1968 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1968 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
January
February
March
- 1 March
- 2 March – Coal mining in the Black Country, which played a big part in the Industrial Revolution, ends after some 300 years with the closure of Baggeridge Colliery near Sedgley.[13]
- 12 March – The island of Mauritius achieves independence from the UK.[14]
- 14 March – In the early hours, the Prime Minister convenes a meeting of the privy council to declare the following day a non-statutory bank holiday, allowing the government to suspend the London Gold Pool to stem the losses being suffered by the pound sterling. George Brown, the Foreign Secretary, apparently drunk, cannot be located in time for the meeting.
- 15 March – George Brown resigns from the government.[15]
- 17 March – A demonstration in London's Grosvenor Square against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War leads to violence – 91 police injured, 200 demonstrators arrested.
- 28 March – The Conservatives gain three seats from Labour in by-elections at Acton, Dudley and Meriden.
April
- 1 April – Thames Valley Police is formed by the amalgamation of Berkshire Constabulary, Buckinghamshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, Oxfordshire Constabulary and Reading Borough Police.
- 6 April – The 13th Eurovision Song Contest is held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. The winning song, Spain's "La, la, la" is performed in Spanish by Massiel after Spanish authorities forbid Joan Manuel Serrat from performing it in Catalan. The UK finish in second place, just one point behind, with the song "Congratulations" sung by Cliff Richard, which goes on to outsell the winning Spanish entry throughout Europe.
- 7 April – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark, 32, is killed when his car leaves the track at 170 mph and smashes into a tree during a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim.[16]
- 11 April – Popularity of Harold Wilson's Labour government is shown to be declining as opinion polls show the Conservatives, led by Edward Heath, with a lead of more than 20 points.[17]
- 18 April – London Bridge sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch, for £1,029,000, who rebuilds it at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.[18]
- 20 April – Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood Speech on immigration, in Birmingham.[19]
- 21 April – Enoch Powell is dismissed from the Shadow cabinet by Opposition leader Edward Heath due to the Rivers of Blood Speech, despite several opinion polls stating that the majority of the public shares Mr Powell's fears.[20]
- 23 April – Five and ten pence coins are introduced in the run-up to Decimalisation, which will be complete within the next three years.[18]
- 27 April – The Abortion Act 1967 comes into effect, legalising abortion on a number of grounds, with free provision through the National Health Service.
May
June
- 7 June – Start of Ford sewing machinists strike at the Dagenham assembly plant: women workers strike to have their work valued as 'skilled' (Grade C) rather than 'unskilled' (Grade B). The machinists feel that they are skilled as they have had to pass a test to gain employment making car seats. They do not achieve full wage parity but are given 92% of the men's rate rather than 85%.[26] [27] This influences the Equal Pay Act 1970.
- 8 June – James Earl Ray, who was responsible for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States on 4 April, is arrested at Heathrow Airport when he attempts to depart on a flight bound for Rhodesia.[18]
- 10 June – The National Health Service reintroduces prescription charges.[28]
- 18 June – Frederick West, the United Kingdom's first heart transplant patient, dies 46 days after his operation.
- 20 June – Austin Currie, Member of Parliament at Stormont in Northern Ireland, along with others, squats a house in Caledon to protest against discrimination in housing allocations.
- 29 June – The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway runs its "Re-Opening Special", the first public service since the line's closure in 1961 on what becomes a popular heritage railway
July
August
September
- September
- The new school year in England sees the first local authorities adopt three tier education, where 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior schools are replaced by 5–8 or 5–9 first schools and 8–12 or 9–13 middle schools, with the transfer age to grammar and secondary modern schools being increased to 12 or 13.[33]
- Japanese carmaker Nissan launches its Datsun badged range of cars onto the British market.[34]
- 8 September – English tennis player Virginia Wade wins the 1968 U.S. Open Women's Singles event.[18]
- 13 September – An agreement for merger between the General Electric Company and English Electric, the largest industrial merger in the UK up to that time.
- 15 September – Great Flood of 1968 in South East England.
- 16 September – General Post Office divides post into first-class and second-class services.[28]
- 26 September – Theatres Act 1968 (royal assent 26 July) ends censorship of the theatre.[14]
- 27 September – US musical Hair opens in London following the removal of theatre censorship.[35]
October
November
December
Full date unknown
Publications
Births
January – March
- 8 January – James Brokenshire, British Conservative politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2021)
- 12 January – Heather Mills, British model, businesswoman and campaigner, wife of musician Sir Paul McCartney 2002–8
- 16 January – Atticus Ross, English musician, songwriter, record producer and audio engineer
- 27 January
- 5 February – Lee Martin, footballer
- 16 February – Warren Ellis, British comic-book and graphic-novel writer
- 2 March – Daniel Craig, British actor
- 3 March – Brian Cox, English particle physicist, science communicator and rock keyboardist
- 4 March – Patsy Kensit, English actress
- 5 March – Theresa Villiers, British Conservative politician and MP for Chipping Barnet
- 9 March – Maggie Aderin-Pocock, British scientist and science educator
- 13 March – Gillian Keegan, Conservative politician
- 16 March – David MacMillan, Scottish-born organic chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 18 March – Paul Marsden, British Labour/Liberal Democrat politician
- 20 March – Paul Merson, English footballer
- 21 March
- 23 March
- Damon Albarn, English musician (Blur and Gorillaz)
- Mike Atherton, English cricketer
- 26 March – Chris Ward, British chess grandmaster, coach and author
- 28 March – Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
April – June
- 5 April – Stewart Lee, comedian
- 8 April – Jenny Powell, British television presenter
- 18 April – David Hewlett, British-born Canadian actor, writer and director
- 22 April – Amanda Mealing, British actress
- 23 April – Ricky Groves, English actor
- 28 April – Howard Donald, singer
- 4 May – Julian Barratt, English comedian and actor
- 8 May – Rachel Jordan, British artist
- 9 May – Ruth Kelly, British Labour politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2006–7 and MP for Bolton West 1997–2010
- 10 May – William Regal, professional wrestler
- 12 May – Catherine Tate, comedian
- 14 May – Greg Davies, comedian
- 17 May – Levi Bellfield, né Rabbetts, serial killer
- 27 May
- 29 May
- 2 June
- 4 June – Ian Taylor, footballer
- 5 June
- 7 June – Sarah Parish, English actress
- 13 June
- 15 June – Samira Ahmed, journalist and broadcaster
- 26 June – Iwan Roberts, Welsh footballer
- 28 June – Adam Woodyatt, British actor
July – September
- 5 July – Moazzam Begg, British Islamist held in extrajudicial detention in the US Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
- 20 July – Julian Rhind-Tutt, English film, television and radio actor
- 21 July – Gary O'Donnell, Scottish soldier (died 2008)
- 22 July – Rhys Ifans, Welsh actor
- 26 July – Olivia Williams, English actress
- 4 August – Lee Mack, English comedian
- 5 August – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver (died 2007)
- 8 August – Julian Dicks, English footballer
- 14 August
- 15 August – Kate Osamor, Labour Party politician[53]
- 17 August – Helen McCrory, English actress (died 2021)[54]
- 22 August – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian-born business executive
- 26 August – Chris Boardman, English racing cyclist
- September – Angela Hartnett, chef
- 3 September – Achilleas Kallakis, fraudster
- 9 September
- 14 September – Grant Shapps, British Conservative politician and MP for Welwyn Hatfield
- 20 September – Philippa Forrester, British television presenter
- 28 September – Naomi Watts, English-born actress
- 29 September – Luke and Matt Goss, twin brother singers, members of Bros
October – December
- 1 October – Mark Durden-Smith, British television presenter
- 2 October – Victoria Derbyshire, British broadcast presenter
- 3 October – Paul Crichton, English footballer
- 4 October – Beverley Allitt, British serial killer of children
- 7 October – Thom Yorke, British singer/songwriter
- 10 October – Chris Ofili, English painter
- 14 October
- 18 October – Rhod Gilbert, Welsh comedian and broadcaster
- 27 October – Martin Clark, English snooker player
- 10 November – Steve Brookstein, British singer
- 18 November – Barry Hunter, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 22 November – Andrew Gilligan, British journalist
- 23 November – Kirsty Young, Scottish radio and television presenter
- 9 December – Sharon Graham, British trade unionist
- 18 December – James Miller, Welsh film-maker (killed 2003)
- 20 December – Phil Andrews, British race car driver
- 23 December – Siôn Simon, British Labour politician and MP for Birmingham Erdington
- 28 December – Pauline Robertson, Scottish field hockey player
Unknown dates
Deaths
January – March
April – June
- 7 April – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver, racetrack accident in Germany (born 1936)
- 3 May – Ness Edwards, Welsh politician (born 1897)
- 7 May – Mike Spence, English race car driver, racetrack accident in US (born 1936)
- 11 May – Frederick Bellenger, English politician, Secretary of State for War (born 1894)
- 29 May – Sir Stewart Menzies, chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (born 1890)
- 21 June – Captain W. E. Johns, aviator and writer, creator of Biggles (born 1893)
- 24 June – Tony Hancock, English comedian, suicide in Australia (born 1924)
July – September
- 9 July – Sir Alexander Cadogan, diplomat (born 1884)
- 13 July – R. J. Yeatman, humorist (born 1897)
- 16 July – William Evans, Welsh-language poet (born 1883)
- 23 July – Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1875)
- 19 August – George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist (born 1904)
- 27 August – Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (born 1906)
- 11 September – Tommy Armour, Scottish golfer (born 1894)
- 16 September – George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley, Lord Great Chamberlain (born 1883)
- 29 September – Paul Radmilovic, Welsh-born competitive swimmer, 4-times Olympic gold medal winner (born 1886)
October – December
- 13 October – Stanley Unwin, publisher (born 1884)
- 20 October – Bud Flanagan, comedian and singer (born 1896)
- 17 November – Mervyn Peake, writer and illustrator (born 1911)
- 28 November – Enid Blyton, children's writer (born 1897)
- 14 December – David James Jones (Gwenallt), Welsh-language poet (born 1899)
- 15 December - Sans. Undertale Deltarune Judge (born 20XX)
See also
Notes and References
- News: The Times. 2 January 1968. 1. 57138. C. Day Lewis Is Poet Laureate. Rita. Marshall.
- Web site: Gardeners' World at 40. Hannah. Stephenson. Bedford Today. 24 September 2007. 2015-11-10.
- News: John. Chartres. Wilson Joins 'I Back Britain'. The Times. 9 January 1968. 1.
- Book: Creed, Rupert. Turning the Tide: The 1968 Trawler Tragedy and the Wives' Campaign for Safety. Back Door Press. Hull. 1998. 0-9534555-0-5.
- Book: Raine-Allen, Frank. A Brief History of Civil Defence. 1968 Stand-Down. 53–58. Essex-Lopresti, Tim. Matlock. Civil Defence Association. 2005. 0-9550153-0-8.
- News: 1968: More Kenyan Asians flee to Britain. On This Day. BBC News. 4 February 1968. 2011-08-12.
- Web site: Historic Background. Northamptonshire County Council. 2011-08-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927160956/http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Transport/TP/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Chapter%202%20Problems%20and%20Opportunites%20-%20Section2.2%20%28pdf%20format%203044kb%29.pdf. 27 September 2011.
- Book: Gross, Nigel. 1960s. etal. HarperCollins. Glasgow. Collins Gem. 1999. 0-00-472310-4.
- Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source. Hewish. A.. Bell, S. J.. Pilkington, J. D. H.. Scott, P. F.. Collins, R. A.. 24 February 1968. Nature. 217. 5130. 709–713. 10.1038/217709a0. 4277613.
- Book: Vocal Selections: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Hal Leonard. 1994. Milwaukee, WI. 978-0-7935-3427-2.
- Web site: About The Show. The Really Useful Group. 2008-12-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20081225062752/http://www.reallyuseful.com/shows/joseph/history-inspiration. 25 December 2008 . dead.
- Web site: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. AndrewLloydWebber.com. 1991. 2010-10-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20101023103837/http://www.andrewlloydwebber.com/shows/joseph-and-dreamcoat/. 23 October 2010. dead.
- Web site: The closing of Baggeridge Colliery. Black Country Society. 2011-08-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719020401/http://www.blackcountrysociety.co.uk/articles/baggeridge2.htm. 19 July 2011. dead.
- Book: The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. 978-1-85986-000-7.
- News: Statesman who bottled out: 'Tired and Emotional: The Life of Lord George Brown'. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/book-review--statesman-who-bottled-out-tired-and-emotional-the-life-of-lord-george-brown--peter-paterson-chatto-20-pounds-2321916.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. London. 1993-05-09.
- News: 1968: Jim Clark killed in car smash. BBC News. 2008-02-05. 7 April 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20080219004424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/7/newsid_2837000/2837559.stm. 19 February 2008 . live.
- Web site: The Sun (Vancouver). news.google.com.
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 978-0-14-102715-9. 2006.
- News: 1968: Powell slates immigration policy . BBC News. 2008-02-05. 20 April 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307124645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/20/newsid_2489000/2489357.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/rivers_blood2.html Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood Speech
- Web site: 1968: Surgeons conduct UK's first heart transplant. 3 May 1968. news.bbc.co.uk.
- News: 1968: Krays held on suspicion of murder. BBC News. 2008-02-14. 8 May 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20080303101455/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/8/newsid_2518000/2518695.stm. 3 March 2008 . live.
- Web site: Newcastle United 3 Man City 4. football-england-com. 2011-08-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110821101929/http://www.football-england.com/newcastle_3_man_city_4_1968.html. 21 August 2011.
- News: Ordination of women is approved. The Times. 23 May 1968. 3. 57258.
- News: 1968: Manchester Utd win European Cup. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 29 May 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20080121093916/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/29/newsid_4464000/4464446.stm. 21 January 2008. live.
- Web site: When history was made in Dagenham. 2020-08-26. Socialist Review. en.
- Web site: 2013-06-06. Dagenham sewing machinists recall strike that changed women's lives. 2020-08-26. The Guardian. en.
- Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd.. London. 427–428. 978-0-7126-5616-0.
- News: 1968: Alec Rose sails home. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 4 July 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20071219015932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2744000/2744481.stm. 19 December 2007. live.
- Web site: The great flood of 1968. Memories of Bristol. 2006-01-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20060502142132/http://weldgen.tripod.com/the-great-flood-1968/index.html. 2 May 2006.
- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/contents/enacted Theft Act 1968
- Web site: BBC – History of the BBC, Dad's Army 31 July 1968 . BBC . 11 February 2022.
- http://www.middleschoolresearch.org.uk/middschinfo.html
- Web site: Nissan/Datsun – reallyloud.co.uk. 14 August 2018. 14 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180814170246/http://www.reallyloud.co.uk/nissandatsun/. dead.
- News: 1968: Musical Hair opens as censors withdraw. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 27 September 1968.
- Web site: Police STOP!: Patrol and Response Vehicles in England and Wales. Paddy. Carpenter. 20 October 2016. Amberley Publishing. Amazon.
- News: 1968: Birth of sextuplets stuns Britain. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 2 October 1968.
- News: 1968: Londonderry march ends in violence. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 5 October 1968.
- Web site: Birmingham Post. 8 October 2007. 12 May 2010 .
- Web site: National Giro Service. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 October 1968. 2011-08-12.
- News: 1968: Police clash with anti-war protesters. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 27 October 1968.
- Web site: James Watt Street Fire . SunnyGovan . 2010-07-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100603202611/http://www.sunnygovan.com/PLACES/Places/JamesWattStreetFire.html . 3 June 2010 . dead .
- Web site: Innovation and Corporate Failure: Cyril Lord in UK Textiles 1945–1968. Philip. Ollerenshaw. 2006. 2011-09-02.
- Financial Times 22 November 1968.
- Book: Marr, Andrew. Andrew Marr. A History of Modern Britain. London. Macmillan. 2007. 978-1-4050-0538-8. 281.
- Web site: 1968: Race discrimination law tightened. 26 November 1968. news.bbc.co.uk.
- News: 1968: Shops told to stop conning customers. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 30 November 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20071202102653/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/30/newsid_4018000/4018793.stm. 2 December 2007 . live.
- News: 1968: Mary Bell found guilty of double killing. BBC News. 2008-01-15. 17 December 1968. https://web.archive.org/web/20071219163425/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/17/newsid_3261000/3261087.stm. 19 December 2007. live.
- Roden. A. T.. 1969. National experience with Hong Kong influenza in the United Kingdom, 1968-69. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 41. 3-4-5. 375-80. 2022-03-19.
- News: History of major virus outbreaks in the UK in recent times. 2020-12-13. Express and Star. Wolverhampton. 2020-03-03.
- News: Bennett. Asa. Half a century ago stoic Britons battle a similar health crisis without any lockdown. 2020-12-13. The Telegraph. London. 2020-05-02.
- Allan . David B . Waddell . Gordon . 1989-01-01 . An historical perspective on low back pain and disability . Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica . 60 . sup234 . 1–23 . 10.3109/17453678909153916 . 2533783 . 22502801 . 0001-6470.
- Web site: Kate Osamor. politics.co.uk.
- Web site: Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory dies, aged 52 . Radio Times . 16 April 2021 . en.
- Web site: Carl Sargeant: Profile of long-serving AM's career. BBC News.