1944 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1944 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the Second World War.
Incumbents
Events
- January – Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service officially formed.
- 21–22 January – World War II: start of Operation Steinbock, a nocturnal Luftwaffe bombing offensive chiefly targeted at the Greater London area. On the first attack, few aircraft reach the target area.
- 10 February – PAYE system of tax collection introduced.
- 20 February – World War II: destroyer HMS Warwick is torpedoed by German submarine U-413 off Trevose Head, Cornwall, sinking in 6 minutes with the loss of 66 men, over half her crew.
- 26 February – World War II: last heavy air-raids on London.
- February – government white paper A National Health Service published.
- 10 March – lifting of marriage bar on women working as teachers.
- 22 March – World War II: Moordown air disaster – a Royal Air Force Halifax bomber crashes soon after take-off from RAF Hurn at Bournemouth, killing all 7 crew and 2 civilians in their homes.
- 28 April – World War II: Allied convoy T4, forming part of amphibious Exercise Tiger in Start Bay off the Devon coast, is attacked by E-boats, resulting in the deaths of 749 American servicemen from LSTs.
- 3–8 May – World War II: Exercise Fabius, the last major Allied rehearsals for the Normandy landings, take place along the south coast of England.
- 29 May – thunderstorms lead to severe flooding, particularly around Holmfirth.
- 5 June – World War II: final preparations for the Normandy landings take place in the south of England. Group Captain James Stagg correctly forecasts a brief improvement in weather conditions over the English Channel which will permit the following day's landings to take place. The BBC transmits coded messages to underground resistance fighters in France warning that the invasion of Europe is about to begin.
- 6 June – World War II: D-Day for the Normandy landings: 155,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy in France, beginning Operation Overlord and the Invasion of Normandy.
- 13 June – World War II: the first V-1 flying bomb attack on London takes place. Eight civilians are killed in the blast. The bomb earns the nickname "doodlebug".
- 15 July – World War II: Park Street riot in Bristol, a confrontation between black G.I.s and U.S. Military Police.
- 21 July – World War II: German submarine U-212 is depth-charged and sunk off Brighton on the south coast by British warships.
- Summer
- * Ministry of Works builds the first demonstration temporary prefab houses designed for postwar reconstruction.
- * The 1944 Summer Olympics, scheduled for London, are not held due to World War II.
- 3 August – the Education Act, promoted by Rab Butler, provides for the postwar education system, including free secondary education for children of both sexes and raising of the school leaving age to 15. As generally implemented, although not mandated by the Act, this leads to a Tripartite System of secondary education in England and Wales with Secondary Modern, Technical, and Grammar schools, entrance being determined in most cases by the results of the Eleven plus exam.
- 12 August – World War II: the V-1 flying bomb campaign against London by the Germans reaches its 60th day, with more than 6,000 deaths, 17,000 injuries and damage or destruction to around 1 million buildings.
- 20 August – American Liberty ship is wrecked off the Nore in the Thames Estuary with around 1,400 tonnes of explosives on board, never recovered.
- 21 August – Dumbarton Oaks Conference opens in Washington, D.C.: American, British, Chinese, French and Soviet representatives meet to plan the founding of the United Nations.
- 23 August – Freckleton air disaster: A USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crashes into the village school at Freckleton, Lancashire, in a storm with 58 ground fatalities and 3 aircrew killed.
- 7 September – the Belgian government leaves the UK and returns to Belgium following the liberation of Brussels on 3 September.
- 8 September – World War II: the first V-2 rocket attack on London takes place, striking in the Chiswick district of the city and resulting in the deaths of three people.
- 15 September – a fatal explosion at ROF Kirkby in Lancashire kills 14 workers who were engaged on filling munitions.
- 17 September – World War II: restrictions imposed by the Blackout are relaxed.
- 19 September – World War II: the UK is a co-signatory with the Soviet Union of the Moscow Armistice, ending the latter's Continuation War with Finland.
- 25 September – World War II: V-2 rockets aimed at Ipswich and Norwich by the Germans miss their targets by a distance.
- 9 October – fourth Moscow Conference: Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin begin a nine-day conference in Moscow to discuss the future of Europe.
- 10 October – Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act makes arrangements for postwar provision of adequate housing for all who need it.
- 23 October – the Allies recognise Charles de Gaulle's cabinet as the provisional government of France.
- November – Donald Watson and friends in Leicester establish The Vegan Society, pioneering and naming the modern vegan movement.
- 12 November – World War II: sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage off Norway by RAF Avro Lancaster bombers.
- 22 November – release of Laurence Olivier's Henry V, the first work of Shakespeare filmed in colour.
- 25 November – World War II: a V-2 rocket destroys the Woolworths store in New Cross Road, south east London, killing 168, the highest death toll from one of these weapons. More than 100 people survive with injuries.
- 27 November – RAF Fauld explosion: between 3,450 and 3,930 tons of ordnance explodes at an underground storage depot in Staffordshire leaving about 75 dead and a crater 1,200 metres across and 120 metres deep, one of the largest explosions in history and the largest on UK soil.
- 3 December – World War II: the Home Guard is stood down.
- 19 December – Council of Industrial Design established.
- 24 December – World War II: fifty German V-1 flying bombs, air-launched from Heinkel He 111 bombers flying over the North Sea, target Manchester, killing at least 27 and injuring more than 100 in the Oldham area.
Publications
- H. E. Bates' novel Fair Stood the Wind for France.
- Joyce Cary's novel The Horse's Mouth.
- Agatha Christie's novels Towards Zero and Death Comes as the End.
- L. P. Hartley's novel The Shrimp and the Anemone, first in the Eustace and Hilda trilogy.
- F. W. Hayek's economic text The Road to Serfdom.
- C. S. Lewis's theological dream vision The Great Divorce.
- W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge.
- L. T. C. Rolt's travelogue Narrow Boat.
- G. M. Trevelyan's book English Social History: a survey of six centuries from Chaucer to Queen Victoria.
Births
January – June
- 4 January – Angela Harris, Baroness Harris of Richmond, politician
- 9 January – Jimmy Page, guitarist
- 27 January
- * Mairead Corrigan, Northern Irish activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- * Nick Mason, English drummer
- 28 January – John Tavener, English composer of religious music
- 2 February
- * Andrew Davis, English conductor
- * Geoffrey Hughes, English actor
- 3 February – Virginia Ironside, journalist and agony aunt
- 8 February
- * Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor
- * Tony Minson, virologist and academic
- 10 February – Clifford T. Ward, English singer-songwriter
- 13 February – Jerry Springer, English-born television host
- 14 February – Alan Parker, English film director
- 17 February – Karl Jenkins, Welsh composer
- 22 February – Christopher Meyer, diplomat
- 23 February – Bernard Cornwell, historical novelist
- 24 February – Nicky Hopkins, English rock keyboardist
- 27 February – Roger Scruton, English philosopher
- 1 March – Roger Daltrey, English rock singer
- 4 March – Harvey Postlethwaite, engineer and racecar designer
- 7 March – Ranulph Fiennes, English adventurer
- 17 March – John Lill, pianist
- 18 March – Nicholas Snowman, arts administrator and jeweller
- 21 March – Mike Jackson, British Army officer
- 23 March – Michael Nyman, composer
- 24 March – Steve Jones, geneticist
- 31 March
- * Mick Ralphs, guitarist and singer/songwriter
- * Malcolm Roberts, singer
- 3 April – Derek Higgs, English banker and businessman
- 4 April – Phyllida Barlow, sculptor
- 6 April – Felicity Palmer, English soprano
- 12 April – Lisa Jardine, historian and polymath
- 13 April – Brian Pendleton, guitarist
- 16 April – Sue Clifford, environmentalist and academic, co-founder of Common Ground
- 23 April – Timothy Garden, Baron Garden, RAF pilot and politician
- 25 April – Len Goodman, ballroom dancer and television personality
- 26 April – Richard Bradshaw, orchestral conductor
- 27 April – Michael Fish, television weatherman
- 29 April
- * Michael Angelis, actor
- * Francis Lee, English footballer
- 5 May
- * Roger Rees, Welsh actor
- * John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor
- 6 May – Mike Coulman, dual-code rugby international
- 8 May
- * Gary Glitter, English singer and convicted sex offender
- * David Vaughan, psychedelic artist
- 12 May
- * Sara Kestelman, actress
- * Chris Patten, politician
- 20 May – Joe Cocker, English singer
- 22 May – Lynn Barber, journalist
- 25 May – Frank Oz, English puppeteer and film director
- 28 May – Patricia Quinn, Northern Irish actress
- 24 June
- * Jeff Beck, rock guitarist
- * John "Charlie" Whitney, rock guitarist
- 1 June
- * Colin Blakemore, neurobiologist
- * Robert Powell, actor
- 3 June – Peter Bonfield, businessman
- 6 June
- * Reuven Bulka, rabbi, writer, broadcaster and activist
- * David Penhaligon, politician
- 11 June – Alan Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
July – December
- 2 July – Billy Campbell, Northern Irish footballer
- 7 July
- * Glenys Kinnock, politician
- * Ian Wilmut, embryologist
- 11 July – Peter de Savary, entrepreneur
- 12 July – Terry Cooper, English footballer
- 21 July – Tony Scott, English film director
- 22 July – Rick Davies, English musician
- 27 July
- * Tony Capstick, English comedian, actor and musician
- * Matthew Robinson, English television and film producer, director and writer
- 31 July
- * Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster and writer
- * Tommy Robson, English footballer
- 2 August – Jim Capaldi, drummer and singer-songwriter
- 9 August – John Simpson, journalist and broadcaster
- 11 August – Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
- 15 August – R. A. W. Rhodes, political scientist and academic
- 17 August – Bobby Murdoch, footballer and football manager
- 20 August – Brian Barnes, artist
- 26 August – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, member of the British royal family
- 28 August
- * Ray Lowry, cartoonist
- * Kay Parker, actress
- 30 August – John Surman, saxophonist
- 31 August – Roger Dean, English graphic artist
- 4 September
- * Tony Atkinson, economist
- * Dave Bassett, football manager
- 8 September – Margaret Hodge, politician
- 10 September – Thomas Allen, opera singer
- 13 September – Jacqueline Bisset, English film actress
- 15 September – Graham Taylor, English footballer and manager
- 18 September – Veronica Carlson, English film actress
- 20 September
- *Jeremy Child, English actor
- *Paul Madeley, English footballer
- 22 September – Frazer Hines, screen actor
- 26 September – Anne Robinson, television host
- 27 September – Ian Garnett, admiral
- 30 September – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer
- 9 October – John Entwistle, English rock bassist
- 15 October – David Trimble, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 21 October – Janet Ahlberg, children's book writer
- 23 October – Mike Harding, comedian and musician
- 28 October – Ian Marter, television actor and writer
- 10 November – Tim Rice, lyricist, writer and broadcaster
- 14 November – Karen Armstrong, writer
- 25 November – Sylvia Gore, footballer
- 3 December – Ralph McTell, singer-songwriter
- 6 December – Jonathan King, music producer and convicted sex offender
- 9 December
- * Neil Innes, English comedian and musician
- * Roger Short, diplomat
- 12 December – Kenneth Cranham, actor
- 14 December – Denis Thwaites, English footballer
- 15 December – Duncan Campbell, investigative journalist
- 16 December – Tony Martin, farmer convicted of shooting a burglar
- 17 December – Bernard Hill, actor
- 19 December
- * Fred Callaghan, English footballer
- * Alvin Lee, guitarist and singer-songwriter
- 20 December – Anton Rippon, journalist and author
- 21 December – Bill Atkinson, English footballer
- 22 December – Mary Archer, scientist
- 24 December – Mick Shoebottom, rugby league player
- 25 December – Kenny Everett, comedian
- 26 December – Jane Lapotaire, actress
- 27 December – Mick Jones, English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer
Deaths
- 1 January – Sir Edwin Lutyens, architect
- 19 January – Emily Winifred Dickson, gynaecologist
- 9 February – Agnes Mary Frances Duclaux, poet, biographer and novelist
- 12 February
- * Olive Custance, Lady Alfred Douglas, poet
- * Kenneth Gandar-Dower, sportsman, aviator, explorer and author, torpedoed
- 2 March – Ida Maclean, biochemist, first woman admitted to the Chemical Society of London
- 5 March – Alun Lewis, war poet
- 24 March – Orde Wingate, soldier, in aviation accident in India
- 19 March – Mary Paley Marshall, economist
- 2 April – John Batchelor, missionary
- 13 April – Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, sportsman, donor of the Lonsdale Belt in boxing
- 16 April – William Percival Crozier, editor of The Manchester Guardian
- 17 April – J. T. Hearne, cricketer
- 8 May – Dame Ethel Smyth, composer and suffragette
- 12 May
- * Harold Lowe, sailor, 5th officer of
- * Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, writer
- 9 June – Keith Douglas, war poet, killed in action
- 6 July
- * Vera Leigh, SOE agent, executed in France
- * Diana Rowden, SOE agent, executed in France
- 18 July
- * Thomas Sturge Moore, poet, author and artist
- * Rex Whistler, painter, killed in action
- 28 July – Ralph H. Fowler, astronomer and physicist
- 12 August – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., US military aviator, on active service over England
- 13 August – Ethel Lina White, crime novelist
- 19 August – Sir Henry Wood, orchestral conductor
- 13 September
- * Noor Inayat Khan, SOE agent, executed in Germany
- * Eliane Plewman, SOE agent, executed in Germany
- * W. Heath Robinson, cartoonist and illustrator
- 19 September – Guy Gibson VC, Wing Commander, on active service over the Netherlands
- 25 September – Sir Leo Chiozza Money, economist and politician
- 27 September – David Dougal Williams, painter
- 23 October – Charles Glover Barkla, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 26 October
- * The Princess Beatrice, last surviving child of Queen Victoria
- * William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 31 October – Joseph Hubert Priestley, botanist
- 4 November – Sir John Dill, Field Marshal
- 7 November – Geoffrey Dawson, newspaper editor
- 14 November – Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Air Chief Marshal, in aviation accident in France
- 22 November
- * Sir George Clausen, painter
- * Sir Arthur Eddington, astrophysicist
- 27 November – Jill Furse, actress
- 30 November – Roy Emerton, actor
- 26 December – George Bellamy, silent film actor