1942 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1942 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the Second World War.
Incumbents
Events
- 1 January
- * Sneyd Colliery Disaster: An underground explosion in the North Staffordshire Coalfield kills 55.
- * Book Production War Economy Agreement comes into force.
- 9–29 January – 1942 Betteshanger miners' strike in the Kent Coalfield.
- 10 January – World War II: Liverpool Blitz ends with German bombs dropped in the Stanhope Street area of the city, with nine people dying and many more suffering injuries. Among the houses destroyed in the bombing is the former home of Adolf Hitler's half-brother Alois. Four more people die as a result of their injuries the following day.
- 26 January – World War II: First United States troops for the European theatre arrive in the UK, at Belfast.
- 29 January – radio programme Desert Island Discs first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme, presented by Roy Plomley; Austrian-born revue performer Vic Oliver is the first castaway. The programme will still be running 80 years later.
- January – Mildenhall Treasure discovered by ploughman Gordon Butcher in Suffolk.
- February–April – Liverpool Chinese seamen strike for improved pay.
- 7 February – soap rationing introduced.
- 15 February – World War II: General Arthur Percival's forces surrender to the Japanese at the Battle of Singapore.
- 16 February – National Service Act introduces conscription to the Home Guard.
- 19 February – Clement Attlee is appointed first Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 25 February – Princess Elizabeth registers for war service.
- April – Women's Timber Corps set up.
- 5 April – World War II: Japanese Navy attacks Colombo in Ceylon. Royal Navy Cruisers and are sunk southwest of the island.
- 9 April – World War II: Japanese Navy launches air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon ; Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island's east coast.
- 23 April
- * World War II: Exeter becomes the first city bombed as part of the "Baedeker Blitz" in retaliation for the British bombing of Lübeck.
- * Exeter-born William Temple is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury in succession to Cosmo Gordon Lang.
- 24 April – Barnburgh Main Colliery collapse: 4 killed.
- 25–27 April – World War II: "Baedeker Blitz" – Bath Blitz: three bombing raids on Bath kill 417; among the buildings destroyed or badly damaged the Assembly Rooms are gutted.
- 1 May – destroyer sinks after collision with battleship in Arctic waters with 49 fatalities.
- 5 May–6 November – World War II: Battle of Madagascar; British commander Robert Sturges leads the invasion of Vichy French-held Madagascar.
- 6 May – The Radio Doctor makes his first BBC radio broadcast giving avuncular health care advice.
- 30 May – World War II: First RAF "thousand bomber raid" sets off to carry out the bombing of Cologne in Germany.
- 15 June – propaganda film The Next of Kin is commercially released by Ealing Studios.
- July–August – J. Arthur Rank's Odeon Cinemas purchase UK sites of Paramount Cinemas.
- July
- * Military scientists begin testing of anthrax as a biological warfare agent on the Scottish island of Gruinard.
- * Total evacuation of Stanford Training Area on Breckland in Norfolk.
- * Canned dried eggs from the United States become available to British consumers.
- 10 July – the patriotic Academy Award-winning drama film Mrs. Miniver, starring Greer Garson, is released in London.
- 26 July – rationing of sweets and chocolate begins.
- 11 August – traffic admitted onto the new Waterloo Bridge across the River Thames in London.
- 19 August – World War II: British and Canadian troops conduct the Dieppe Raid.
- 25 August – Dunbeath air crash: Prince George, Duke of Kent, brother of George VI, is among 14 killed in a military air crash near Caithness, Scotland.
- 30 August–2 September – World War II: At the Battle of Alam el Halfa in Egypt, General Montgomery leads the Eighth Army to victory over Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps.
- September – The Brains Trust first broadcast under this title on BBC Home Service radio.
- 12 September – World War II: British transport ship RMS Laconia torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in the Atlantic, west of Africa, with the loss of around 2,000 lives, mainly Italian prisoners of war.
- 13 September – World War II:
- * The RAF and the Soviet Air Force bomb oil wells and refining facilities at Ploeşti in Romania causing extensive damage.
- * The RAF carries out its 100th bombing raid on the German city of Bremen.
- 17 September – Noël Coward's film In Which We Serve premieres.
- 23 September
- * The British Council of Churches, an ecumenical organisation, is established, as is the Council of Christians and Jews.
- * World War II: British forces capture the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo.
- 2 October
- * British cruiser Curaçao collides with troopship off the coast of Donegal and sinks: 338 drown.
- * World War II: Japanese troopship Lisbon Maru sinks following a torpedo attack the previous day by submarine off the coast of China: 829 are killed, mostly British prisoners of war who are being held on board.
- 5 October – Oxford Committee for Famine Relief founded.
- 9 October – the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act passed by the Parliament of Australia formalises Australian autonomy from the U.K.
- 23 October – World War II: British and Commonwealth forces launch a major attack against German and Italian forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt.
- 25 October – the milk ration is cut to two and a half pints a week.
- 29 October – a public meeting presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury and with international political figures in attendance at the Royal Albert Hall in London registers outrage over The Holocaust.
- 30 October – World War II: British sailors board German submarine U-559 as it sinks in the Mediterranean and retrieve its Enigma machine and codebooks.
- 31 October – World War II: Canterbury is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, apparently in reprisal for an RAF 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne.
- 4 November – World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein effectively ends with Erwin Rommel forced to order German forces to retreat this evening in the face of pressure from General Montgomery's Eighth Army. Clearing up operations continue until 11 November.
- 6 November – the Church of England archbishops announce relaxation of the custom that women should wear hats in church.
- 8 November – World War II: British and American troops invade French North Africa in Operation Torch.
- 13 November – World War II: Allied troops recapture Tobruk.
- 17 November – World War II: Admiral Max Horton takes over from Percy Noble as Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, with responsibility for the safety of Atlantic convoys.
- 1 December – publication of the Beveridge Report into social insurance. It is so popular that people queue overnight to buy it and the government issues a brief threepenny version.
- 7 December – World War II: British commandos conduct Operation Frankton, a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour.
- 16 December – the Trade Union Congress backs the Beveridge Report.
- 30 December – British insurance companies attack the Beveridge Report.
- World War II
- * Maunsell Forts erected in the Thames Estuary.
- * The National Loaf, a fortified wholemeal bread, becomes the only variety available from bakers.
Publications
- "Flying Officer X" 's short story collection The Greatest People in the World.
- "BB"'s children's story The Little Grey Men.
- Enid Blyton's children's story Five on a Treasure Island, first in The Famous Five series.
- Joyce Carey's novel To Be a Pilgrim.
- Agatha Christie's novels The Body in the Library, Five Little Pigs and The Moving Finger.
- T. S. Eliot's poem Little Gidding, last of the Four Quartets.
- Richard Hillary's wartime autobiography The Last Enemy.
- C. S. Lewis' novel The Screwtape Letters.
- Alker Tripp's text Town Planning and Road Traffic.
- Evelyn Waugh's novel Put Out More Flags.
Births
January – April
- 3 January – John Thaw, English actor
- 5 January – Jan Leeming, TV presenter and newsreader
- 8 January
- * Robin Ellis, English actor
- * Stephen Hawking, English cosmologist
- * George Passmore, English artist
- 19 January – Michael Crawford, English singer and actor
- 21 January – George Foulkes, Labour MP and peer
- 31 January – Derek Jarman, English director and writer
- 1 February – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, writer and director
- 2 February – Graham Nash, English musician
- 5 February – Susan Hill, English author
- 7 February – Gareth Hunt, English actor
- 10 February – John Clarke, British physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics
- 11 February – Charles Harrison, British art historian
- 12 February – Norma Major, philanthropist and spouse of John Major
- 15 February – Glyn Johns, English recording engineer
- 19 February – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
- 22 February – Peter Abbs, English poet and academic
- 24 February – Paul Jones, singer
- 27 February – Mike Bailey, British footballer
- 28 February – Brian Jones, English rock musician
- 9 March – John Cale, Welsh composer and musician
- 13 March – Geoffrey Hayes, English television presenter and actor
- 14 March – Rita Tushingham, English actress
- 25 March
- * Richard O'Brien, English actor and writer
- * Kim Woodburn, English television personality
- 27 March
- * Michael Jackson, English writer about beer and whisky
- * John Sulston, English molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- * Michael York, English actor
- 28 March
- * Neil Kinnock, Welsh-born politician
- * Janet Nelson, English historian
- * Mike Newell, British film director
- 29 March – Julie Goodyear, English actress
- 1 April
- *Brian Binley, businessman and politician
- *Roderick Floud, historian and academic
- 5 April – Peter Greenaway, Welsh filmmaker
- 8 April
- * Roger Chapman, English rock singer
- * Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Labour Party MP and Minister for Sport
- 12 April – Bill Bryden, Scottish-born theatre director
- 16 April – Sir Frank Williams, Formula One team owner
- 17 April – David Bradley, English actor
- 19 April
- * David Fanshawe, English composer
- * Alan Price, English musician
- 20 April – Giles Henderson, English lawyer and academic
May – August
- 4 May – Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Baron Bruce-Lockhart, politician
- 8 May
- * Norman Lamont, politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- * Terry Neill, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 11 May – Rachel Billington, writer
- 12 May – Ian Dury, British musician
- 13 May – Jeff Astle, British footballer
- 18 May – Nobby Stiles, England footballer
- 20 May – Lynn Davies, Welsh long jump Olympic champion
- 24 May – Sir Fraser Stoddart, Scottish-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 25 May – Brian Davison, rock drummer
- 29 May – Charlotte Johnson Wahl, artist, mother of Boris Johnson
- 2 June – Tony Buzan, popular psychologist
- 8 June – Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player
- 9 June – Ossie Clark, fashion designer
- 10 June – Gordon Burns, television presenter
- 18 June
- *Pat Hutchins, English illustrator and writer
- *Paul McCartney, English musician and composer
- 20 June
- *Andrew Graham, economist and academic
- *Valerie Myerscough, mathematician and astrophysicist
- 23 June – Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, cosmologist and astrophysicist
- 24 June – Dustin Gee, British comedian
- 25 June – Patricia Brake, English actress
- 1 July – Julia Higgins, polymer scientist
- 4 July – Prince Michael of Kent
- 7 July – Tom Blundell, scientist
- 12 July – Tam White, Scottish musician and actor
- 16 July – Frank Field, Baron Field of Birkenhead, politician
- 17 July
- * Peter Sissons, English newsreader and journalist
- * Zoot Money, vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader
- 23 July – Myra Hindley, English murderer
- 27 July
- * Mystic Meg, born Margaret Lake, astrologer
- * Ernie Ross, Scottish politician
- 31 July – James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, politician
- 7 August – Richard Sykes, microbiologist and businessman
- 16 August – John Challis, English actor and comedian
- 24 August – Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington, English businessman
- 25 August – Howard Jacobson, novelist and journalist
- 26 August – Dennis Turner, British politician
September – December
- 15 September – Philip Harris, entrepreneur and educationist
- 17 September – Des Lynam, Irish-born TV sports presenter
- 18 September – Alex Stepney, footballer and coach
- 24 September – Gerry Marsden, Merseybeat singer-songwriter
- 27 September
- * Tessa Blackstone, English academic administrator, public servant and Labour politician
- * Alvin Stardust, born Bernard Jewry, English pop singer
- 29 September - Ian McShane, English actor
- 30 September – Gus Dudgeon, English record producer
- 21 October – John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, English police officer
- 23 October – Anita Roddick, English businesswoman and environmentalist
- 26 October – Bob Hoskins, English actor
- 27 October – Phil Chisnall, footballer
- 28 October – Freddie Williams, Scottish businessman
- 7 November – Jean Shrimpton, English fashion model and actress
- 23 November – Jane Lumb, English fashion model and actress
- 24 November
- * Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian
- * Craig Thomas, Welsh thriller writer
- 29 November – Michael Craze, English actor
- 2 December – Dennis Kirkland, English television producer
- 4 December
- * Tim Boswell, farmer and politician
- * Gemma Jones, English character actress
- 6 December – Richard Shepherd, politician
- 8 December – Robin Medforth-Mills, professor
- 12 December – Morag Hood, Scottish actress
- 13 December
- * Howard Brenton, playwright and screenwriter
- * Charles R. Burton, English explorer
- 21 December – Frances Ritchie, nurse and religious sister
- 31 December – Andy Summers, English rock musician
Deaths
- 16 January – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third eldest son of Queen Victoria
- 10 March – Sir William Henry Bragg, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 27 March – Vernon Kell, first director of MI5
- 16 April – Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in Germany
- 17 April – Laura Annie Willson, mechanical engineer and suffragette
- 23 May – Charles Robert Ashbee, designer
- 7 June – Alan Blumlein, electronics engineer
- 18 June – Sutherland Macdonald, tattoo artist
- 22 July
- * Gilbert Joyce, Bishop of Monmouth
- * Conrad Noel, vicar and socialist
- 28 July – Sir Flanders Petrie, Egyptologist
- 10 August – Bob Kelso, Scottish footballer
- 25 August – Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth eldest son of George V
- 4 December – Hugh Malcolm, Scottish Royal Air Force officer, posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross
- 22 December – E. H. Jones, Welsh army officer, educationist and writer