born 1866)
- 24 May – Lancelot Holland, admiral (born 1887; died in action)
- 1 June – Sir Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-born novelist (born 1884)
- 15 June – Evelyn Underhill, Christian mystic (born 1875)
- 30 June – Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor, lawyer and politician (born 1852)
- 11 July – Sir Arthur Evans, archaeologist (born 1851)
- 12 August – Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, politician and colonial administrator, 22nd Viceroy of India, 13th Governor General of Canada (born 1866)
- 20 August – John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, politician, 8th Governor-General of Australia (born 1874)
- 17 September – Fred Karno, music hall impresario (born 1866)
- 13 October – David Devant, stage magician (born 1868)
- 7 November – Frank Pick, transport administrator and patron of industrial design (born 1878)
- 16 November – Sir Henry Wilson, general (born 1859)
- 27 November – Sir Charles Briggs, general (born 1865)
- 10 December – Sir Tom Phillips, admiral (born 1888; killed in action)[40]
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Donald, David. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York. Barnes & Noble Books. 1997. 0-7607-0592-5. 82.
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
- News: The Daily Worker. Manchester Guardian. 22 January 1941.
- Web site: Josef Jakobs . Stephen's Study Room: British Military & Criminal History in the period 1900 to 1999 . 22 March 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202005747/http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/josef_jakobs.htm . 2 February 2017 .
- Book: Robertson, Patrick. The Shell Book of Firsts. London. Ebury Press. 1974. 124–5.
- Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 388–389. 0-7126-5616-2.
- News: Old Trafford: 100 years of the iconic Manchester United stadium. London. The Independent. Simon. Stone. 16 February 2010. 28 December 2010.
- Web site: The Plymouth Blitz – The March Raids. The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Moseley. Brian. 11 August 2007. 12 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20070916174428/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Second%20World%20War-1941-Blitz.htm. 16 September 2007.
- Book: Howlett, Peter. The Wartime Economy, 1939–1945. The Economic History of Britain Since 1700, Volume 3: 1939–1992. Roderick. Floud. Deirdre. McCloskey. Cambridge University Press. 1994. 15–16. 978-0-521-42522-3.
- Book: Jenkins, Roy. Roy Jenkins
. Roy Jenkins. 1998. The Chancellors. London. Macmillan. 0-333-73057-7. 399.
- Ronald I.. Cohen. Preparing for an Invasion of Britain… In Writing. Finest Hour. 181. Summer 2018. International Churchill Society. 38. 2020-06-29. 2 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702142622/https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-181/invasion-of-britain-beating-the-invader/. dead.
- Web site: Woolton Pie. World Carrot Museum. 19 August 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100731051413/http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/woolton.html. 31 July 2010. live.
- Book: Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh. Hugh Sebag-Montefiore. Enigma: the Battle for the Code. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2000. 0-7538-1130-8.
- News: Piccadilly Theatre: Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward. The Times. London. 3 July 1941. 48968. 2.
- Web site: Aug 15 1941 – The last execution in the Tower of London. World War II Today. 30 October 2011.
- Web site: Ju. Gosling. 1998. Ronald Searle & the St Trinian's Cartoons. Virtual Worlds of Girls. 15 December 2011.
- News: G-B Deal Completed – J. A. Rank Appointed Chairman. Kinematograph Weekly. 1941-11-06. 11.
- News: Permanent memorial to Booth's factory fire in Huddersfield unveiled. 2021-05-22. Huddersfield Examiner. 5 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032014/https://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/permanent-memorial-booths-factory-fire-4938324. 2018-04-25. live.
- News: Sir C. Trevelyan Gives His Estate To National Trust For The People. Newcastle Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne. 1 November 1941. 3.
- Web site: WW2 People's War. 23 March 2012.
- Long. Vicky. 2014. Situating the factory canteen in discourses of health and industrial work in Britain (1914-1939). Le Mouvement Social. 2. 247. 65–83. 10.3917/lms.247.0065. 0027-2671. 4113673. 25082999.
- Web site: Compass Group Timeline. Caterer Search. 2014-03-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20121229121559/http://www.caterersearch.com/Companies/33936/compass-group.html. 2012-12-29. dead.
- Book: Carney, Michael. Britain in Pictures: a history and bibliography. London. Werner Shaw. 1995. 9780907961093.
- Book: Keating, H. R. F.. H. R. F. Keating. Whodunit? - a guide to crime, suspense and spy fiction. London. Windward. 1982. 0-7112-0249-4.
- Book: Screen International Film and TV Year Book. 1984. Screen International, King Publications. 342.
- Book: Lawrence Goldman. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008. 7 March 2013. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-967154-0. 48.
- Web site: The Rev Prof Colin Gunton. June 2, 2003. Stephen R Holmes. The Guardian. January 3, 2022.
- Web site: Dame Ann Leslie obituary. Maggie Brown. The Guardian. London. 2023-06-27. 2023-06-27.
- News: Sir Paddy Ashdown. Andrew . Roth. The Guardian. 19 March 2001. 22 November 2007. London. Andrew Roth.
- Book: Thompson, Clifford . World authors 1990-1995 . H.W. Wilson . New York . 1999 . 9780824209568 . 159.
- Web site: Denning: Going against social norms. https://archive.today/20130910203650/http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/34384-denning-going-against-social-norms.html. dead. The Prague Post. 10 September 2013. 10 September 2013.
- https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/a-remarkable-leader-legal-sector-pays-tribute-to-lord-judge/5117839.article 'A remarkable leader': Legal sector pays tribute to Lord Judge
- Web site: Obituary: Jon Lord, composer and Deep Purple founder. Gramophone. Haymarket. 3 January 2022.
- https://books.google.com/books?id=tYPCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT53 The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of André the Giant - Bertrand Hébert, Pat Laprade, Tony Stabile - Google Books
- Book: Pete Prown. Harvey P. Newquist. Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. 1997. Hal Leonard Corporation. 978-0-7935-4042-6. 26.
- News: Dawn. Collinson. Fashion icon George Davies: I'm Scouse and proud of it!. Liverpool Echo. 2008-05-14. 2022-07-23.
- Book: Goldman, Lawrence. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008. 7 March 2013. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-967154-0. 308.
- Web site: Sir Nigel Rodley obituary. Geoffrey. Robertson. Ivor. Crewe. 2 February 2017. 6 February 2017. The Guardian.
- Web site: Sir Alex Ferguson Biography & Facts Britannica . www.britannica.com . 28 January 2023 . en.
- Web site: Phillips, Sir Tom Spencer Vaughan. CWGC. 2020-06-03.