1949 in the United Kingdom

none April 2014 April 2014 1949 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1949 British Grand Prix 1949 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1949 in British radio 1949 in British television 1949 in British music Events from the year 1949 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – George VI Prime Minister – Clement Attlee (Labour) Events January – Mass Observation carries out a national survey into the sexual behaviour and attitudes of 4,000 British people, "Little Kinsey". The results remain largely unpublished for over fifty years.Jonathan Duffy https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4293978.stm Britain's secret sex survey 27 January 2008 30 September 2005 BBC News 1 January Peacetime conscription in the United Kingdom is regularised under the National Service Act 1947. Men aged 18–26 years in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to serve full-time in the armed forces for 18 months.David Kynaston David Kynaston Austerity Britain 1945–51 London Bloomsbury 2007 978-0-7475-7985-4 325 The British Nationality Act 1948 comes into effect, creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", superseding the shared status of "Commonwealth citizen". 4 January – Caronia 1947 6 of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage. 28 January – Lynskey tribunal on corruption in public life reports, leading to the resignation of John Belcher as an MP. 31 January – Book at Bedtime makes its debut on the BBC Light Programme. 1 February – Women's Auxiliary Air Force renamed as the Women's Royal Air Force. 15 March – Post-war rationing of clothes ends.Palmer Alan Palmer Veronica 1992 The Chronology of British History Century Ltd London 400–401 0-7126-5616-2 25 March – Laurence Olivier's film Hamlet (1948) becomes the first British film to win a 'Best Picture' Oscar.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 0-14-102715-0 2006 28 March – Astronomer Fred Hoyle coins the term Big Bang during a BBC Third Programme radio broadcast (although describing the model as "unsatisfactory").22 August 2001 'Big bang' astronomer dies https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1503721.stm BBC News 7 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081208220913/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1503721.stm 8 December 2008 live 1 April – The Marquess of Bath opens Longleat House to paying visitors, the first privately owned stately home to be opened. 4 April – Britain signs the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO. 12 April – The first women appointed King's Counsel in England: Rose Heilbron and Helena Normanton.Tribute to New Woman K.C. Liverpool Echo 5 13 April 1949 20 April Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst goes up the Yangtze River to evacuate British Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of the Mao's Communist forces. Under heavy fire, it runs aground off Rose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on 26 April, it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the Communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time its cat, Simon, raises the crew's morale. The first Badminton Horse Trials are held at Badminton House in Gloucestershire. 24 April – Wartime rationing of confectionery ends, but is reinstituted shortly thereafter as shortages return. 26 April – Ealing comedy film Passport to Pimlico makes its premiere in London. 28 April – The 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference issues the London Declaration, enabling India (and, thereafter, any other nation) to remain in the Commonwealth despite becoming a republic, creating the position of 'Head of the Commonwealth' (held by the ruling British monarch), and renaming the organisation from 'British Commonwealth' to 'Commonwealth of Nations'. 29 April – The News Review reveals that neither the English public school Selhurst College nor its headmaster H. Rochester Sneath exist, but are a hoax created by Humphry Berkeley the previous year. 30 April – 1949 FA Cup Final: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. win the FA Cup for the first time in 41 years, and the third time in their history, with a 3–1 win over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium.The Cup Final: Wolverhampton Win The Times London 2 May 1949 6 51370 April – Manchester Mark 1 computer operable at the University of Manchester. May – Council for Wales and Monmouthshire, set up as a government advisory body, first meets.https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/record?catid=506&catln=2 The Discovery Service The National Archives discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk 1 May – The gas industry is nationalised. 3 May – Parliament passes the Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The UK Government also formally recognises the existence of the Republic of Ireland. 6 May – EDSAC, the first practicable stored-programme computer, runs its first programme at Cambridge University.Pioneer computer to be rebuilt Cam 62 2011 5 7 May – The 1949 England Scotland Wales Netball Series sees England, Scotland and Wales all play their debut netball test matches.https://www.ournetballhistory.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1-JM-History-of-Netball.pdf All England Netball Association: A History of Netball in England Through the Ages To Present Day www.ournetballhistory.org.uk June 2002 12 March 2024https://www.netballscotland.com/about/netball-history/ Our History – 73 Years since the first Thistles international match – 1947-1949 www.netballscotland.com 20 February 2025 20 October 2025 10 May – First self-service launderette opens, in Queensway (London). 11 May – Christopher Fry's verse drama The Lady's Not for Burning premieres in London."Globe Theatre." The Times. London. 12 May 1949: 7. The Times Digital Archive. 2 Nov 2013. 7–25 June – Dock strike forces the government to use troops to unload goods. 8 June – George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published in London by Secker & Warburg. 16 June – Ealing comedy film Whisky Galore! released. 21 June – Ealing comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets released. 14 July – Church Dignitaries (Retirement) Measure of the Church of England provides for the retirement of certain diocesan office-holders on the grounds of incapacity, unbecoming conduct or neglect of duty.Church Dignitaries (Retirement) Measure 1949. 27 July – Maiden flight of the British-built de Havilland Comet, the world's first passenger jet, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. 30 July – Legal Aid and Advice Act establishes a much-extended system of legal aid in England and WalesThe Guardian 12 March 2009 https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/mar/11/legal-aid-justice-gap Jon Robins Legal aid in 21st-century Britain London 19 July 2010 (with the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act applying similarly in Scotland). 31 July – Captain Kerans of HMS Amethyst decides to make a break after nightfall under heavy fire from the Chinese People's Liberation Army both sides of the Yangtze River and successfully rejoins the fleet at Woosung the next day. 22 August – T. S. Eliot's verse comedy The Cocktail Party premieres at the Edinburgh Festival."The Theatres." The Times. London. 22 August 1949: 8. The Times Digital Archive. 2 Nov 2013. 24 August – Old Trafford football stadium, home of Manchester United F.C., is reopened following a comprehensive rebuild due to bomb damage by the Luftwaffe eight years earlier.http://www.stadiumguide.com/manutdstory.htm Old Trafford The Stadium Guide 4 October 2013 2 September – Film The Third Man, with screenplay by Graham Greene, released. It wins the 1949 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. 19 September – The pound is devalued by 30% against the United States dollar.https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml https://web.archive.org/web/20081016005923/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml 2008-10-16 The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC 27 January 2008 21 September – The first comprehensive school in Wales is opened in Holyhead, Anglesey. 30 September – The Berlin Airlift comes to an end, during which 17 American and 7 British planes have crashed delivering supplies to Soviet blockaded Berlin. October – Valerie Hunter Gordon is granted a UK patent for the disposable nappy. 12 October – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr wins the Nobel Peace Prize.http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1949/ The Nobel Peace Prize 1949 27 January 2008 26 October – How Do You View?, the first comedy series on British television, starring Terry-Thomas, is first broadcast on the BBC. 4 November – Cwmbran designated as the first New Town in Wales under powers of the New Towns Act 1946.38756 5318 8 November 1949 24 November – Representation of the People Act 1949 provides for reviews of parliamentary boundaries by the permanent Boundary Commissions; abolishes the terms 'parliamentary borough' and 'parliamentary county', renaming them 'borough constituency' and 'county constituency'; abolishes the university constituencies; and removes remaining provisions allowing plural voting in parliamentary elections by owners of business premises.Representation of the People Act, 1949 (full text). 28 November – Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a landmark speech in support of the idea of a European Union at Kingsway Hall, London, but without commitment to early UK membership.http://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/address_given_by_winston_churchill_london_28_november_1949-en-ce26cc27-30bc-4ec1-b0df-8a572f3dcc0e.html Address given by Winston Churchill (London, 28 November 1949) cvce.eu 2017-03-28 The British Government have rightly stated that they cannot commit this country to entering any European Union without the agreement of the other members of the British Commonwealth. 16 December – Parliament Act given royal assent, cuts the House of Lords veto to one year. 17 December – Sutton Coldfield transmitting station begins transmitting BBC Television to the English Midlands, the first broadcasts to be seen outside the London area. Undated The number of workforce deaths in the coal industry is reported to have fallen to a record low since nationalisation two years ago.http://www.thespiritof45.com/Timeline/Industry Industry The Spirit of '45 Channel 4 2013 4 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131005001955/http://www.thespiritof45.com/Timeline/Industry 5 October 2013 dead With an average Central England temperature of 10.64 C F 2 or, the record for the hottest year in that series set in 1834 and equalled in 1921 is broken. The record set this year stands until 1990 by when anthropogenic global warming has come largely to control temperatures.http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/mly_cet_mean_sort.txt Hadley Centre Central England Temperature. 27 October 2015 29 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160729224821/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/mly_cet_mean_sort.txt dead Publications Enid Blyton's children's books Little Noddy Goes to Toyland, the first to introduce the title character; and The Secret Seven, first in the eponymous series. Agatha Christie's novel Crooked House. H. F. Ellis' humorous collection The Papers of A. J. Wentworth B.A. Graham Greene's novella The Third Man. Nancy Mitford's novel Love in a Cold Climate. George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Births 7 January – Brian Haw, protester and peace campaigner (died 2011) 16 January – Caroline Munro, actress and model 17 January – Mick Taylor, rock guitarist 19 January Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003) Andrew Samuels, psychologist and academic Dennis Taylor, snooker player 23 January – Joan Walley, politician 25 January John Cooper Clarke, performance poet Paul Nurse, biologist, Nobel Prize winner 29 January – Andy Carter, middle-distance runner 2 February – Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur 4 February – Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum, broadcaster and politician, Paymaster General 16 February – Lyn Paul, pop singer 18 February – Charlie Waite, landscape photographer 2 March – J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby international (died 2024) 6 March – Martin Buchan, footballer 9 March – Neil Hamilton, politician. 12 March – David Mellor, politician and broadcaster 13 March – Trevor Sorbie, celebrity hairdresser (died 2024) 17 March Alex Higgins, snooker player (died 2010) Stuart Rose, businessman and life peer 24 March – Nick Lowe, pop singer 26 March – Jon English, English-born Australian singer-songwriter and actor (died 2016 in Australia) 28 March – Kevin Lloyd, actor (died 1998) 1 April – Sammy Nelson, footballer 3 April – Richard Thompson, rock guitarist and songwriter 8 April – Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 (died 2018) 14 April – John Wallace, trumpeter (died 2026) 23 April – John Miles, rock music vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist (died 2021) 24 April Betty Jackson, fashion designer James Paice, farmer and politician 25 April – James Fenton, poet 29 April – Anita Dobson, actress 2 May – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter 3 May – Phil Scraton, criminologist 4 May – Lindsey Hughes, historian (died 2007) 13 May Jane Glover, conductor and musicologist Zoë Wanamaker, actress (born in New York) 18 May – Rick Wakeman, rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes) 21 May Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and broadcasterPaper tiger | Sunday Times | The Guardian Rosalind Plowright, opera singer 24 May Jim Broadbent, character actor Roger Deakins, cinematographer 26 May – Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party (2015-2020) 28 May – Susan Fitzgerald, British-born Irish actress (d. 2013)Susan FitzGerald obituary https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/10/susan-fitzgerald the Guardian 19 September 2021 en 10 September 2013 29 May – Francis Rossi, rock musician (lead singer, Status Quo) 30 May – Bob Willis, cricketer (fast bowler) (died 2019) 2 June – Heather Couper, astronomer (died 2020) 5 June – Ken Follett, novelist 10 June – Phil Redmond, screenwriter and television producer 13 June – Red Symons, English-born Australian musician and television personality 14 June Jim Lea, glam rock bassist/songwriter (Slade) Alan White, progressive rock drummer (Yes) (died 2022) 15 June – Simon Callow, actor 21 June John Agard, Guyanese-born poet Stuart Pearson, footballer 22 June – Brian Leveson, judge 7 July John Lippiett, senior Royal Navy officer Bob Stewart, colonel and politician 8 July – Carmel Cryan, actress 9 July – Nigel Lythgoe, television producer 13 July – Richard Caddel, poet (died 2003) 15 July – Trevor Horn, pop singer and producer 17 July – Geezer Butler, heavy metal bassist (Black Sabbath) 22 July – Geoffrey Durham, entertainer 26 July – Roger Taylor, rock drummer (Queen) 28 July Simon Kirke, drummer Steve Peregrin Took, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1980) 6 August – Alan Campbell, clergyman 12 August – Mark Knopfler, rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Dire Straits) 15 August Richard Deacon, sculptor Edward McMillan-Scott, lawyer and politician 21 August – Rosemary Lenton, para-bowler and wheelchair curlerRosemary Lenton https://www.birmingham2022.com/athletes/rosemary-lenton/0f077d8f-0a01-4352-bd26-6ccdf514dbcf Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022 8 March 2023 en 8 March 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230308204523/https://www.birmingham2022.com/athletes/rosemary-lenton/0f077d8f-0a01-4352-bd26-6ccdf514dbcf live 25 August Martin Amis, novelist (died 2023) Ross Davidson, actor (died 2006) 28 August – Martin Lamble, British folk rock musician (died 1969) 9 September John Curry, figure skater (died 1994) Jolyon Brettingham Smith, composer and radio presenter (died 2008) 10 September – Freddy Marks, actor and musician (died 2021) 13 September – Linda Colley, historian 18 September Mo Mowlam, Labour politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2005) Peter Shilton, footballer 19 September – Twiggy, born Lesley Hornby, model 23 September – John Connaughton, footballer (died 2022) 26 September – Minette Walters, crime writer 5 October – Peter Ackroyd, writer and historian 8 October – Chris Dobson, chemist (died 2019) 19 October – George Fenton, theme music composer (died 2026) 20 October – Jane Tucker, actress and musician 26 October – Maurice Gran, scriptwriter 30 October – Arabella Churchill, charity founder (died 2007) 1 November – Gerald Ratner, businessman 6 November – John Zarnecki, space scientist 7 November – Gerald Ashby, football referee (died 2001) 13 November – Terry Reid, musician (died 2025) 24 November Nick Ainger, Labour politician Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer 27 November – Brumas, polar bear (first born at London Zoo) 4 December – Paul Dickenson, hammer thrower 6 December Janet Anderson, politician (died 2023) Peter Willey, cricketerIf The Cap Fits Bateman Colin 1993 Tony Williams Publications 1-869833-21-X 187 https://archive.org/details/ifcapfits0000unse/page/187 12 December Chris Baillieu, rower and lawyer Bill Nighy, actor 13 December – Robert Lindsay, actor 16 December Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett, judge Stephanie Lawrence, singer and actress (died 2000) 17 December – Paul Rodgers, rock singer (Free) 21 December – Nicholas Penny, art historian and academic Michael Houghton, virologist, Nobel Prize winner Deaths 2 January – Jock McNab, footballer (born 1894) 9 January – Tommy Handley, radio comedian (born 1892) 21 January William Price Drury, novelist, playwright and Royal Marines officer (born 1861) J. H. Thomas, Welsh-born trade unionist and politician (born 1874) 22 January – Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett, industrialist and politician (born 1898) 10 February – Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, politician (born 1878) 19 March – Sir James Somerville, admiral (born 1882) 2 April – George Graves, comic actor (born 1876) 6 April – Sir Seymour Hicks, actor (born 1871) 14 April – Reginald Hine, local historian and solicitor, suicide (born 1883) 18 April – Will Hay, comic actor (born 1888) 28 April Sir Robert Robertson, chemist (born 1869) Sir Fabian Ware, founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (born 1869) 21 June – Edward Wadsworth, Vorticist painter (born 1889) 9 July – Fritz Hart, composer (born 1874) 15 July – Eva Hubback, feminist (born 1886) 25 July – Lilian Bowes Lyon, poet (born 1895) 31 July – Alfred Bashford, cricketer (born 1881) 9 August – G. E. M. Skues, inventor of nymph fly fishing (born 1858) 16 August – Tom Wintringham, soldier and politician (born 1898) 30 August – Arthur Fielder, cricketer (born 1877) 9 September – Fredegond Shove, poet (born 1889) 23 October – J. R. Clynes, trade unionist and Labour leader (born 1869) 24 October – Thomas Rowland Hughes, writer (born 1903) 30 October – Denis Eden, painter (born 1878) 27 November – Tom Walls, actor and director (born 1883) 30 November – Dame Irene Vanbrugh, actress (born 1872) 5 December – Arthur Bedford, navy officer (born 1881) 13 December – John Hope, Liberal politician (born 1860) 16 December – George Maitland Lloyd Davies, pacifist politician (born 1880) 24 December – Gertrude Bacon, aeronautical pioneer (born 1874) See also List of British films of 1949 References 2 1949 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1949 by country Category:1940s in the United Kingdom Category:1949 in Europe