1946 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1946 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
- 1 January
- * The first international flight from London Heathrow Airport, to Buenos Aires.
- * Atomic Energy Research Establishment established at Harwell, near Oxford.
- 4 January – Theodore Schurch is hanged at HM Prison Pentonville by Albert Pierrepoint, the only British soldier executed for treachery committed during World War II and the last person to be executed in Britain for an offence other than murder.
- 10 January – First United Nations General Assembly convenes at Methodist Central Hall Westminster.
- 17 January – The United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting at Church House in London.
- 14 February – The Bank of England is nationalised.
- 15 February – American dance craze, the Jitterbug, sweeps Britain.
- 20 February – Royal Opera House in Covent Garden re-opens after the War with The Royal Ballet performing The Sleeping Beauty.
- 5 March – Winston Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, United States.
- 9 March – Burnden Park disaster: A stadium disaster at Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s Burnden Park in Bolton kills 33 and injures hundreds.
- 10 March – British troops begin withdrawal from Lebanon.
- 15 March – Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee announces that Britain is granting India's wish for independence. On 24 March, the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India arrives in New Delhi for discussions.
- 22 March – The Treaty of London grants the British mandate of the Emirate of Transjordan its independence.
- 24 March – BBC Home Service radio broadcasts Alistair Cooke's first American Letter. As Letter from America, the programme would continue until a few weeks before Cooke's death in 2004.
- 27 April – 1946 FA Cup Final: the first postwar FA Cup final is won by Derby County, who beat Charlton Athletic 4–1 at Wembley Stadium.
- 4 May – First-class cricket returns, having been suspended during the War.
- 20 May – The House of Commons votes through the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 to nationalise British coal mines.
- 23 May – Terence Rattigan's drama The Winslow Boy premieres in London.
- 31 May – London Heathrow Airport opened fully for civilian use.
- 1 June – Television licence introduced.
- 7 June – Television broadcasting by the BBC, suspended during World War II, resumes.
- 8 June – A victory parade is held in London to celebrate the end of World War II. A certificate is issued to all schoolchildren.
- 27 June – Government imposes bread rationing.
- July – Homeless families squat in a former Army camp at Scunthorpe.
- August – Arthur Horner, a member of the Communist Party, becomes General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers.
- 1 August
- * Finance Act receives Royal Assent, including the establishment of the National Land Fund to secure culturally significant property for the nation as a memorial to the dead of World War II.
- * Atomic Energy Act of 1946 in the United States ends co-operation between the U.K. and U.S. on development of nuclear technology.
- 6 August
- * Family allowance introduced, a cash benefit paid to mothers, under terms of the Family Allowances Act 1945.
- * Free milk provided in UK state schools to all pupils under the age of 18.
- 9 August – Arts Council incorporated by royal charter.
- 31 August – League football returns, having been suspended during World War II.
- September–November – Britain Can Make It exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, promoted by the Council of Industrial Design and the Board of Trade to show off good domestic and industrial design.
- 8 September – Mass squat by homeless families at the Ivanhoe Hotel and other empty properties in London organised by the Communist Party.
- 15 September – Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, retires.
- 16 September – Popular quiz show Have A Go! with Wilfred Pickles is first broadcast nationally on BBC Radio.
- 29 September – BBC Third Programme begins broadcasting.
- 1 October – English premiere of J. B. Priestley's drama An Inspector Calls at the New Theatre, London, starring Ralph Richardson.
- 7 October – The BBC Light Programme transmits the first episode of the daily radio magazine programme Woman's Hour which will still be running more than 70 years later and of the daily adventure serial Dick Barton – Special Agent.
- 10 October – First community arts centre opened, at Bridgwater in Somerset.
- 1 November – First Royal Command Performance at a public cinema, the Empire, Leicester Square: premiere of the Powell and Pressburger film A Matter of Life and Death starring David Niven.
- 9 November – Shooting of Margaret Cook in Carnaby Street, London.
- 10 November – Peter Scott opens the Slimbridge Wetland Reserve in Gloucestershire.
- 11 November – Stevenage, a village in Hertfordshire, is designated by the Attlee government as Britain's first new town to relieve overcrowding and replace bombed homes in London. The new town is set to have around 60,000 residents once it is completed and the first homes are expected to be ready by 1952 and the town fully developed by the early 1960s. The town's centerpiece will be a revolutionary pedestrianised central shopping area.
- 17 November – Eight British Army servicemen are killed in Jerusalem by Jewish terrorists.
- 22 November – Tony Benn is elected as Treasurer of the Oxford Union.
- 29 November
- * Premiere of educational documentary film The Instruments of the Orchestra containing Benjamin Britten's composition The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
- * BBC Television begins airing Pinwright's Progress, the world's first regular half-hour situation comedy.
- 26 December – David Lean's film of Great Expectations, based on the Charles Dickens novel, and featuring John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Martita Hunt, Alec Guinness, Francis L. Sullivan, Jean Simmons, and Finlay Currie, is released to great acclaim.
Undated
- Cinemagoing reaches an all-time peak, with 1,635 million admissions during the year.
- Lifting of prohibition on married women working in the Civil Service.
- Fred Pontin opens the first Pontins holiday camp, at Brean Sands, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.
- The University of Bristol establishes the first university drama department in the UK.
- Bush DAC90 bakelite radio introduced: it becomes the best-selling model for some years.
Publications
- January – launch of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V. Rieu, whose translation of the Odyssey is the first published in the series and will be the country's best-selling book over the next decade.
- W. V. Awdry's children's book Thomas the Tank Engine, first in The Railway Series.
- Enid Blyton's girl school story First Term at Malory Towers, first in the Malory Towers series.
- Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel The Hollow.
- R. G. Collingwood's collected philosophical lectures The Idea of History.
- John Stewart Collis' memoir While Following the Plough.
- Stella Gibbons' novel Westwood.
- Philip Larkin's novel Jill.
- George Mikes' book How to be an Alien.
- Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Groan, first in the Gormenghast series.
- Thomas Sharp's book The Anatomy of the Village.
- Joint Committee of the Building Research Board and the Fire Offices' Committee's first report on fire safety General Principles and Structural Precautions.
Births
January
- 3 January – John Paul Jones, bassist
- 6 January – Syd Barrett, guitarist and singer
- 7 January – Mike Wilds, racing driver and pilot
- 14 January – Harold Shipman, serial killer
- 19 January – Julian Barnes, novelist
- 25 January – Pete Price, Merseyside radio disc jockey
- 26 January – Timothy Clifford, art historian
- 28 January – David Duckham, rugby union player
- 30 January – John Bird, Baron Bird, social entrepreneur and life peer
February
- 1 February – Elisabeth Sladen, television actress
- 5 February – Charlotte Rampling, actress
- 7 February
- *Brian Patten, Liverpool poet
- *Pete Postlethwaite, actor
- 9 February – Seán Neeson, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician
- 11 February – Malcolm Walker, English businessman
- 13 February – Colin Matthews, composer
- 15 February – Clare Short, politician
- 16 February – Ian Lavender, actor
- 20 February – Brenda Blethyn, actress
- 21 February – Alan Rickman, actor
- 26 February – Colin Bell, footballer
- 28 February – Robin Cook, Labour politician
March
- 1 March – Tony Ashton, rock pianist and music producer
- 4 March
- *Michael Ashcroft, entrepreneur
- *Harvey Goldsmith, performing arts promoter
- *John Virgo, snooker player and commentator
- 6 March
- *David Gilmour, singer and guitarist
- *Richard Noble, entrepreneur and land speed record holder
- 7 March – Matthew Fisher, singer-songwriter and producer
- 19 March – Steve Halliwell, actor
- 21 March – Timothy Dalton, actor
- 22 March – Richard Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Worcester, journalist and politician
- 23 March – Alan Bleasdale, screenwriter
- 25 March – Cliff Balsam, footballer
- 27 March – Patrick Richardson, travel writer and author
April
- 2 April
- *Raymond Gubbay, English impresario
- *Sue Townsend, novelist and playwright
- 4 April – Dave Hill, guitarist
- 5 April – Jane Asher, actress and author
- 9 April
- *Les Gray, vocalist
- *Mike Hancock, politician
- *Alan Knott, cricketer
- *Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician
- 11 April – Bob Harris, radio disc jockey
- 12 April – George Robertson, Scottish politician
- 15 April – Hugh Laddie, judge
- 19 April – Tim Curry, actor, voice artist, singer and composer
- 21 April – Alan Rickman, actor
- 24 April – Piers Gough, architect
- 25 April – John Fox, statistician
- 27 April – Nicholas Serota, art curator
- 28 April – Linda Knowles, high jumper
- 29 April – Humphrey Carpenter, children's writer and broadcaster
May
- 1 May – Joanna Lumley, actress
- 2 May – David Suchet, actor
- 4 May – John Watson, Northern Irish racing driver
- 7 May – Michael Rosen, writer and poet
- 8 May – Ruth Padel, poet and writer
- 10 May
- *Donovan, Scottish musician
- *Maureen Lipman, actress, columnist and comedian
- *Dave Mason, rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 11 May – David Varney, civil servant
- 13 May – Tim Pigott-Smith, actor
- 16 May – Robert Fripp, rock guitarist
- 19 May – Trevor Adams, actor
- 20 May – Paul Hirst, sociologist
- 22 May – George Best, Northern Irish footballer
- 23 May – Stephen Marks, English businessman
- 27 May – Lewis Collins, actor
June
- 1 June – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
- 2 June – Peter Sutcliffe, serial killer
- 3 June – Penelope Wilton, actress
- 11 June – Jenny Pitman, horse trainer and author
- 14 June – Ernie Graham, Northern Irish singer-songwriter
- 15 June – Noddy Holder, rock singer-songwriter
- 19 June – Michael Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme, English politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to France
- 20 June – Nigel Kalton, mathematician and academic
- 21 June –
- *Kate Hoey, politician
- *Maurice Saatchi, Baron Saatchi, businessman
- 22 June – Sheila Hollins, Baroness Hollins, psychiatrist
- 23 June – Kathy Wilkes, philosopher
- 25 June
- *Buzz Goodbody, English theatre director
- *Ian McDonald, musician
- 26 June – Clive Francis, actor and caricaturist
- 28 June – Jamie Cann, politician
July
- 1 July – Mick Aston, archaeologist
- 5 July
- *Gwyneth Powell, actress
- *Paul Smith, fashion designer
- 9 July – Mitch Mitchell, drummer
- 12 July – Robert Fisk, writer and journalist
- 14 July – Sue Lawley, broadcaster
- 30 July – Dixie Deans, footballer
August
- 3 August – Jack Straw, politician
- 6 August
- *Ron Davies, politician
- *Allan Holdsworth, guitarist and composer
- 15 August
- *Tony Robinson, actor and broadcaster
- *William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 23 August
- *Keith Moon, rock drummer
- *Willy Russell, playwright
- 26 August – Alison Steadman, actress
- 27 August – Peter Tobin, serial killer
September
- 1 September – Barry Gibb, Manx-born pop singer-songwriter
- 5 September - Freddie Mercury, rock singer
- 9 September – Adrian Smith, statistician, President of the Royal Society
- 10 September – Don Powell, drummer
- 11 September
- *Mike Bull, Northern Irish pole vaulter and decathlete
- *Anthony Browne, author and illustrator
- *John Roberts, Welsh footballer and manager
- *Jim Shoulder, footballer and manager
- 12 September – Neil Lyndon, journalist and author
- 17 September – Billy Bonds, footballer
- 19 September
- *Michael Elphick, actor
- *Oliver Foot, actor
- 22 September – John Tomlinson, operatic bass
- 25 September – Felicity Kendal, actress
- 28 September – Tom Bower, writer and journalist
- 29 September – Patricia Hodge, actress
October
- 8 October – Bel Mooney, author, journalist, advice columnist
- 10 October
- *Charles Dance, actor
- *Raymond Tallis, writer and poet
- *Chris Tarrant, television and radio presenter
- 12 October – Chris Nicholl, football player and manager
- 13 October – Edwina Currie, Conservative politician, author and radio personality
- 14 October
- *Justin Hayward, singer and songwriter
- * Peter Jonas, opera director
- *Katy Manning, English-Australian actress and production manager
- 17 October
- *Cameron Mackintosh, theatre producer
- *Vicki Hodge, actress
- 18 October – Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Welsh politician
- 19 October – Philip Pullman, author
- 22 October
- *Eileen Gordon, Labour politician
- *Kelvin MacKenzie, media executive and newspaper editor
- 29 October – Peter Green, blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
- 31 October – Stephen Rea, Northern Irish actor
November
- 1 November – Ric Grech, bassist
- 5 November
- *Caroline Jackson, politician
- *Ken Whaley, Austrian-English bass player and songwriter
- 6 November – Susie Orbach, psychotherapist
- 7 November – Martin Barre, musician
- 12 November – P. P. Arnold, born Patricia Ann Cole, American-born soul singer
- 14 November – Carola Dunn, English writer
- 18 November
- *Andrea Allan, Scottish actress
- *Chris Rainbow, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
- 21 November – Marina Warner, writer
- 22 November – Brian Cookman, musician and composer
- 23 November – Diana Quick, actress
December
- 4 December – Angela Browning, Conservative politician and MP for Tiverton and Honiton
- 12 December – Barrie Rutter, actor and director
- 14 December
- *Antony Beevor, military historian
- *Jane Birkin, English-born actress and singer
- *Peter Lorimer, Scottish footballer
- 16 December
- *Christopher Ellison, actor
- *Trevor Pinnock, harpsichordist and conductor
- 20 December – Lesley Judd, actress and television presenter
- 25 December – Christopher Frayling, cultural historian
- 27 December
- *Janet Street-Porter, broadcast journalist
- *Polly Toynbee, journalist and writer
- 29 December – Marianne Faithfull, English singer and actress
- 31 December – Roy Porter, medical historian
- date unknown
- *Alun Armstrong, actor
- *Graham Gouldman, guitarist and songwriter
- *Howard Kendall, footballer and football manager
- *Christopher Strauli, comedy actor
Deaths
- 2 January
- * Eleanor Rathbone, social campaigner and politician
- * Will Thorne, trade unionist and politician
- 3 January – William Joyce, Irish American fascist propagandist
- 4 January – Theodore Schurch, British-born soldier and collaborator
- 23 January – Sir Frank MacKinnon, judge
- 5 February – George Arliss, English film actor
- 8 March – Frederick W. Lanchester, automotive engineer
- 3 April – Alf Common, English footballer
- 21 April – John Maynard Keynes, economist
- 9 May – Connie Gilchrist, Countess of Orkney, child actress and model
- 25 May – Ernest Rhys, writer
- 26 May
- * Sir Francis Lacey, cricket administrator
- * Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London
- 14 June – John Logie Baird, Scottish-born television pioneer
- 11 July – Paul Nash, artist
- 15 July – Razor Smith, English cricketer
- 23 July – James Maxton, Scottish socialist, leader of the Independent Labour Party
- 13 August – H. G. Wells, English novelist
- 16 August – Sir Granville Bantock, classical composer and conductor
- 31 August – Harley Granville-Barker, actor, playwright and critic
- 16 September – Sir James Jeans, physicist, astronomer and mathematician
- 2 November – John Barrett, Roman Catholic bishop
- 17 November – Helen Lavinia Cochrane, artist
- 18 November – Donald Meek, actor
- 17 December – Constance Garnett, translator