1953 in the United Kingdom

none September 2021 April 2014 1953 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1953 British Grand Prix 1953 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1953 in British television 1953 in British radio 1953 in British music Events from the year 1953 in the United Kingdom. This is the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the North Sea flood. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Winston Churchill (Conservative) Events thumb|250px|right|A breach at Erith after the North Sea flood 28 January – Nineteen-year old Derek Bentley is hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London for his part in the murder of PC Sidney Miles.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm Derek Bentley hanged for murder BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 28 January 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20080131130900/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm 31 January 2008 live 31 January – Car ferry Princess Victoria, sailing from Stranraer, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland, sinks in the Irish Sea killing 133 people on board. Among the dead are: Northern Ireland Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Major Maynard Sinclair, and Sir Walter Smiles, the Ulster Unionist MP for North Down.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/31/newsid_2505000/2505913.stm 130 die in ferry disaster BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 31 January 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20080108160829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/31/newsid_2505000/2505913.stm 8 January 2008 live 31 January–1 February – The North Sea flood of 1953 kills 307 people on the east coast of Britain, with more at sea.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/1/newsid_3749000/3749771.stm Violent storms claim hundreds of lives BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 1 February 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20071227033300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/1/newsid_3749000/3749771.stm 27 December 2007 live A corvette and a submarine sink at their moorings in HM Dockyard Sheerness. 1 February – Pool petrol, introduced during World War II, is replaced by individual brands. 3 February – Contralto Kathleen Ferrier premieres a critically acclaimed production of Gluck's Orfeo at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, but a repeat 3 days later will be her last public performance as terminal cancer (not made public) cuts her career short at age 40.Barbirolli, John (1954). "Kathleen ... The Last Years". In Cardus, Neville (ed). Kathleen Ferrier: A Memoir. London: Hamish Hamilton. p 107. 5 February – Rationing of sweets, introduced during World War II, ends.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/5/newsid_2737000/2737731.stm Sweet rationing ends in Britain BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 5 February 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20071225083426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/5/newsid_2737000/2737731.stm 25 December 2007 live 23 February – Coronation amnesty for wartime deserters from the forces announced by the Prime Minister.From the archive, 24 February 1953: Pardon for WWII deserters https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/feb/24/archive-1953-pardon-deserters-wwii The Guardian London 2012-02-24 2026-02-24 Originally published in Manchester Guardian 1953-02-24. thumb|right|200px|DNA double helix 28 February – James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce that they have discovered the structure of the DNA molecule. 4 March – Tommy Taylor, 21-year-old centre forward, becomes Britain's most expensive footballer in a £29,999 transfer from Barnsley to Manchester United.https://www.manutd.com/en/players-and-staff/detail/tommy-taylor Tommy Taylor Manchester United Legends 2020-10-14 16 March – Josip Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia visits the UK, the first Communist leader to do so.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_2808000/2808379.stm Marshal Tito makes historic visit to London BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 16 March 1953 24 March Queen Mary, consort of the late King George V, dies in her sleep at Marlborough House in London.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/24/newsid_2785000/2785265.stm Queen Mary dies peacefully after illness BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 24 March 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20080109201233/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/24/newsid_2785000/2785265.stm 9 January 2008 live The 10 Rillington Place murders are uncovered in London.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 978-0-14-102715-9 2006 31 March – The funeral of Queen Mary takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_4325000/4325305.stm Queen Mary laid to rest in Windsor BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 31 March 1953 1 April – First record by any UK act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart, The Stargazers' recording of "Broken Wings".Rice Jo The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits Guinness Superlatives 1982 0-85112-250-7 1st Enfield 8 13 April – Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml The Lost Decade Timeline BBC 10 January 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060821133044/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml 21 August 2006 15 April – Britain awards the George Medal to 22-year-old American airman Reis Leming who rescued 27 people in last winter's floods in East Anglia.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/15/newsid_2844000/2844325.stm Britain honours American hero BBC On This Day 2 July 2009 15 April 1953 16 April – The Queen launches the Royal Yacht Britannia at John Brown & Company shipbuilders on the Clyde.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/16/newsid_2846000/2846801.stm Queen launches Royal Yacht Britannia BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 16 April 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20080121004217/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/16/newsid_2846000/2846801.stm 21 January 2008 live 18 April – Liverpudlian singer Lita Roza becomes the first British female artist to reach No. 1 in the UK singles chart, with her recording of "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?".Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke Her Brilliant Career London Virago 2013 9781844087402 24 April – Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives a knighthood from the Queen. 25 April – Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish their description of the double helix structure of DNA in the paper "Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids".http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_2932000/2932793.stm Scientists describe 'secret of life' BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 25 April 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20071222124939/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_2932000/2932793.stm 22 December 2007 live 2 May – Blackpool F.C. win the FA Cup final with a 4–3 victory over Bolton Wanderers, who have been 3–1 ahead until the final quarter of the game. Stan Mortensen scores a hat-trick, but the 38-year-old winger Stanley Matthews is instrumental in winning the game for Blackpool, who have never won a major trophy before.http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1953.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20080122050521/http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1953.htm dead 2008-01-22 1953 Blackpool The FA Cup 25 May – Whitsun bank holiday; many businesses postpone the holiday for a week.The Quietest Ever Bank Holiday in the Midlands Birmingham Gazette 1953-05-26 5 thumb|200px|right|Coronation portrait of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, June 2 June The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place at Westminster Abbey,http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/2/newsid_2654000/2654501.stm Queen Elizabeth takes coronation oath BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 2 June 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20071215085020/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/2/newsid_2654000/2654501.stm 15 December 2007 live celebrated as a public holiday. The Times exclusively carries James Morris's scoop of the conquest of Mount Everest by a British expedition on 29 May.Venables Stephen Stephen Venables To the top: the story of Everest Walker Books 2003 London 63 978-0-7445-8662-6 6 June The Prevention of Crime Act comes into effect, making the carrying of an offensive weapon in a public place a criminal offence. The Epsom Derby is won by Pinza, the only Derby victory for Gordon Richards at his 28th attempt, days after becoming the only jockey to be made a knight. The Queen's horse, Aureole, finishes second.Brendan Gallagher 1953: A golden year for sport The Daily Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/2405284/1953-A-golden-year-for-sport.html 4 June 2011 4 June 2011 23 June – Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 78, suffers a stroke at a dinner for the Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi.Anthony Seldon Anthony Seldon Winston Churchill's Indian Summer http://www.britishempire.co.uk/biography/churchill3.htm The British Empire 3 April 2013 On 27 June the public are told that he is suffering from fatigue.David Kynaston David Kynaston Family Britain, 1951–57 London Bloomsbury 2009 978-0-7475-8385-1 registration https://archive.org/details/familybritain1950000kyna 25 June – John Christie, a 54-year-old Londoner, is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Ethel Christie. A total of eight bodies have been found at Christie's home, 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, including those of the wife and daughter of Timothy Evans who had been hanged in 1950 for his daughter's murder.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/25/newsid_3721000/3721267.stm Christie to hang for wife's murder BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 25 June 1953 26 June – Eskdalemuir enters the UK Weather Records for the highest rainfall in a 30-minute period with 80mm, a record that will remain for at least sixty years. 30 June – First roll-on/roll-off ferry crossing of the English Channel, Dover–Boulogne.Dinard – Viking http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/BR_Dinard.html Simplon Postcards: The Passenger Ship Website 2005 22 October 2012 15 July – John Christie is hanged at Pentonville Prison, where a crowd of some two hundred people stand to wait for the notice of execution to be posted. 18 July – The Quatermass Experiment, first of the Quatermass science-fiction serials by Nigel Kneale, begins its run on BBC Television. 20 July – The Good Old Days, filmed at the Leeds City Varieties, begins its 30-year run on BBC Television. 19 August The England cricket team under Len Hutton defeat Australia to win The Ashes for the first time in nineteen years. Iranian coup d'état ("Operation Boot"): Overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran by Iranian military in favour of strengthening the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with the support of the United States and UK. Autumn – Myxomatosis reaches the UK, first being illegally introduced onto an estate in West Sussex. 19 September – Sir Hubert Parry's 1916 setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" first appears as a permanent feature of the Last Night of the Proms (televised).The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective David Cannadine David Cannadine 2008 31 212 315–349 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x Historical Research 26 September – End of post-war sugar rationing.Palmer Alan Palmer Veronica 1992 The Chronology of British History Century Ltd London 406–407 978-0-7126-5616-0 6 October – The government sends troops to the colony of British Guiana, blaming Communists for causing unrest.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/6/newsid_3168000/3168299.stm Britain sends troops to Guiana BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 6 October 1953 10 October – RAF officers Monty Burton with Don Gannon win the speed section of the 1953 London to Christchurch air race in an English Electric Canberra, with under 23 hours flying time.https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/research-enquiries/history-of-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1953-2/ British Military Aviation in 1953 Royal Air Force Museum 2011-07-19 27 October – Arbroath life-boat Robert Lindsay capsizes on service: six crew killed. November – The first production Blue Danube atomic bomb, the first British-developed and -built nuclear weapon, is delivered to the Bomber Command stockpile at RAF Wittering, concluding the High Explosive Research project to develop it. 2 November – The Samaritans telephone counselling service for the suicidal is started by Rev. Chad Varah in London. 11 November – Current affairs series Panorama first airs on BBC Television, it will still be running more than seventy years later. 17 November – Italian cargo steamer Vittoria Claudia sinks after collision with French motor vessel Perou in the English Channel, killing twenty Italian sailors.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/17/newsid_3190000/3190340.stm Twenty die in Channel collision BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 17 November 1953 20 November – The Piltdown Man skull, which was discovered in 1912 and thought to be the fossilised remains of a hitherto unknown form of early human, is exposed as a hoax. 25 November – Match of the Century: England v Hungary football match at Wembley Stadium results in a 6–3 defeat suffered by the England national football team against Hungary, ending a 90-year unbeaten home run against sides from outside the British Isles.http://www.zoltech.net/h/hufoci.html zoltech.net www.zoltech.net 11 August 2010 21 July 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110721141747/http://www.zoltech.net/h/hufoci.html dead 26 November – The House of Lords votes in favour of the government's proposals for commercial television.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/26/newsid_4032000/4032711.stm Lords vote for commercial television BBC On This Day 10 January 2008 26 November 1953 https://web.archive.org/web/20071128151834/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/26/newsid_4032000/4032711.stm 28 November 2007 live 30 November – Kabaka crisis: Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda, is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Benjamin Cohen, Governor of Uganda. c. December – Matchbox toy vehicles are introduced by Lesney Products of London. 10 December Winston Churchill wins the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values".http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1953 10 January 2008 Hans Adolf Krebs wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the citric acid cycle".http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1953/ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1953 10 January 2008 Pilkington Brothers take out their first patent for the float glass process developed by Alastair Pilkington. Undated Women teachers are granted equal pay with men. Michael Ventris deciphers the Minoan script Linear B.The Hutchinson Factfinder Helicon 1999 978-1-85986-000-7 First Italian espresso coffee bar opens in the UK, The Moka in Frith Street, Soho, London.http://www.classiccafes.co.uk/History.html The Coming of the Cafes: 1953... Classic Cafes 1999–2008 12 July 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160323201633/http://www.classiccafes.co.uk/History.html 23 March 2016 Jazz musician John Dankworth sets up his big band, the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra.Johnny Dankworth discography http://vzone.virgin.net/davidh.taylor/dankwort.htm 2010 1 September 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20070102063422/http://vzone.virgin.net/davidh.taylor/dankwort.htm 2 January 2007 dead Laura Ashley sells her first printed fabrics.Maurice Baren How It All Began Up the High Street London Michael O'Mara Books 1996 978-1-85479-667-7 82–3 J. C. Bamford of Rocester introduce the backhoe loader. E. Gomme introduce the popular G-Plan furniture range.The G-Plan Revolution: a celebration of British Popular Furniture of the 1950s and 1960s Basil Hyman Braggs, Steven 978-1-86154-310-3 2007-12-01 House of Fraser take over the Sunderland-based Binns group of department stores.http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_71300_en.pdf House of Fraser archive project 31 December 2010 Some 25% of British households now own a television set, seventeen years after the first sets became available. Many families buy a set this year to watch the Coronation of Elizabeth II.Tim Lambert Britain Since 1948 http://www.localhistories.org/britain1948.html 3 April 2013 Artist L. S. Lowry paints his football match picture Going to the Match and exhibits it at the Lefevre Gallery.Andrews Allen Lowry Laurence Stephen The life of L. S. Lowry: 1887-1976 1977 Jupiter Books London 978-0-904041-60-6 85 Publications Agatha Christie's novels After the Funeral (Hercule Poirot) and A Pocket Full of Rye (Miss Marple). Gerald Durrell's first book, The Overloaded Ark. Lawrence Durrell's book Reflections on a Marine Venus. Islwyn Ffowc Elis's Welsh novel Cysgod y Cryman Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. L. P. Hartley's novel The Go-Between. C. S. Lewis' novel The Silver Chair. Evelyn Waugh's novel Love Among the Ruins. A Romance of the Near Future. Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle's Molesworth book Down With Skool. John Wyndham's novel The Kraken Wakes. Births 1 January – Maureen Beattie, Irish-born Scottish actress 4 January Jackie Ballard, journalist and politician Richard Boden, director and producer Vicki Bruce, psychologist and academic 6 January – Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (died 2017) 11 January – John Sessions, actor (died 2020) 19 January – Linda Hayden, actress 20 January – John Robertson, footballer (died 2025) 29 January Ronnie Moore, footballer and manager Richard Younger-Ross, politician 17 February – Norman Pace, actor and comedian 18 February – Ian Jenkins, archaeologist and curator (died 2020) 22 February – Geoffrey Perkins, comedy producer, writer and performer (died 2008) 27 February – Gavin Esler, journalist and television presenter 3 March – Robyn Hitchcock, alternative rock singer-songwriter 19 March – Ian Blair, police officer (died 2025) 26 March – Christopher Fowler, thriller writer (died 2023) 4 April – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician 9 April Howard Bernstein, civil servant (died 2024) John Howard, glam-pop singer-songwriter 11 April – Andrew Wiles, mathematician known for proving Fermat's Last Theorem 13 April – Stephen Byers, politician 18 April – Steven Pimlott, theatre director (died 2007) 20 April – Sebastian Faulks, novelist 24 April – Tim Woodward, screen actor (died 2023) 26 April – David Reddaway, Canadian-English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Canada 6 May Tony Blair, Prime Minister (1997–2007) Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer and manager 7 May – Ian McKay, soldier, recipient of VC posthumously (killed 1982) 10 May – John Diamond, journalist (died 2001) 15 May Athene Donald, physicist Mike Oldfield, musician 19 May – Victoria Wood, comic performer (died 2016) 21 May – Jim Devine, politicianhttp://www.parliamentaryrecord.com/content/profiles/mp/Jim-Devine/Livingston/766 https://web.archive.org/web/20110715044446/http://www.parliamentaryrecord.com/content/profiles/mp/Jim-Devine/Livingston/766 dead 2011-07-15 WPR - Jim Devine (Ex-MP) 15 July 2011 24 May – Alfred Molina, actor 26 May – Michael Portillo, politician 31 May – Linda Riordan, politician 2 June – Dave Boy Green, boxer and businessman 3 June – John Moulder-Brown, actor 7 June – Johnny Clegg, mbaqanga and Afro-pop musician and musical anthropologist (died 2019) 8 June – Billy Hayes, trade union leader 18 June – Peter Donohoe, pianist 19 June – Hilary Jones, physician, television host and media personality 23 June – John Stahl, Scottish actor (died 2022)John Stahl obituary https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/31/john-stahl-obituary the Guardian 20 May 2022 en 31 March 2022 26 June – Neil Record, businessman, author and economist 1 July – Alan Sunderland, footballer 4 July – Francis Maude, politician 7 July – Robert McCrum, writer and editor 15 July – John Denham, politician 21 July – David Ervine, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (died 2007) 24 July – Julian Brazier, politician 29 July – Willie Donald, Scottish cricket player and administrator (died 2022)Willie Donald: Former Scotland international cricketer dies age 69 2 August – Anthony Seldon, educator and historian 8 August – Nigel Mansell, racing driver 9 August – Roberta Tovey, actress 15 August – Carol Thatcher, journalist, and Mark Thatcher, businessman 16 August – David Spiegelhalter, statistician 18 August – Patrick Cowdell, English boxer 23 August – Bobby G (Robert Gubby), singer (Bucks Fizz) 2 September Keith Allen, actor Patsy Rodenburg, voice coach 12 September – Fiona Mactaggart, educator and politician 23 September – Nicholas Witchell, broadcaster and journalist 27 September – Diane Abbott, politician 10 October – Janet Bloomfield, disarmament campaigner (died 2007) 12 October – Les Dennis, television presenter, actor and comedian 13 October – John Simpson, lexicographer and scholar 16 October – Brinsley Forde, actor and reggae musician 21 October – Peter Mandelson, politician 24 October John Barton, English footballer and manager Andrew Turner, academic and politician David Wright, composer and music producer 26 October – Roger Allam, actor 27 October Paul Alcock, football referee (died 2018) Peter Firth, actor 28 October – Phil Dwyer, Welsh footballer (died 2021)https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/phil-dwyer-1953-2021/ Phil Dwyer 1953-2021 1 December 2021 1 December 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211201201651/https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/phil-dwyer-1953-2021/ dead 3 November – Claire van Kampen, English theatre director (died 2025) 4 November – Peter Lord, British film producer and director 7 November – Lucinda Green, equestrian 11 November – Andy Partridge, rock singer-songwriter 13 November – Andrew Ranken, drummer (died 2026) 16 November – Griff Rhys Jones, comedian, actor and writer 18 November Alan Moore, writer and magician Alan Murphy, guitarist (died 1989) 21 November – Tina Brown, journalist and editor 26 November – Hilary Benn, politician 28 November – Alistair Darling, politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023) 29 November – Rose West, serial killerhttps://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/house-horrors-timeline-day-day-2567483 Timeline of police investigation into Fred and Rose West Phil Norris 22 February 2019 GloucestershireLive 2 December – David Anderson, English miner and politician 6 December – Geoff Hoon, politician 13 December – Jim Davidson, comedian Deaths 13 January – Sir Edward Marsh, polymath and civil servant (born 1872) 28 January – Derek Bentley, criminal (born 1933) (hanged) 29 January Sir Norman MacEwen, RAF commander (born 1881) Sir Reginald Wingate, general and colonial administrator (born 1861) 1 February – William Sydney Marchant, colonial official (born 1894) 9 February – Cecil Hepworth, film director (born 1874) 23 February – Sir Cecil Hunter-Rodwell, colonial administrator (born 1874) 24 March – Queen Mary, consort of King George V, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II (born 1867) 6 April – Idris Davies, Welsh poet (born 1905) (cancer) 9 April – C. E. M. Joad, philosopher and broadcaster (born 1891) (cancer) 3 May – John Erskine, Lord Erskine, soldier and politician (born 1895) 15 May – Mabel Love, dancer and actress (born 1874) 25 May – Edmund Dulac, French-born illustrator and designer (Wilding series) (born 1882) 1 June – Alex James, Scottish footballer (born 1901) (cancer) 16 June – Margaret Bondfield, politician and trade unionist (born 1873) 9 July – Annie Kenney, suffragette (born 1879) 15 July – John Christie, serial killer (born 1899) (hanged) 16 July – Hilaire Belloc, writer (born 1870) 18 July – Lucy Booth, Salvationist, fifth daughter of William and Catherine Booth (born 1868)Booth children 29 July – Rosa May Billinghurst, suffragette (born 1875) 30 September Robert Mawdesley, stage and radio actor (born c. 1900) Lewis Fry Richardson, mathematical physicist (born 1881) 3 October – Sir Arnold Bax, composer (born 1883) 8 October Nigel Bruce, character actor (born 1895) Kathleen Ferrier, contralto (born 1912) (cancer) 14 October – Arthur Wimperis, illustrator and playwright (born 1874) 20 October – Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, air chief marshal (born 1878) 21 October – Sir Muirhead Bone, etcher (born 1876) 27 October – Thomas Wass, cricketer (born 1873) 9 November – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and author (born 1914) (pneumonia) 27 November – T. F. Powys, novelist (born 1875) 29 November – Ernest Barnes, mathematician, scientist, theologian and Bishop of Birmingham (born 1874) 25 December – William Haselden, cartoonist (born 1872)Mr. W. K. Haselden, Kindly Cartoonist, Obituary, The Times, 29 December 1953 See also 1953 in British music 1953 in British television List of British films of 1953 References 30em 1953 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1953 by country Category:1950s in the United Kingdom Category:1953 in Europe