1969 in the United Kingdom

none December 2020 January 2013 1969 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1969 British Grand Prix 1969 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1969 in British television 1969 in British music 1969 in British radio UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 Events from the year 1969 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the beginnings of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Harold Wilson (Labour) Events January January – The Space hopper toy is introduced to the United Kingdom.https://space-hopper.blogspot.com/2006/08/1969-space-hopper-in-britain.html Andy 1968 and 1969: The Space Hopper in Britain Spacehopper 2 September 2006 2010-09-09 2 January People's Democracy begins a march from Belfast to Derry City, Northern Ireland to gain publicity and to promote its cause. Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch purchases the best-selling UK Sunday newspaper The News of the World.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/2/newsid_2492000/2492157.stm 1969: Murdoch wins Fleet Street foothold BBC News 2008-02-11 2 January 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080307123005/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/2/newsid_2492000/2492157.stm 7 March 2008 live 4 January – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix causes complaints of arrogance from television producers after playing an impromptu version of "Sunshine Of Your Love" past his allotted timeslot on the BBC1 programme Happening for Lulu. 5 January – Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 of the 62 people on board and two of the home's occupants.Kelly G. M. Civil Aircraft Accident Report No. EW/C/303: Report on the Accident to Boeing 727-112C YA-FAR 1.5 miles east of London (Gatwick) Airport on 5th January 1969 http://www.gatwickaviationsociety.org.uk/YA-FAR.asp HMSO June 1970 2013-02-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20120907045653/http://www.gatwickaviationsociety.org.uk/YA-FAR.asp 2012-09-07 dead 10 January – Protesters in Northern Ireland defy police orders to abandon a planned march.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/10/newsid_2518000/2518541.stm 1969: Civil rights protesters defiant BBC News 2008-02-11 10 January 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080307122840/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/10/newsid_2518000/2518541.stm 7 March 2008 live 14 January – Sir Matt Busby, hugely successful manager of Manchester United F.C. for the last twenty-four years, announces his retirement as manager. He will become a director at the end of the season, and hand over first-team duties to current first team trainer and former player Wilf McGuinness.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/14/newsid_3334000/3334059.stm 1969: Matt Busby retires from Man United BBC News 2008-01-10 14 January 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080117111940/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/14/newsid_3334000/3334059.stm 17 January 2008 live 17 January – Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity Barbara Castle publishes a White Paper In Place of Strife proposing powers of intervention in advance of industrial action. This proves unacceptable to the Trades Union Congress.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/932237.stm BBC News 3 May 2002 1 October 2010 Barbara Castle: Labour's red queen 18 January – Pete Best wins his defamation lawsuit against The Beatles. He had originally sought $8,000,000 but is awarded considerably less.October 2025 24 January Violent protests by students about the installation of steel security gates close the London School of Economics, which does not reopen for three weeks.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/24/newsid_2506000/2506485.stm 1969: LSE closes over student clashes BBC News 2008-02-11 24 January 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080128025720/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/24/newsid_2506000/2506485.stm 28 January 2008 live Launch of the Ford Capri, a four-seater sporting coupe designed to compete with the likes of the MG B and which Ford expects to become a top 10 seller in the United Kingdom.http://www.retrocaricons.com/article/Ford_Capri_Mk_1_and_Mk_1_Facelift_138 Ford Capri Mk 1 and Mk 1 Facelift Retro Car Icons 2014-03-03 27 January London School of Economics students occupy the University of London Union building in Malet Street in protest at the temporary closure of the LSE.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/27/newsid_2506000/2506255.stm 1969: Rebel students take over LSE BBC News 2008-02-11 27 January 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080130145451/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/27/newsid_2506000/2506255.stm 30 January 2008 live Reverend Ian Paisley, the hard line Protestant leader in Northern Ireland, is jailed for three months for illegal assembly. 30 January – The Beatles' rooftop concert: The Beatles perform together in public for the final time, on the rooftop of Apple Records in London;Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 0-14-102715-0 2006 the impromptu concert is broken up by the police. February 18 February – Pop star Lulu, 20, marries Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees at St James Church, Gerrards Cross.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/18/newsid_2550000/2550641.stm 1969: Lulu ties knot with Bee Gee BBC News 2008-01-10 18 February 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080101095647/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/18/newsid_2550000/2550641.stm 1 January 2008 live March 4 March – The Kray twins are both found guilty of murder: Ronnie of murdering George Cornell; Reggie of murdering Jack "the Hat" McVitie.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/4/newsid_2515000/2515103.stm 1969: Kray twins guilty of McVitie murder BBC News 2008-01-10 4 March 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20071227225232/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/4/newsid_2515000/2515103.stm 27 December 2007 live On 5 March, they are sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of thirty years by Mr Justice Melford Stevenson.The Times London 6 March 1969 1 57502 Clive Borrell At least 30 years' gaol for the Kray twins 5 March – The first B&Q DIY superstore is set up in Southampton by Richard Block and David Quayle.https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/jul/17/shopping.homes The Guardian London Fear of diy-ing Miranda Sawyer 17 July 2004 2010-04-26 7 March – The London Underground Victoria line is opened by The Queen. 12 March – Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman at Marylebone register office in London. 17 March – The Longhope life-boat from Orkney is lost; all eight crew members on board perish. 19 March British paratroopers and Marines land on the island of Anguilla, ending its unrecognized independence. The 385-metre tall Emley Moor transmitting station television mast in West Yorkshire collapses because of ice. 20 March – John Lennon marries Japanese artist Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. 27 March – First ordination of a woman in the Church of Scotland takes place, that of Catherine McConnachie by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.https://books.google.com/books?id=xBCH2wXyjmsC&dq=Catherine+McConnachie+Presbytery+of+Aberdeen&pg=PA33 In Good Company: Women in the Ministry MacLeod, Iain Orr Jean Mayland Pilgrimage to Priesthood and Beyond Glasgow Wild Goose 1-901557-15-4 1999 33 1 February 2011 29 March – Lulu, representing the UK with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang", shares first place in the Eurovision Song Contest in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands and the host country, Spain. April April – The Raleigh Chopper children's wheelie bike is launched. 1 April – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 V/STOL "jump jet" fighter enters service with the Royal Air Force. 9 April The British prototype Concorde airliner makes its first flight, from Bristol Filton Airport (the first French flight was on 2 March). Sikh busmen in Wolverhampton win the right to wear their turbans whilst on duty.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/9/newsid_2523000/2523691.stm 1969: Sikh busmen win turban fight BBC News 2008-01-10 9 April 1969 15 April - Roy Jenkins, Chancellor of the Exchequer, ends tax relief on loan interest except for business loans and home loans.The Times 16 April 1969 25 17 April Representation of the People Act lowers the voting age from 21 to 18 with effect from February 1970. It also permits candidates to have a party label included on the ballot paper; removes the right (theoretically restored in 1967) of convicted prisoners to vote in Parliamentary elections; and in local government elections abolishes plural voting by owners of business premises (except in the City of London).Halsey A. H. https://books.google.com/books?id=x3euCwAAQBAJ&q=%22Representation+of+the+people+act+1969%22+%22business+vote%22&pg=PA298 British Social Trends since 1900 1988 Springer 9781349194667 298 A. H. Halsey Bernadette Devlin wins the Mid Ulster by-election and becomes the youngest female MP (until 2015) at 21 years old. 20 April – British troops arrive in Northern Ireland to reinforce the Royal Ulster Constabulary. 22 April – Robin Knox-Johnston becomes the first person to make a solo non-stop global circumnavigation under sail, returning to Falmouth, Cornwall. 24 April British Leyland Motor Corporation launches the United Kingdom's first production hatchback car, the Austin Maxi, designed to compete with family saloons like the Ford Cortina and following a new European design concept started in 1965 by French carmaker Renault's R16 range.AROnline https://archive.today/20120718115310/http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?lm10storyf.htm 18 July 2012 . The final episode of the long-running BBC Radio serial drama Mrs Dale's Diary is broadcast. 26 April – Manchester City F.C. win the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Leicester City in the Wembley final.1969: Manchester City http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1969.htm The FA Cup 2011-11-12 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100415223938/http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1969.htm 15 April 2010 28 April – Leeds United win the Football League First Division title for the first time in their history.28 April 1969 - Liverpool 0 Leeds United 0 http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19690428.htm The Mighty Mighty Whites: the definitive history of Leeds United 2011-11-12 May 2 May – Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs from Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. 22 May – Chichester by-election, Christopher Chataway, who had lost his previous seat in the 1966 election, holds the seat for the Conservative Party. 23 May – The Who release the concept album Tommy. (On 14 December they perform it as a rock opera on stage at the London Coliseum.) 29 May – Carry On Camping is released, becoming the year's most popular film at the UK box office.The World's Top Twenty Films The Sunday Times London 1970-09-27 27 June 7 June – Rock supergroup Blind Faith plays its first gig in front of 100,000 people in London's Hyde Park. 14 June – The black horse Burmese, ridden by the Queen, makes her first appearance at Trooping the Colour; the horse will continue in this role until 1986. 21 June The showing of television documentary The Royal Family, attracted more than 30,600,000 viewers, more than half of the entire UK population at the time, an all-time British record for a non-current event programme.https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/great_moments/archive/june.shtml June anniversaries The BBC Story BBC 2011-03-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20110128104134/http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/great_moments/archive/june.shtml 28 January 2011 dead Patrick Troughton makes his final appearance as the Second Doctor in Doctor Who in the final episode of The War Games which is also the last episode to be recorded in black and white. 24 June – After the 1969 Rhodesian constitutional referendum votes in favour of becoming a Republic, the Governor of Southern Rhodesia Sir Humphrey Gibbs leaves Government House, severing Rhodesia's last diplomatic relationship with the United Kingdom. 30 June – Two members of the Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (Movement for the Defence of Wales) are killed when a bomb they are planting outside government offices in Abergele in an attempt to disrupt the following day's events explodes prematurely.http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh-politics/welsh-politics-news/2008/11/20/militants-key-role-in-coming-of-devolution-left-ignored-deliberately-91466-22299413/ Martin Shipton 'Militants' key role in coming of devolution left ignored deliberately' WalesOnline 20 November 2008 2010-07-22 July 1 July Prince Charles (the future Charles III), is invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon. John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their children are hospitalised at Golspie in Scotland following a car accident while on holiday.John Lennon crashes his car in Scotland http://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/07/01/john-lennon-crashes-his-car-in-scotland/ The Beatles Bible 1969-07-01 2013-10-24 3 July – Swansea is granted city status. 5 July – The Rolling Stones performs at the free festival The Stones in the Park outdoors in Hyde Park, London, in front of at least a quarter of a million fans, two days after the death of founder Brian Jones. 10 July – Donald Crowhurst's sailing trimaran Teignmouth Electron is found drifting and unoccupied in mid-Atlantic; it is presumed that Crowhurst committed suicide (or fell overboard) at sea earlier in the month, having falsified his progress in the solo Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.Peter Johnson The Guinness Book of Yachting Facts and Feats Enfield Guinness Superlatives 1975 0-900424-30-3 173 12 July – Golfer Tony Jacklin wins The Open Championship, the first British player to do so since 1951. 20–21 July – BBC Television continues broadcasting overnight to provide coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing; Neil Armstrong's first steps on the surface take place at 03:56 British Summer Time on 21 July. Television coverage to Europe is transmitted via Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall.How Cornish satellite 'Arthur' beamed the historic Moon landing to Europe Rupert Evelyn https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-19/how-cornish-satellite-arthur-beamed-the-historic-moon-landing-to-europe-without-a-plan-b/ 2019-07-19 2019-07-21 ITV 23 July – BBC2 television first airs the Pot Black snooker tournament. 24 July – British lecturer Gerald Brooke is freed from a Soviet prison in exchange for the spies Morris and Lona Cohen.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/24/newsid_2513000/2513233.stm 1969: Briton freed from Soviet prison BBC News 2008-01-10 24 July 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080103173953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/24/newsid_2513000/2513233.stm 3 January 2008 live 25 July – The Family Law Reform Act 1969 receives royal assent and comes partly into effect in England and Wales. It reduces the age of majority from 21 to 18 (with effect from 1 January 1970); allows a bastard child to inherit on the intestacy of a parent; and allows competent 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to medical treatment.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/46 Family Law Reform Act 1969 August 1 August – The pre-decimal halfpenny ceases to be legal tender. 8 August – The Beatles at 11:30 have photographer Iain Macmillan take their photo on a zebra crossing on Abbey Road, London. 12 August – The Troubles: Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside, and four days of sectarian violence elsewhere in Northern Ireland. 13 August – The Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, Jack Lynch, makes a speech on Teilifís Éireann saying that his government "can no longer stand by" and requesting a United Nations peacekeeping force for Northern Ireland.Jack Lynch on the Situation in North 13 August 1969 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9e-dGwiDM4 https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/Y9e-dGwiDM4 2021-12-13 live YouTube 2011-09-01 14 August – British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland to restore law and order.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/14/newsid_4075000/4075437.stm 1969: British troops sent into Northern Ireland BBC News 2008-01-10 14 August 1969 30–31 August – The second Isle of Wight Festival attracts 150,000 pop music fans, paying £10 2s for a 3-day ticket, with the appearance of Bob Dylan a major draw.Palmer Alan Palmer Veronica 1992 The Chronology of British History Century Ltd London 429–430 0-7126-5616-2 September 11 September – The housing charity Shelter releases a report claiming that there are up to 3,000,000 people in need of rehousing due to poor living conditions.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/11/newsid_3037000/3037650.stm 1969: Shelter exposes slum homelessness BBC News 2008-01-10 11 September 1969 16 September – Iconic 1960s fashion store Biba reopens on Kensington High Street. 21 September – Police evicts squatters of the London Street Commune from 144 Piccadilly.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_3092000/3092343.stm 1969: Police storm squat in Piccadilly BBC News 2008-01-10 21 September 1969 https://web.archive.org/web/20080105023353/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_3092000/3092343.stm 5 January 2008 live 26 September – The Beatles release their Abbey Road album which is an enormous commercial success and, although receiving mixed reviews at this time, comes to be viewed by many as the group's best. 28 September – The National Trust acquires ownership of the island of Lundy. October 1 October – The Post Office becomes a statutory corporation. 5 October – The first episode of surreal sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus is broadcast on BBC Television. 10 October – The Government accepts the recommendations of Lord Hunt's report on policing in Northern Ireland, including the abolition of the Ulster Special Constabulary.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/10/newsid_3146000/3146929.stm 1969: Ulster's B Specials to be disbanded BBC News 2008-01-10 10 October 1969 13 October – An unofficial strike amongst British mineworkers begins, over the working hours of surface workers. 14 October The new seven-sided fifty pence coin is introduced as replacement for the ten-shilling note, to a mixed reception from the British public, with many people complaining that it is easily confused with the 10p coin.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/14/newsid_3151000/3151539.stm 1969: New 50-pence coin sparks confusion BBC News 2008-01-10 14 October 1969 With a general election due within the next eighteen months, opinion polls show the Conservatives comfortably ahead of Labour, by up to 24 points.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IGxkAAAAIBAJ&pg=1241,4966830&dq=opinion+poll+wilson&hl=en The Calgary Herald - Google News Archive Search 16 October – Peter Nichols' black comedy The National Health is premiered by the National Theatre at the Old Vic in London.Past productions 1963-1970 http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/8248/past-events/past-productions-19631970.html nationaltheatre.org.uk National Theatre 2011-03-15 https://archive.today/20100522033912/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/8248/past-events/past-productions-19631970.html 22 May 2010 dead 21 October – Led Zeppelin release Led Zeppelin II to critical acclaim and commercial success. 27 October – A mass wildlife cull takes place in Surrey after 2 people are bitten by a rabid dog.1960s Nigel Gross etal HarperCollins Glasgow Collins Gem 1999 0-00-472310-4 November 15 November – Regular colour television broadcasts begin on BBC1 and ITV.Colour Television Chronology http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/colour_chronology.html British TV History 2010-10-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20101027003246/http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/colour_chronology.html 27 October 2010 dead 16 November – BBC One first broadcasts the children's television series Clangers, made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin's Smallfilms in stop motion animation. 17 November – The Sun newspaper is relaunched as a tabloid under the ownership of Rupert Murdoch. 19 November – Ken Loach's film Kes is released at the London Film Festival. 25 November – John Lennon returns his MBE to protest against the British Government's involvement in Biafra and support of the U.S. war in Vietnam. December 5 December – The Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed is released. 10 December – Derek Harold Richard Barton wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Odd Hassel "for their contributions to the development of the concept of conformation and its application in chemistry".http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1969/ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1969 2008-01-10 15 December – Martins Bank is purchased by Barclays. 17 December – Constitutional law case of Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission decided in the House of Lords establishes in English administrative law the "collateral fact doctrine", that any error of law made by a public body will make its decision a nullity and that a statutory exclusion clause does not deprive the courts from their jurisdiction in judicial review unless it expressly states this. 18 December The abolition of the death penalty for murder is made permanent by Parliament. The sixth James Bond film – On Her Majesty's Secret Service – is released in UK cinemas. Bond is played by Australian-born model George Lazenby for the only time, after Sean Connery quit the role following You Only Live Twice. Starring alongside him is Yorkshire-born actress Diana Rigg.On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/movies/ohmss.php3 MI6 2010-10-05 9 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090109052203/http://www.mi6.co.uk//sections/movies/ohmss.php3 usurped 26 December – A fire at the Rose and Crown Hotel, Saffron Walden, kills eleven.http://fire.org.uk/history-of-fire-safety.html History of Fire Safety FireNet 2009 2011-01-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20101215182743/http://fire.org.uk/history-of-fire-safety.html 15 December 2010 dead 30 December – The Linwood bank robbery in Scotland leaves two police officers dead. Undated Golden eagles are found to be nesting in England for the first time in modern history, at Haweswater in the Lake District.http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/h/haweswater/work.asp Haweswater RSPB 2007-04-04 Completion of the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, the largest postwar housing estate in the United Kingdom. The new estate predominantly consists of council housing, including 34 tower blocks – the largest number on any single British housing estate. The first residents moved onto Castle Vale in 1964 when the first houses and flats were completed.http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/castle-vale Archived copy 2012-09-18 dead http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121205163858/http%3A//www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/castle%2Dvale 5 December 2012 Publications Kingsley Amis's novel The Green Man. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel Hallowe'en Party. John Fowles' novel The French Lieutenant's Woman. Antonia Fraser's biography Mary Queen of Scots. George MacDonald Fraser's novel Flashman. P. H. Newby's novel Something to Answer For. The anthology Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain edited by Michael Horovitz. Births January – March 1 January – Nicholas Gleaves, actor and playwright 4 January – Mary Macleod, lawyer and politician 12 January – David Mitchell, English authorWalton Rob Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months 24 September 2019 Rowman & Littlefield 978-1-64143-316-7 82 https://books.google.com/books?id=6dKpDwAAQBAJ&dq=David+Mitchell+12+january+1969&pg=PA82 en 13 January – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player 22 January – Olivia d'Abo, English actress 5 February – Michael Sheen, Welsh actor 6 February – Tim Sherwood, English football player and manager 12 February – Kanya King, businesswoman (died 2026) 19 February – Stewart Faulkner, English long jumper 20 February – Robin Ince, English comedian and writer 21 February – James Dean Bradfield, Welsh musician (Manic Street Preachers) 28 February – Sadie Morgan, English architect and designer 1 March – Dafydd Ieuan, Welsh drummer (Super Furry Animals) 4 March – Jez Butterworth, dramatist and screenwriter 5 March – Paul Blackthorne, English actor 15 March – Monica Dolan, actress 17 March – Alexander McQueen, fashion designer (died 2010) 20 March – Yvette Cooper, politician April – June 4 April – Karren Brady, English sporting business executive 9 April Tracie Andrews, English criminal convicted of murdering her fiancé Barnaby Kay, actor 22 April – Dion Dublin, football player and commentator 26 April – Kate Hardie, actress, director and screenwriter 27 April Darcey Bussell, ballerina Tess Daly, English television presenter Mica Paris, born Michelle Wallen, soul singer, presenter and actress 6 May – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer 21 May – Martin Harris, English backstroke swimmer 25 May – Dominic Mohan, journalist June – Emma Walmsley, English business executive 2 June Cy Chadwick, English actor and producer Jamie Thraves, English film writer, director and music video director 16 June – Shami Chakrabarti, politician and human rights activist 22 June – Simon Taylor, English graphic artist July – September 26 July – Tanni Grey-Thompson, British Paralympian 1 August – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer (suicide 2024) 4 August – Jojo Moyes, English romance novelist 7 August – Domino Harvey, British bounty hunter (died 2005) 11 August – Ashley Jensen, Scottish actress 29 August – Joe Swail, Northern Irish snooker player 4 September – James Cleverly, English politician 20 September – Jo Jennings, English high jumper 22 September – Sue Perkins, English comedy performer 25 September – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress 26 September – Paul Warhurst, English football player 28 September – Angus Robertson, Scottish politician October – December 9 October PJ Harvey, English rock singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Steve McQueen, black British film director 15 October – Dominic West, English actor 16 October – Suzanne Virdee, BBC newsreader 1 November – Diane Parish, actress 13 November – Gerard Butler, Scottish actorGerard Butler https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbda95d0c https://web.archive.org/web/20160810093723/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbda95d0c dead 10 August 2016 BFI 11 February 2022 en 19 November – Michael Lee, English rock drummer (died 2008) 3 December – Bill Steer, musician 5 December Sajid Javid, English Conservative politician and Cabinet minister Catherine Tate, actress and comedian 11 December – Phil Spencer, TV personality 12 December Rodney P (Panton), MC, "godfather of British hip hop" Sophie Kinsella, novelist (died 2025)Steven McIntosh Author Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55 BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce91d2m1gg7o 2025-12-10 2025-12-10 18 December – Irvin Duguid, Scottish rock keyboard player (Stiltskin) 19 December – Richard Hammond, English TV presenter 22 December – Mark Robins, football player and manager 24 December Nick Love, film director and writer Ed Miliband, English politician, leader of the Labour Party 30 December – Jay Kay, English jazz-funk singer-songwriter (Jamiroquai) Deaths January – March 4 January – Daisy and Violet Hilton, English-born conjoined twin actresses (born 1908) 8 January – Albert Hill, English-born distance runner (born 1889) 11 January – Richmal Crompton, fiction writer (born 1890) 2 February – Boris Karloff, English actor (born 1887) 14 February – Kenneth Horne, radio comedy performer (born 1907) 16 February – Kingsley Martin, political editor (born 1897) 11 March – John Wyndham, English science fiction writer (born 1903)Seed David A Companion to Science Fiction 9 June 2008 John Wiley & Sons 978-0-470-79701-3 387 https://books.google.com/books?id=PiphRocVYRwC&pg=PA387 en 25 March – Billy Cotton, English bandleader and entertainer, stroke (born 1899) 26 March – Dickie Pride, rock and roll singer, overdose (born 1941) 31 March – George de la Warr, alternative physician (born 1904)Summary Bibliography: George de la Warr https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?204034 Internet Speculative Fiction Database Al von Ruff and the ISFDB Team 19 October 2023 April – June 4 May – Sir Osbert Sitwell, English writer (born 1892) 23 May – Sir Owen Williams, civil engineer (born 1890) 22 June – Judy Garland, American film actress and singer (born 1922)Judy Garland remains an enduring legend 50 years after her death https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-judy-garland-death-anniversary-wizard-of-oz-20190620-story.html Los Angeles Times 30 December 2021 20 June 2019 July – September 3 July – Brian Jones, British musician (The Rolling Stones) (born 1942) 9 August – Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903) 27 August – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English novelist (born 1884) 25 September – Frank Inglis, British air vice marshal (born 1899) October – December 18 November – Ted Heath, bandleader (born 1902) 4 December – Oswald Short, aviation pioneer and aircraft builder, youngest of the Short Brothers (born 1883) 5 December – Princess Alice of Battenberg, wife of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born 1885)Lagos Constantinos Carr John Philip, Prince of Greece: The Duke of Edinburgh's Early Life and the Greek Succession 30 June 2021 Pen and Sword History 978-1-5267-9083-5 282 https://books.google.com/books?id=WBcuEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT282 en 7 December Eric Portman, actor (born 1901) Hugh Williams, actor and dramatist (born 1904)https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/hugh-williams-65058 Hugh Williams – Broadway Cast & Staff Internet Broadway Database The Broadway League 16 January 2022 25 March 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220325115750/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/hugh-williams-65058 live See also 1969 in British music 1969 in British television List of British films of 1969 References 30em 1969 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1969 by country Category:1960s in the United Kingdom Category:1969 in Europe