1940 in Scotland
1940 in Scotland ![](../I/m/Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png) |
Years |
1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 |
See also |
1939-40 in Scottish football |
1940-41 in Scottish football |
Events from 1940 in Scotland
Incumbents
Events
- 1 January - The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939 prohibits "irregular" marriages ("marriage by declaration" or "handfasting") from this date, ending the practice of "anvil marriage" at Gretna Green.[1]
- 17 January - World War II: German submarine U-25 sinks the SS Polzella and the neutral Norwegian ship Enid 10 miles north of Shetland.
- 3–9 March - RMS Queen Elizabeth makes her maiden voyage on delivery from Clydebank to New York.
- 16 March - World War II: First civilian casualty of bombing in the U.K., on Orkney.[2]
- 10 April - World War II: German cruiser Königsberg is sunk at Bergen by British Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua dive bombers flying from RNAS Hatston in Orkney.
- 30 April - French destroyer Maillé Brézé sunk by accidental explosion off Greenock.
- May - Construction of Churchill Barriers on Orkney begins.
- 9 May - Guy Lloyd wins the East Renfrewshire by-election for the Unionist Party.
- 29 May - World War II: Requisitioned Clyde steamers Queen-Empress, Duchess of Fife, Oriole (known as Eagle on the Clyde), Marmion and Waverley participate in the Dunkirk evacuation; Waverley is lost.[3]
- 12 June - World War II: Over 10,000 soldiers of the 51st (Highland) Division under General Victor Fortune surrender to Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.[4]
- 16 June - World War II: Troopships Empress of Britain, Mauretania, Andes, Queen Mary, Aquitania and Empress of Canada steam in convoy into the River Clyde and anchor off Gourock with the first large contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops.[5]
- 19 July - World War II: First Luftwaffe daylight raid on Glasgow; little damage is caused on this occasion.[6]
- November - World War II: Construction of No. 1 Military Port at Faslane on the Gare Loch[7] and No. 2 Military Port at Cairnryan begins.[8] Garelochhead Training Camp is also established this year.
- Establishment of Kilquhanity School near Castle Douglas by John Aitkenhead.
Births
- 6 January - John Byrne, playwright and artist
- 24 February - Denis Law, international footballer
- 19 April - Dougal Haston, mountaineer (killed 1977 in the Swiss Alps)
- 14 May - Chay Blyth, yachtsman and adventurer
- 23 June
- 28 June - Roderick Wright, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles (Catholic) (died 2005 in New Zealand)
- 29 June - Bill Napier, astronomer and science fiction author
- 10 July - Tom Farmer, entrepreneur
- 4 August - Robin Harper, Green politician
- 20 August - Gus Macdonald, television journalist and Labour politician
- 24 November - Donald Macleod, theologian
- 1 December - Mike Denness, international cricketer
Deaths
The Arts
See also
References