1968 in the United Kingdom

none September 2020 January 2013 1968 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1968 British Grand Prix 1968 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1968 in British television 1968 in British music 1968 in British radio UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 Events from the year 1968 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Harold Wilson (Labour) Events thumb|150px|right January January – The Ford Escort car is introduced to replace the Anglia. 1 January – Cecil Day-Lewis is announced as the new Poet Laureate, in succession to John Masefield.The Times 2 January 1968 1 57138 C. Day Lewis Is Poet Laureate Rita Marshall 5 January – Gardeners' World debuts on BBC1 television, featuring Percy Thrower. http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/news/features/gardeners_world_at_40_1_1093309 Hannah Stephenson Gardeners' World at 40 Bedford Today 24 September 2007 2015-11-10February 2021 InternetArchiveBot yes 8 January – Prime Minister Harold Wilson endorses the 'I'm Backing Britain' campaign, encouraging workers to work extra time without pay or take other actions to help competitiveness, which is spreading across the United Kingdom.John Chartres Wilson Joins 'I Back Britain' The Times 9 January 1968 1 11 January–4 February – Hull triple trawler tragedy: three fishing trawlers from the port of Hull sink in separate incidents, killing 58 crew with just one survivor and leading to major changes to safety practice in the industry.Creed Rupert Turning the Tide: The 1968 Trawler Tragedy and the Wives' Campaign for Safety Back Door Press Hull 1998 0-9534555-0-5 16 January – Prime Minister Wilson announces that the Civil Defence Corps is being stood down.http://www.civildefenceassociation.org.uk/HistCDWebA4V7.pdf?bcsi_scan_A4C9E8056B19D97F=0&bcsi_scan_filename=HistCDWebA4V7.pdf Frank Raine-Allen 1968 Stand-Down 53–58 Essex-Lopresti, Tim A Brief History of Civil Defence Matlock Civil Defence Association 2005 0-9550153-0-8 February 4 February – 96 Indians and Pakistanis arrive in the United Kingdom from Kenya. Some 1,500 Asians have now arrived in the UK from Kenya, where they have been forced out by increasingly draconian immigration laws.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/4/newsid_2738000/2738629.stm 1968: More Kenyan Asians flee to Britain On This Day BBC News 4 February 1968 2011-08-12 6–18 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, but do not win any medals. 14 February Northampton, the county town of Northamptonshire, is designated as a new town, with the Labour Government hoping to double its size and population by 1980.http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Transport/TP/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Chapter%202%20Problems%20and%20Opportunites%20-%20Section2.2%20(pdf%20format%203044kb).pdf 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 Constitutional law case of Padfield v Minister of Agriculture is decided in the House of Lords, determining that a minister's discretion to refuse an investigation is subject to judicial review where a refusal would frustrate the policy of an Act. 15 February – The Royal Navy makes the first test firing of a Polaris nuclear ballistic missile, from the submarine HMS Resolution.1960s Nigel Gross etal HarperCollins Glasgow Collins Gem 1999 0-00-472310-4 24 February – Announcement of the first discovery (last year) of a pulsar by astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell working with Antony Hewish at the University of Cambridge.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 1968Natur.217..709H 4277613 26 February – Shelton Hospital fire: a fire at Shelton Mental Hospital, Shrewsbury, kills 21 patients. March 1 March Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 further reduces right of entry for citizens from the British Commonwealth to the UK. First performance of an Andrew Lloyd Webber–Tim Rice musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in its original form as a "pop cantata", by pupils of Colet Court preparatory school in Hammersmith.Vocal Selections: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Hal Leonard 1994 Milwaukee, WI 978-0-7935-3427-2 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.http://www.blackcountrysociety.co.uk/articles/baggeridge2.htm 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 usurped 12 March – The island of Mauritius achieves independence from the UK.The Hutchinson Factfinder Helicon 1999 978-1-85986-000-7 14 March – The London Gold Pool will be closed from tomorrow as agreed late this evening by the U.K. government at the request of the United States and to stem the losses being suffered by the pound sterling.https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/mar/14/london-gold-market-closing Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) 14 March 1968 House of Commons Sitting, London Gold Market Closing, HC Deb vol 760 cc1855-62 15 March – In the early hours, the Prime Minister convenes a meeting of the privy council to declare today a non-statutory bank holiday, allowing the government to help stabilise the financial markets. George Brown, the Foreign Secretary, apparently drunk, is absent from meetings to discuss the crisisJohn Dickinson Brown Riddle in Dollar Row The Evening News London 1968-03-15 1 and is forced to resign from the government.Peter Paterson Tired and Emotional: the life of Lord George-Brown London Chatto & Windus 1993 9780701139766 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. The Acton by-election sees the first electoral appearance of the far-right National Front. 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/7/newsid_2837000/2837559.stm 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 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U5plAAAAIBAJ&pg=4552,3700104&dq=opinion+poll+wilson&hl=en The Sun (Vancouver) news.google.com 18 April – London Bridge sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch, for £1,029,000, who rebuilds it at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 978-0-14-102715-9 2006 20 April – Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood Speech on immigration, in Birmingham.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/20/newsid_2489000/2489357.stm 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 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.Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood Speech https://web.archive.org/web/20091230072709/http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/rivers_blood2.html 30 December 2009 23 April – Five and ten pence coins are introduced in the run-up to Decimalisation, which will be complete within the next three years. 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 1 May – RAF Strike Command is created within the Royal Air Force by consolidation of RAF Bomber Command and RAF Fighter Command.Ken Delve Bomber Command 1936–1968 Barnsley Pen and Sword 2005 1844151832 57 3 May – Mr. Frederick West (aged 45) becomes the United Kingdom's first heart transplant patient, in London.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_4294000/4294423.stm 1968: Surgeons conduct UK's first heart transplant 3 May 1968 news.bbc.co.uk 8 May The Kray Twins, 34-year-old Ronnie and Reggie, are among 18 men arrested in dawn raids across London. They stand accused of a series of crimes including murder, fraud, blackmail and assault. Their 41-year-old brother Charlie Kray is one of the other 16 men under arrest.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/8/newsid_2518000/2518695.stm 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 A possible coup against Harold Wilson is suggested in a meeting arranged by newspaper publisher Cecil Harmsworth King with Lord Mountbatten: King enquires whether Mountbatten would take over government in the event of civil disorder but is rebuffed.Hugh Cudlipp Hugh Cudlipp 1976 Walking on Water 11 May – Manchester City win the Football League First Division title.http://www.football-england.com/newcastle_3_man_city_4_1968.html 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 16 May – Ronan Point tower block in the east London Borough of Newham collapses after a gas explosion, killing four occupants. 18 May – West Bromwich Albion win the FA Cup for the fifth time, with Jeff Astle scoring the only goal of the game against Everton at the Wembley Stadium. 22 May – The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland permits the ordination of women as ministers.Ordination of women is approved The Times London 23 May 1968 3 57258 29 May – Manchester United become the first English winners of the European Cup after beating Benfica 4–1 in extra time at Wembley Stadium.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/29/newsid_4464000/4464446.stm 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 May – The National Liberal Party is wholly assimilated into the Conservative Party. 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%.2013-06-06 Dagenham sewing machinists recall strike that changed women's lives http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jun/06/dagenham-sewing-machinists-strike 2020-08-26 The Guardian en 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 and has been living in London for a month, is arrested at Heathrow Airport when he attempts to depart on a flight bound for Brussels en route to seek a mercenary position in Africa. 10 June – The National Health Service reintroduces prescription charges.Palmer Alan Palmer Veronica 1992 The Chronology of British History Century Ltd. London 427–428 978-0-7126-5616-0 18 June – The United Kingdom's first heart transplant patient, Frederick West, 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 July – Cotton trading at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, ceases. 1–2 July – July 1968 England and Wales dust fall storms. 4 July – Alec Rose returns to Southsea from a 354-day single-handed round-the-world trip for which he receives a knighthood the following day.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2744000/2744481.stm 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 10 July – Floods in South West England.The great flood of 1968 Memories of Bristol http://weldgen.tripod.com/the-great-flood-1968/index.html 2006-01-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20060502142132/http://weldgen.tripod.com/the-great-flood-1968/index.html 2 May 2006 17 July – The Beatles animated film Yellow Submarine is premiered in London. 26 July – Theft Act 1968 (coming into effect 1 January 1969 in England and Wales) passed, simplifying offences relating to property crime and abolishing the offence of larceny.Theft Act 1968 (text as originally enacted). 30 July – Thames Television starts transmission in London. 31 July – BBC television sitcom Dad's Army is broadcast for the first time in the UK.BBC – History of the BBC, Dad's Army 31 July 1968 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06g29z4 BBC 30 July 2018 11 February 2022 August 8 August – Royal Navy Leander frigate 0 frigate Scylla F71 6 is launched at Devonport, the last ship to be built in a Royal Dockyard. 11 August – British Rail's last steam train service runs on the standard gauge: steam locomotives make the 314 mi km on return passenger journey from Liverpool to Carlisle before being dispatched to the scrapyard or preservation. 31 August – First Isle of Wight Festival is held. 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. https://web.archive.org/web/20081121163550/http://www.middleschoolresearch.org.uk/middschinfo.html 21 November 2008 Japanese carmaker Nissan launches its Datsun badged range of cars onto the British market.http://www.reallyloud.co.uk/nissandatsun/ Nissan/Datsun – reallyloud.co.uk 14 August 2018 14 August 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180814170246/http://www.reallyloud.co.uk/nissandatsun/ dead 8 September – English tennis player Virginia Wade wins the 1968 U.S. Open Women's Singles event. 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. 26 September – Theatres Act 1968 (royal assent 26 July) ends censorship of the theatre. 27 September – US musical Hair opens in London following the removal of theatre censorship.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/27/newsid_3107000/3107815.stm 1968: Musical Hair opens as censors withdraw BBC News 2008-01-15 27 September 1968 October October – The M1 motorway is completed when the final 35-mile section opens between Rotherham and Leeds.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Police-STOP-Response-Vehicles-England-ebook/dp/B01M672L1C Police STOP!: Patrol and Response Vehicles in England and Wales Paddy Carpenter 20 October 2016 Amberley Publishing Amazon 2 October A woman from Birmingham gives birth to the first recorded instance of live sextuplets in the UK; 5 survive.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/2/newsid_3107000/3107371.stm 1968: Birth of sextuplets stuns Britain BBC News 2008-01-15 2 October 1968 The Sound of Music soundtrack album exceeds 2 million sales in the UK, meaning that one in four homes with a record player has the recording. 5 October – A civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland, which includes several Stormont and British MPs, is batoned off the streets by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/5/newsid_4286000/4286818.stm 1968: Londonderry march ends in violence BBC News 2008-01-15 5 October 1968 6 October – British racing drivers Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees take the first three places at the United States Grand Prix. 8 October – Enoch Powell warns that immigrants "may change the character" of England.Birmingham Post 8 October 2007 12–27 October – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics in Mexico City and win 5 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. 13 October – The rebuilt Euston railway station opens. 18 October – National Giro opens for business through the General Post Office,https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1968/oct/17/national-giro-service National Giro Service Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) 17 October 1968 2011-08-12 with administrative headquarters at Bootle. 27 October – Police and protestors clash at an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the Embassy of the United States in London.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/27/newsid_2478000/2478197.stm 1968: Police clash with anti-war protesters BBC News 2008-01-15 27 October 1968 31 October – Alan Bennett's play Forty Years On premieres at the Apollo Theatre in the West End. November 18 November – James Watt Street fire: a warehouse fire in Glasgow kills 22 people.James Watt Street Fire http://www.sunnygovan.com/PLACES/Places/JamesWattStreetFire.html SunnyGovan 2010-07-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20100603202611/http://www.sunnygovan.com/PLACES/Places/JamesWattStreetFire.html 3 June 2010 dead 21 November – The Cyril Lord carpet business goes into receivership.http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers2/Olleren.pdf Innovation and Corporate Failure: Cyril Lord in UK Textiles 1945–1968 Philip Ollerenshaw 2006 2011-09-02 22 November – The Beatles ("The White Album") and The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society are released.Andrew Andrew Marr Marr A History of Modern Britain London Macmillan 2007 978-1-4050-0538-8 281 26 November – The Race Relations Act is passed, making it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services to people in England, Wales and Scotland because of their ethnic background.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/26/newsid_3220000/3220635.stm 1968: Race discrimination law tightened 26 November 1968 news.bbc.co.uk 29 November – Dawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order extends the boundaries of Dawley New Town in Shropshire and renames it Telford. 30 November – The Trade Descriptions Act comes into force, preventing shops and traders from describing goods in a misleading way.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/30/newsid_4018000/4018793.stm 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 December 11 December – The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is filmed (but is not released until 1996). 17 December Mary Bell, an eleven-year-old girl from Newcastle upon Tyne, is sentenced to life detention for the manslaughter of two small boys.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/17/newsid_3261000/3261087.stm 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 Official opening of first phase of the Royal Mint's new Llantrisant plant in South Wales. Late December – Cases of Hong Kong flu, sporadic since summer in the UK, begin to rise. Over the coming year the pandemic will kill approximately 80,000.Bennett Asa Half a century ago stoic Britons battle a similar health crisis without any lockdown https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/02/britain-handled-1968-flu-epidemic-shutdown-avoided-second-wave/ 2020-12-13 The Telegraph London 2020-05-02 Full date unknown BackCare medical research charity is founded.Allan David B Waddell Gordon 1989-01-01 An historical perspective on low back pain and disability https://doi.org/10.3109/17453678909153916 Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica 60 sup234 1–23 10.3109/17453678909153916 2533783 22502801 0001-6470 subscription free Publications Agatha Christie's novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs. Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. Lawrence Durrell's novel Tunc, first of The Revolt of Aphrodite pair. Paul Scott's novel The Day of the Scorpion, second of the Raj Quartet. John Wyndham's novel Chocky. 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 16 January – Atticus Ross, English musician, songwriter, record producer and audio engineer 27 January Matthew d'Ancona, British journalist, editor of The Spectator Tricky (born Adrian Thaws), English rapper and musician 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 Christina McKelvie, Scottish politician and social worker (died 2025) 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 Jaye Davidson, British actor Gary Walsh, English footballer 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 16 May – Stephen Mangan, actor 17 May – Levi Bellfield, né Rabbetts, serial killer 27 May Rebekah Brooks, journalist, editor of The Sun Ekow Eshun, arts journalist and administrator 29 May Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish peer Jessica Morden, British Labour politician and MP for Newport East 2 June Jon Culshaw, English comedian and impressionist Mike Dean, football referee 4 June – Ian Taylor, footballer 5 June Mel Giedroyc, actress and comedian Edward Vaizey, British Conservative politician and MP for Wantage 7 June – Sarah Parish, English actress 13 June David Gray, British folk rock singer-songwriter Marcel Theroux, British novelist and broadcaster, son of American writer Paul Theroux 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 27 July – Carl Sargeant, Welsh politician (suicide 2017)https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-41904460 Carl Sargeant: Profile of long-serving AM's career BBC News 7 November 2017 4 August – Lee Mack, English comedian 5 August – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver (died 2007) 8 August – Julian Dicks, English footballer 14 August Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer Jane Couch, boxer Adrian Lester, British actor 15 August – Kate Osamor, Labour Party politicianhttps://www.politics.co.uk/reference/kate-osamor Kate Osamor politics.co.uk 17 August – Helen McCrory, English actress (died 2021)Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory dies, aged 52 https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/helen-ccrory-dies/ Radio Times 16 April 2021 en 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 Anas Altikriti, British anti-war activist Julia Sawalha, English actress 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 Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer Roger Moorhouse, British historian and author 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 Sonita Alleyne, Barbados-born media production company executive and college principal Julian Baggini, philosopher Andrew O'Hagan, Scottish writer and novelist Deaths January – March 27 January – Maxwell Knight, spymaster and naturalist (born 1900) 6 February – Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, Welsh journalist (born 1883) 17 February – Sir Donald Wolfit, actor-manager (born 1902) 20 February – Anthony Asquith, director and writer (born 1902) April – June 7 April – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver, racetrack accident in Germany (born 1936) 19 April – Ronald Urquhart, general (born 1906) 3 May – Ness Edwards, Welsh politician (born 1897) 7 May – Mike Spence, English race car driver, racetrack accident (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) See also 1968 in British music 1968 in British television List of British films of 1968 References 30em 1968 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1968 by country Category:1960s in the United Kingdom Category:1968 in Europe