1945 in the United Kingdom
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 1945 in the United Kingdom: |
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| World War II |
| UK during World War II |
Events from the year 1945 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Events
- January 7 - General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference at Zonhoven describing his contribution to the Battle of the Bulge.
- February 4 - Prime Minister Winston Churchill attends the Yalta Conference (ends February 11) [1]
- 13 February - The RAF Bomber Command begins the strategic bombing of Dresden in Saxony, Germany, resulting in a lethal firestorm which killed tens of thousands of civilians.
- March 27- The last V-2 rocket attack on the UK takes place.
- March 29- The last V-1 flying bomb attack on the UK takes place.
- May 8 - V-E Day is celebrated throughout the UK. Churchill makes a victory speech and appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with King George VI, Queen Elizbeth and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Street parties take place throughout the country. [2]
- May 28 - William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw" is captured. He is later charged with high treason in London for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio. He is hanged in January of 1946.
- June 1 - The UK takes over Lebanon and Syria
- 7 June - The Benjamin Britten opera Peter Grimes first performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. [3]
- July 17 - Potsdam Conference - the three main Allied leaders begin their final summit of the war. The meeting will end on August 2.
- July 26 - United Kingdom general election, 1945. Winston Churchill resigns as Britain's prime minister after his Conservative Party is soundly defeated by the Labour Party. Clement Attlee becomes the new prime minister. [2]
- July 29 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched, aimed at mainstream light entertainment and music. [2]
- August 13 - Zionist World Congress approaches British government to talk about founding of Israel.
- August 15 - V-J Day is celebrated in the UK.
- October 24 - The British government signs the United Nations Charter.
- 24 October - George Orwell's Animal Farm published. [2]
- December 31 - Britain receives its first shipment of bananas since the beginning of the war. [2]
- Alexander Fleming and Ernst Boris Chain win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Howard Florey "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases". [4]
[edit] Births
- 6 January - Barry John, rugby union footballer
- January 10 - Rod Stewart, British singer
- January 15 - Princess Michael of Kent, Czech born wife of Prince Michael of Kent
- January 26 - Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
- January 29 - Jim Nicholson, Northern Irish Unionist politician and MEP for [[Nortern Ireland
- February 5 - Charlotte Rampling, English actress
- February 7 - Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player
- February 7 - Pete Postlethwaite, English actor
- March 30 - Eric Clapton, English guitarist
- May 16 - Nicky Chinn, English songwriter (The Sweet and Suzi Quatro)
- May 19 - Pete Townshend, English guitarist and lyricist
- June 12 - Pat Jennings, Northern Irish footballer player
- July 7 - Michael Ancram, British Conservative politician and MP for Devizes
- July 28 - Richard Wright, English keyboardist (Pink Floyd)
- August 9 - Posy Simmonds, English cartoonist
- August 19 - Ian Gillan, English singer (Deep Purple)
- August 31 - Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer and songwriter.
- September 21 - Shaw Clifton, General of The Salvation Army
- November 26 - John McVie, English musician (Fleetwood Mac)
- December 24 - Ian "Lemmy" Kilminster, British bassist and singer (Motörhead)
[edit] Deaths
- 21 February - Eric Liddell, athlete (b. 1902)
- 26 March - David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister (b. 1863)
- 29 March - Jack Agazarian, spy (b. 1916)
- 18 April - John Ambrose Fleming, electrical engineer and physicist (b. 1849)
- 15 May - Charles Williams, author (b. 1886)
- 5 December - Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1864)
- 14 December - Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk, granddaughter of King Edward VII (b. 1893)
[edit] References
- ^ (2006) Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ a b c d e The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC
- ^ (1999) The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. ISBN 1-85986-000-1.
- ^ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945
