1975 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1975 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
January
February
March
- 1 March – Aston Villa, chasing promotion from the Football League Second Division, wins the Football League Cup with the only goal of the Wembley final against Norwich City being scored by Ray Graydon.[4]
- 4 March – Actor Charlie Chaplin, 85, is knighted by the Queen.[8]
- 7 March – The body of teenage heiress Lesley Whittle, who was kidnapped at gunpoint from her Shropshire home in January, is discovered in Staffordshire, strangled on a ledge in drains below Bathpool Park near Kidsgrove.[9]
- 8 March – First appearance of Davros in Doctor Who.[10]
- 25 March – A large National Front rally is held in London, in protest against European integration.[11]
- 26 March – British Leyland releases their new family saloon, the Morris 18-22 wedge styled by Harris Mann to replace the ageing Austin 1800 Landcrab range. There are Austin, Morris and the luxury Wolseley versions at launch. However, in less than six months, the entire range is rebranded as the Princess and the marque "Wolseley" is abandoned.
April
- 3 April – Monty Python and the Holy Grail is released to cinemas in the UK.[12]
- 5 April – Manchester United clinches promotion back to the First Division one season after relegation.[13]
- 13 April – A 22-year-old woman is raped at her bedsit in Cambridge. Cambridgeshire Police believe that she is the sixth victim of a rapist who has been operating across the city since October last year. In June, the police arrest 47-year-old Peter Cook for the rapes; he is sentenced to life imprisonment in October.[14]
- 24 April – Unemployment exceeds the 1,000,000 mark for March 1975.[4]
- 26 April
May
- May – Led Zeppelin return to the UK to play five sold-out shows at Earls Court in London.
- 1 May – Vauxhall launches the Chevette, Britain's first production small hatchback, which is similar in concept to the Italian Fiat 127 and French Renault 5.[17]
- 3 May – West Ham United win the second FA Cup of their history by defeating Fulham 2–0 in the Wembley final. Alan Taylor scores both goals. Former West Ham and England legend Bobby Moore appears for Fulham.
- 5 May – St Leonard's Church, Streatham is gutted by fire.[18]
- 16 May – Major reorganisation of local government in Scotland under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, creating nine new regions and comprehensively redrawing the administrative map. Strathclyde is created out of the historic counties of Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Buteshire and the greater part of Argyll; East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian are merged to create Lothian; Central is formed from the historic counties of Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and part of Perthshire; Tayside from the historic counties of Angus-shire, Kinross-shire and the remainder of Perthshire; Borders from Peeblesshire, Berwickshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire; Dumfries and Galloway from Dumfries-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire; Grampian from Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Morayshire and Kincardineshire; and Highland from Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness. Fifeshire alone is left unchanged.
- 27 May – Dibbles Bridge coach crash: a tour coach runs away following brake failure and falls off a bridge near Hebden, North Yorkshire, en route to Grassington, killing the driver and 31 female pensioners on board, the highest ever toll in a UK road accident.[19]
- 28 May – Leeds United are beaten 2–0 by Bayern Munich of West Germany in the European Cup final in Paris, France. Peter Lorimer has a goal for Leeds disallowed and this sparks a riot by angry supporters, who invade the pitch and tear seats away from the stands.[20]
- 31 May – The European Space Agency is established, with the UK being one of the ten founding members.[21] [22]
June
- 2 June – Snow showers occur across as the country even as far south as London which last happened in June in 1761.
- 5 June – 67% of voters support continuing membership of the EEC in a referendum.[23]
- 6 June – Nuneaton rail crash: a sleeper train travelling from London Euston to Glasgow derails, killing six people and injuring 38.
- 9 June – Proceedings in Parliament are broadcast on radio for the first time.[24]
- 11 June – In Uganda, British author and adventurer Denis Hills is sentenced to death by firing squad for referring to Idi Amin as a 'village tyrant' but eventually released.
- 13 June – UEFA places a three-year ban on Leeds United from European competitions due to the behaviour of their fans at last month's European Cup final.
- 14 June – Ambulance crews in the West Midlands stage a ban on non-emergency calls in a dispute over pay and hours.[4]
- 17 June – Leeds United lodge an appeal against their ban from European competitions.[25]
- 19 June – A coroner's court jury returns a verdict of wilful murder, naming Lord Lucan as the murderer, in the inquest on Sandra Rivett, the nanny who was found dead at his wife's London home seven months previously.[26]
- 30 June – UEFA reduces Leeds United's ban from European competitions to one season on appeal.[27]
July
August
- 1 August – The Government's anti-inflation policy comes into full effect. During the year, inflation reaches 24.2% - the second-highest recorded level since records began in 1750, and the highest since 1800.[30] A summary of the White Paper Attack on Inflation is delivered to all households.
- 11 August – British Leyland Motor Corporation comes under British government control.
- 14 August – Hampstead enters the UK Weather Records with the Highest 155-min total rainfall at 169mm.
- 15 August
- The Birmingham Six are wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment. (They are released 1991.)
- A 46-year-old Halifax woman, Olive Smelt, is severely injured in a hammer attack in an alleyway in the town.[31]
- 16 August – Football hooliganism strikes on the opening day of the English league season, with hundreds of fans being arrested at games across the country - the total number of arrests exceeds seventy at the stadiums of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City.[32]
- 19 August – Headingley cricket ground is vandalised by people campaigning for release from prison of the armed robber George Davis. A scheduled test match between England and Australia which was meant to take place there has to be abandoned. This is the climax to a campaign in which the slogan George Davis is Innocent has been widely sprayed throughout London.[33]
- 21 August – The unemployment rate reaches the 1,250,000 mark.
- 27 August – A 14-year-old, Tracy Browne, is badly injured in a hammer attack in a country lane at Silsden, near Keighley.[34]
- 31 August – Cavalcade of steam locomotives from Shildon, County Durham, to Darlington, County Durham, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
September
October
- October
- Vauxhall announces its second new model launch of the year - the Cavalier, which replaces the Victor, is based on the German Opel Ascona, and is a direct competitor for the big-selling Ford Cortina.
- Statistics show that Britain is in a double-dip recession, as the economy contracted for the second and third quarters of the year.[40]
- 9 October – An IRA bomb explosion outside Green Park tube station near Piccadilly in London kills one person and injures twenty other people.[41]
- 13 October – Norton Villiers, the Wolverhampton-based motorcycle producer, closes down with the loss of 1,600 jobs after being declared bankrupt.[4]
- 23 October – Oncologist Gordon Hamilton Fairley is killed in London by an IRA bomb intended for Sir Hugh Fraser.
- 28 October – Dr. No is broadcast on ITV, the first time a Bond film is shown on British television.
- 30 October – West Yorkshire Police launch a murder investigation after 28-year-old prostitute Wilma McCann is found dead in Leeds. She later becomes known as Peter Sutcliffe's first murder victim.[42]
- 31 October – Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" is released.
November
- 3 November – A petroleum pipeline from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth across Scotland is formally opened by HM The Queen.[43]
- 6 November – The first public performance by punk rock band the Sex Pistols takes place.[37]
- 12 November – The Employment Protection Act establishes Acas to arbitrate industrial disputes, extends jurisdiction of employment tribunals, establishes a Maternity Pay Fund to provide for paid maternity leave and legislates against unfair dismissal.[44]
- 15 November – The Prime Minister attends the 1st G6 summit, at the Château de Rambouillet in France.
- 16 November – British and Icelandic ships clash, marking the beginning of the third Cod War.
- 27 November – Ross McWhirter, 50, co-founder with his twin of the Guinness Book of Records, is shot dead outside his London home by the Provisional Irish Republican Army for offering reward money to informers.[45]
- 29 November – Former racing driver Graham Hill, 46, and racing driver Tony Brise, 23, are both killed in an air crash in Hertfordshire.[46]
December
Undated
Publications
Births
- 4 January - David Carrick, serial rapist
- 6 January - Jason King, radio and television host
- 8 January - Chris Simmons, actor
- 13 January - Shazia Mirza, comedian
- 20 January - Zac Goldsmith, environmentalist and politician
- 21 January - Nicky Butt, footballer
- 24 January
- 28 January - Lee Latchford-Evans, singer[54]
- 5 February - Alison Hammond, actress and television presenter[55]
- 12 February - Shahzada Dawood, businessman, investor, and philanthropist (died 2023)
- 13 February - Katie Hopkins, media personality, businesswoman and political commentator
- 18 February
- 25 February - Naga Munchetty, television presenter and journalist
- 12 March - Amanda Milling, Chairman of the Conservative Party
- 13 March - Mark Clattenburg, football referee
- 21 March
- 5 April - Caitlin Moran, journalist and broadcaster
- 9 April - Robbie Fowler, footballer
- 13 April - Bruce Dyer, footballer
- 20 April - Olly Robbins, civil servant
- 1 May - Paloma Baeza, actress and director
- 2 May - David Beckham, footballer
- 17 May - Jonti Picking, animator, voice actor and internet personality
- 18 May - John Higgins, snooker player
- 20 May - Graham Potter, football player and manager
- 22 May - Kelly Morgan, badminton player
- 27 May - Jamie Oliver, chef and television personality
- 29 May
- 4 June
- 10 June - Darren Eadie, English footballer and manager
- 14 June - Laurence Rickard, actor, writer and comedian
- 19 June - Ed Coode, rower
- 13 July - Gareth Edwards, director
- 15 July - Jill Halfpenny, actress
- 17 July - Konnie Huq, television presenter
- 22 July - Hannah Waterman, actress
- 26 July - Liz Truss, politician
- 30 July - Graham Nicholls, artist
- 31 July - Stephanie Hirst, born Simon Hirst, radio DJ
- 11 August - Asma al-Assad, born Asma Akhras, spouse of President of Syria
- 22 August - Sheree Murphy, actress
- 18 September - Ritchie Appleby, football player
- 23 September - Chris Hawkins, radio personality
- 25 September - Declan Donnelly, television presenter and one half of Ant and Dec
- 5 October - Kate Winslet, actress
- 7 October - Tim Minchin, English-born singer-songwriter and comic performer
- 9 October - Joe McFadden, actor
- 16 October - Sally Biddulph, journalist and presenter
- 25 October - Zadie Smith, born Sadie Smith, novelist
- 9 November - Gareth Malone, choirmaster
- 12 November - Katherine Grainger, rower
- 13 November - Gary Burgess, broadcaster and journalist (died 2022)
- 18 November - Anthony McPartlin, television presenter and one half of Ant and Dec
- 5 December - Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker player
- 6 December - Noel Clarke, actor and film maker
- 12 December - Jackie Brady, gymnast
- 20 December - Jacqui Oatley, sports presenter
- 23 December - Lorna Norris, rower
Deaths
- 31 January - Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, peer and Earl Marshal (born 1908)
- 8 February - Robert Robinson, organic chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1886)
- 12 February - Bernard Knowles, film director and screenwriter (born 1900)
- 14 February
- 22 February - Lionel Tertis, violist (born 1876)
- 24 February – Una Duval, suffragette (born 1879)
- 26 February - Stephen Tibble, London police officer (shot) (born 1953)
- 28 February - Neville Cardus, writer on cricket and music (born 1888)
- 3 March
- 27 March - Sir Arthur Bliss, composer and conductor (born 1891)
- 3 April - Mary Ure, actress (born 1933)
- 14 April - Michael Flanders, actor and songwriter (born 1922)
- 23 April - William Hartnell, actor (born 1908)
- 24 April - Pete Ham, musician (born 1947; suicide)
- 20 May - Barbara Hepworth, sculptor (born 1903)
- 21 May - A. H. Dodd, historian (born 1891)[58]
- 3 June - Sir Christopher Bonham-Carter, admiral and Treasurer to the Duke of Edinburgh (1959–1970) (born 1907)
- 5 June - Lester Matthews, actor (born 1900)
- 9 June - Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, aristocrat (born 1892)
- 27 June - Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter, politician and academic (born 1881)
- 28 June - William Ibbett, submariner and radio broadcaster (born 1886)
- 2 July - James Robertson Justice, actor (born 1907)
- 7 August - Jim Griffiths, politician (born 1890)
- 10 September - George Paget Thomson, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892)
- 22 October - Arnold J. Toynbee, historian (born 1889)
- 23 October - Gordon Hamilton Fairley, oncologist (murdered) (born 1930 in Australia)
- 27 October - Frederick Charles Victor Laws, Royal Air Force officer, pioneer of aerial reconnaissance (born 1887)
- 25 November
- 27 November - Ross McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (assassinated) (born 1925)
- 29 November
- 18 December - R. Ifor Parry, minister, teacher and philanthropist, 67[59]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Thirty Years Ago - January 1975 . 18 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100418203152/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/thirty45b.htm . 18 April 2010 . dead.
- News: 1975: Heiress Lesley Whittle kidnapped . BBC News. 2008-02-06. 14 January 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/14/newsid_2530000/2530669.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: Nursing Mirror and Midwives Journal. IPC Specialist and Professional Press. 1975. 33.
- Web site: 1975. Those were the days. Wolverhampton. Express and Star. 2018-07-28.
- News: 1975: Tories choose first woman leader. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 11 February 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132235/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/11/newsid_2539000/2539451.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Miners set for 35 per cent pay rises. BBC News. 13 February 1975. 30 September 2011.
- News: 1975: PC murder linked to IRA bomb factory. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 27 February 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080302070729/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/27/newsid_2515000/2515789.stm. 2 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Comic genius Chaplin is knighted. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 4 March 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080122135925/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/4/newsid_2794000/2794107.stm. 22 January 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Kidnapped heiress found strangled. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 7 March 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080117111945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/7/newsid_2516000/2516085.stm. 17 January 2008 . live.
- Book: Peter Haining. Doctor Who: 25 Glorious Years. Virgin. 1990. 9780863693243. 217.
- News: 1975: National Front rallies against Europe. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 25 March 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132418/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/25/newsid_2531000/2531185.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: Palin, Michael. Michael Palin
. Michael Palin. . Weidenfeld & Nicolson . 2006. 225.
- Web site: History by Decade. www.manutd.com. 20 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20130515144834/http://www.manutd.com/en/Club/History-By-Decade/1970-1979.aspx. 15 May 2013. dead.
- News: 1975: 'Cambridge rapist' strikes again. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 13 April 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/13/newsid_2524000/2524403.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- News: 1975: Labour votes to leave the EEC. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 26 April 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132325/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_2503000/2503155.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Web site: The Windsor Star - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 20 April 2018.
- Web site: The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 20 April 2018.
- Book: Weinreb, Ben . Hibbert, Christopher . Christopher Hibbert. . reprint . 1992 . . 751.
- Web site: Dibbles Bridge: 25 years on. 20 May 2000. 2010-07-16. Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Newsquest Media Group.
- Web site: Thirty Years Ago - May 1975 . 18 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130929092517/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/thirty46c.htm . 29 September 2013 . dead.
- News: Gilliland. Ben. Science & Discovery. Metro. 16 January 2009.
- Web site: ESA turns 30!. ESA. 2005. 2010-06-26.
- News: 1975: UK embraces Europe in referendum. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 6 June 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132442/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/6/newsid_2499000/2499297.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: First live broadcast of Parliament. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 9 June 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132156/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/9/newsid_2500000/2500721.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Web site: The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 20 April 2018.
- News: 1975: Missing earl guilty of murder. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 19 June 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132329/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/19/newsid_2516000/2516103.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Web site: The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 20 April 2018.
- Web site: THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - ANN ROGULSKYJ. www.execulink.com. 20 April 2018.
- Book: Green, Oliver. The London Underground - An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. 1988. 62. 0-7110-1720-4.
- Web site: Robert . Twigger . Inflation: the Value of the Pound 1750-1998 . 1999 . . 2010-11-19 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060219130455/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp99/rp99-020.pdf . 19 February 2006 .
- Web site: THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - OLIVE SMELT. www.execulink.com. 20 April 2018.
- Web site: Thirty Years Ago - August 1975 . 18 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100418203228/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/thirty47c.htm . 18 April 2010 . dead.
- News: 1975: Davis campaigners stop Test match. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 19 August 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132506/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/19/newsid_2534000/2534763.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Web site: THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - TRACY BROWNE. www.execulink.com. 20 April 2018.
- Web site: Development of the Chrysler - Talbot Alpine cars. 2008-02-14.
- News: 1975: London Hilton bombed. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 5 September 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080213183811/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/5/newsid_2499000/2499203.stm. 13 February 2008 . live.
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
- News: 1975: First Britons conquer Everest. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 24 September 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/24/newsid_2538000/2538093.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: London's Spaghetti House siege ends. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 3 October 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132231/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/3/newsid_4286000/4286414.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Web site: UK GDP since 1955. DataBlog. The Guardian. London. 2016. 2018-07-28.
- News: 1975: Man killed in Piccadilly bomb blast. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 9 October 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132312/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/9/newsid_2531000/2531191.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Web site: THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - WILMA McCANN. www.execulink.com. 20 April 2018.
- News: 1975: North Sea oil begins to flow. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 3 November 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132153/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/3/newsid_2538000/2538155.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 437–438. 0-7126-5616-2.
- News: 1975: TV presenter Ross McWhirter shot dead. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 27 November 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132422/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27/newsid_2528000/2528787.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Graham Hill killed in air crash. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 29 November 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132333/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/29/newsid_2527000/2527363.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Couple under siege in Balcombe Street. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 6 December 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132447/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/6/newsid_4261000/4261478.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: Balcombe Street siege ends. 2008-02-06. 12 December 1975. BBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132343/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/12/newsid_2546000/2546477.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- News: 1975: New laws to end battle of the sexes. BBC News. 2008-02-06. 29 December 1975. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307132453/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/29/newsid_2547000/2547249.stm. 7 March 2008. live.
- Book: Harwood, Elain. England: a Guide to Post-War Listed Buildings. rev.. London. Batsford. 2003. 0-7134-8818-2.
- News: Rabbi Jackie Tabick. The Jewish Chronicle. 6 March 2008. 2012-06-30.
- Book: Snow, D. W.. Perrins, C. M.. 1998. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Oxford University Press. 0-19-854099-X.
- Web site: Hercule Poirot fictional character Britannica . www.britannica.com . 19 May 2022 . en.
- Web site: Steps Biography: Lee . https://web.archive.org/web/20030406102304/http://www.stepsofficial.com/biography/lee.shtml . 6 April 2003 . Zomba Records . 2015 . 19 February 2015.
- Web site: Padin . Malvika . 2022-02-01 . This Morning host Alison Hammond's fabulous life - her age and relationships . 2023-11-03 . The Mirror . en.
- Book: Warner, David . The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook . 2011 . 113th . Great Northern Books . Ilkley, Yorkshire . 978-1-905080-85-4 . 381.
- Web site: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (subscription access) . Oxford University Press . Williams, Sir Thomas Herbert Parry- (1887–1975). Evans . Ellis. Ellis Evans . 2007-07-25.
- Book: Archaeologia Cambrensis: The Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association. 1976. W. Pickering. 137.
- s7-PARR-IFO-1908. Parry, Robert Ivor (1908-1975), minister (Cong.) and school teacher. Ioan Wyn Gruffydd. 19 December 2019.