1955 in the United Kingdom
Overview of the events during 1955 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom
Incumbents
Events
1 January – The UK's first atomic bomber unit, No. 138 Squadron RAF , is formed, flying Vickers Valiants from RAF Gaydon in Warwickshire.[ 1]
7 January – UK release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell 's Animal Farm CIA .[ 2] [ 3]
11 January – 1955 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance : Two Royal Air Force Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft flying from RAF St Eval in Cornwall disappear without trace during a routine patrol.[ 4]
23 January – Sutton Coldfield rail crash : an express train takes a sharp curve too fast and derails at Sutton Coldfield railway station : 17 killed, 43 injured.[ 5]
27 January – Michael Tippett 's opera The Midsummer Marriage Royal Opera House , Covent Garden in London with designs by Barbara Hepworth and choreography by John Cranko ; it arouses controversy.[ 6]
24 February – A big freeze across Britain results in more than 70 roads being blocked with snow and in some parts of the country, rail services are cancelled for several days. The Royal Air Force works to deliver food and medical supplies to the worst affected areas.[ 7]
25 February – Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (launched 1950 ) commissioned, the first constructed with an angled flight deck and steam catapults from new.[ 8]
1 April
2 April – Duncan Edwards , the 18-year-old Manchester United left-half, becomes the youngest full England international in a 7–2 win over Scotland at Wembley. Dudley -born Edwards is already being tipped by many observers to become the next England captain upon the eventual retirement of Billy Wright .[ 10]
5 April – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister due to ill-health at the age of 80.[ 11]
6 April – Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden is named as the new Prime Minister. Eden, 58, has held government and shadow cabinet ministerial roles for the last 20 years and was first tipped for the role of Prime Minister as long ago as Stanley Baldwin's resignation.[ 12] Deputy Prime Minister is not refilled.
16 April – Laurence Olivier 's film Richard III
21 April – National newspapers published for the first time after a month-long strike by maintenance workers.[ 13]
23 April – Chelsea F.C. who have previously never won the league title nor the FA Cup , are Football League First Division champions and will be England's first entrants into UEFA's new European Cup next season if they accept the invitation to compete.[ 14]
30 April – Pietro Annigoni 's portrait of the Queen is unveiled.[ 15]
1 May – The last Cornish engine pumping in the metalliferous mines of Cornwall is shut down at South Crofty .
4–6 May – A severe gale strips topsoil across Norfolk .[ 16]
5 May – American virologist Dr Jonas Salk promotes a polio vaccine in Britain, with the 500,000th person receiving a vaccine against the disease.[ 17]
7 May – Newcastle United secure the FA Cup for the sixth time with a 3-1 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium .[ 18]
14 May – Warrington win the Rugby League Championship title for the third time; they will not win it again within the following 70 years.
24 May
Wartime film The Dam Busters
With three days to go before the General Election, all major opinion polls show the Conservative government well placed for reelection.[ 19]
25 May – Joe Brown and George Band are the first to climb Kanchenjunga , as part of the 1955 British Kanchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans .
27 May – Anthony Eden wins the General Election for the Conservative Party with a majority of 31 seats,[ 20] [ 21] William Whitelaw and Geoffrey Rippon .
29 May – Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) calls a strike on British Railways which continues until 14 June, leading to a state of emergency being declared on 31 May.
6 June – Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act comes into effect, with intention of protecting children from horror comics .
16 June – Submarine HMS Sidon sinks in Portland Harbour with the loss of thirteen crew following an explosion caused by a faulty torpedo on board.
30 June
Summer – Heat wave and associated drought .[ 24]
July – Unemployment stands at a modern low of just over 215,000, meaning that barely 1% of the workforce is currently without a job.[ 25]
9 July
13 July – Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK, at HM Prison Holloway , for shooting dead a lover, David Blakely, outside a pub in Hampstead (north London) on 10 April (Easter Sunday).[ 26]
17 July – Stirling Moss becomes the first English winner of the British Grand Prix at Aintree Motor Racing Circuit .[ 27]
18 July – Winterborne St Martin (in Dorset) enters the UK Weather Records with the highest 24-hour total rainfall at 279mm.[ a]
25–27 July – 'Operation Sandcastle ': The first load of deteriorating captured Nazi German bombs filled with Tabun (nerve agent) is shipped from Cairnryan on the SS Empire Claire for scuttling in the Atlantic Ocean .
26 July – Chelsea F.C. withdraws from the new European Cup on the instructions of the Football League .
30 July – Philip Larkin makes a train journey from Hull to Grantham which inspires his poem The Whitsun Weddings [ 28]
3 August
26 August – The Hammer Film Productions ' The Quatermass Xperiment
27 August – The Guinness Book of Records [ 26]
29 August – A Royal Air Force English Electric Canberra jet engined medium bomber sets a new world altitude record of 65,876ft (20,079m).[ 29]
4 September – Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall become the first BBC Television newsreaders to be seen reading the news.[ 8]
7 September – Meld wins the Fillies Triple Crown having finished first in the 1,000 Guineas Stakes , Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes .[ 30]
14 September – Airfix produce their first scale model aircraft kit of the Supermarine Spitfire at 1/72 scale.[ 31]
18 September
22 September – The Independent Television Authority 's first ITV franchise begins broadcasting the UK's first commercial television station in London, ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBC .[ 34] Gibbs SR toothpaste.[ 35] BBC Radio serial The Archers
26 September – Clarence Birdseye begins selling fish fingers in Britain.[ 8]
October – Dame Evelyn Sharp appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government , the first woman Civil Servant to attain this most senior position within a UK Ministry .[ 36]
23 October – Kim Philby is named as the "Third Man" of the Cambridge Spy Ring in the US press,[ 32] Marcus Lipton .
31 October – Princess Margaret announces that she does not intend to marry divorced Group Captain Peter Townsend .[ 37]
7 November – The Foreign Secretary denies in Parliament that Kim Philby is the "Third Man" of the Cambridge Spy Ring .[ 32]
19 November – C. Northcote Parkinson first articulates "Parkinson's Law ", the semi-serious adage Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion .[ 38]
20 November – Milton rail crash : an excursion train takes a crossover too fast and derails at Milton, near Didcot : 11 killed, 157 injured.
Late November – Lonnie Donegan 's 1954 skiffle recording of Rock Island Line
2 December – Barnes rail crash at Barnes , South London , a collision due to signal error and consequent fire: 13 killed, 35 injured.
7 December – Clement Attlee resigns as leader of the Labour Party after twenty years at the age of 72.[ 39]
8 December – The Ealing comedy film The Ladykillers [ 40]
9 December – Cumbernauld , Scotland , is designated as a New town .[ 41]
12 December – Christopher Cockerell patents his design of hovercraft .
14 December – Hugh Gaitskell becomes leader of the Labour Party. The 49-year-old MP was previously the treasurer of the party and served as chancellor during the final year of the previous Labour government.[ 42]
16 December – The Queen opens a new terminal at London Airport .[ 43]
20 December – Cardiff becomes the official capital of Wales.[ 44]
Publications
Births
1 January
3 January – Helen O'Hara , rock violinist
5 January – Jimmy Mulville , comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter, co-founder of Hat Trick Productions
6 January – Rowan Atkinson , comedy performer
15 January – Nigel Benson , author and illustrator
18 January – Lionel Barber , journalist
19 January
27 January – Alexander Stuart , novelist and screenwriter in the United States
3 February
5 February – Melanie Johnson , British politician[ 45]
9 February – Charles Shaughnessy , television actor in the United States and peer
10 February – Chris Adams , wrestler (died 2001)
12 February – Paul Geoffrey , actor (died 2023)
18 February – Miles Tredinnick , singer-songwriter and playwright
23 February – Howard Jones , pop keyboardist and singer-songwriter
28 February – Bob Kerslake , head of the home civil service (died 2023)
1 March – Timothy Laurence , admiral and second husband of Anne, Princess Royal
11 March – Peter Bennett-Jones , television producer
14 March – Nigel Biggar , Anglican priest, theologian, and ethicist
18 March – Jeff Stelling , television sports presenter
19 March – John Burnside , Scottish poet and fiction writer (died 2024)
28 March – John Alderdice , Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician and Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
29 March – Marina Sirtis , television actress in the United States
31 March – Angus Young , Scottish-born Australian guitarist
1 April – Sal Brinton , politician
3 April – Michael Burleigh , historian
5 April
10 April – Lesley Garrett , soprano
11 April – Piers Sellers , English-born meteorologist and astronaut (died 2016)
17 April – Pete Shelley , rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, co-founder of Buzzcocks (died 2018)
22 April – Geoffrey Vos , judge, Master of the Rolls
23 April – Tony Miles , chess player (died 2001)
24 April – Margaret Moran , Labour politician and convicted criminal
25 April – John Nunn , chess player and mathematician
28 April
1 May – Nick Feldman , rock musician
2 May – Willie Miller , Scottish footballer
6 May – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness , Labour politician
11 May – Paul Rowen , Liberal Democrat politician and MP for Rochdale
12 May – David Anfam , art historian (died 2024)
13 May – Garry Bushell , newspaper columnist, rock music journalist and singer, television presenter, writer and political activist
16 May – Hazel O'Connor , singer
21 May – Paul Barber , field hockey player
22 May – Dale Winton , broadcast presenter (died 2018)
30 May – Topper Headon , born Nicholas Headon, rock drummer (The Clash )
31 May
4 June – Val McDermid , Scottish crime novelist
7 June – Jo Gilbert , film producer and casting director (died 2018)
8 June – Tim Berners-Lee , inventor of the World Wide Web
13 June – Alan Hansen , Scottish footballer and television presenter
14 June
19 June – Asgar , celebrity hair stylist[ 47]
23 June – Pamela Rooke , model and actress (died 2022)
26 June
6 July – Michael Boyd , theatre director (died 2023)
12 July – Timothy Garton Ash , modern historian
18 July – Terry Chambers , rock drummer
20 July – Jem Finer , folk rock banjoist, composer and multimedia artist
21 July – Henry Priestman , English pop singer-songwriter, keyboardist and producer
29 July – Stephen Timms , Labour politician
6 August – Gordon J. Brand , golfer
13 August – Paul Greengrass , film director
14 August – Gillian Taylforth , television actress
23 August – David Learner , actor
1 September – Bruce Foxton , rock bass guitarist and vocalist
3 September – Steve Jones , guitarist (Sex Pistols )
5 September – John Bentley , rugby football player
16 September – Janet Ellis , children's television presenter
20 September – David Haig , actor
29 September – Gareth Davies , rugby union player
30 September – Martin Millett , archaeologist
2 October
7 October – Clinton Bennett , scholar of religions, specialist in the study of Islam
9 October – Steve Ovett , athlete
18 October – Timmy Mallett , television presenter
28 October – Digby Jones , businessman
29 October – Roger O'Donnell , rock keyboardist
30 October – Jeremy Black , historian
12 November – Les McKeown , singer (Bay City Rollers ) (died 2021)
14 November – Philip Egan , bishop
17 November
22 November – George Alagiah , Ceylonese-born journalist and television news presenter (died 2023)
24 November – Ian Botham , cricketer
30 November – Billy Idol , born William Broad, rock singer
4 December – Philip Hammond , Chancellor of the Exchequer
6 December – Edward Tudor-Pole , actor
13 December – Glenn Roeder , football player and manager (died 2021)
15 December – Paul Simonon , rock bass guitarist (The Clash )
23 December – Carol Ann Duffy , Scottish poet
Undated
Rebecca Salter , printmaker and multimedia abstract artist, President of the Royal AcademyPhil Sawdon , artist, writer and academic
Deaths
7 January – Lamorna Birch , painter (born 1869)
10 January – Annette Mills , television presenter (born 1894)
29 January – Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams , Welsh politician (born 1865)
11 March – Sir Alexander Fleming , Scottish bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1881)[ 48]
16 April – Frank Halford , aeronautical engineer (born 1894)
22 April – Herbert MacNair , Scottish artist (born 1868)
27 April – Ambrose Bebb , author (born 1894)
9 May – Kate Booth , Salvation Army officer (born 1858)
11 May – Gilbert Jessop , cricketer (born 1874)
5 June – Sir Herbert Stanley , Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia (born 1872)
14 June – Jacob Moritz Blumberg , surgeon, gynaecologist and radium therapist (born 1873 in Germany )
3 July – Beatrice Chase , writer (born 1874)
9 July – Don Beauman , racing driver (born 1928)
13 July – Ruth Ellis , Welsh-born murderer (born 1926)
18 July – Billy McCandless , Irish footballer (born 1894)
16 September – Leo Amery , politician (born 1873)
28 September – Lionel Rees , Welsh airman, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1884)
11 October – Hector McNeil , Scottish politician (born 1907)
14 October – Harry Parr-Davies , Welsh songwriter (born 1914)
15 October – Thomas Jones (T. J.) , Welsh educationalist (born 1870)
14 November – Ruby M. Ayres , romance novelist (born 1881)
25 November – Sir Arthur Tansley , botanist and ecologist (born 1871)
27 December – Alfred Carpenter , naval officer, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1881)
31 December – Cyril Garbett , Anglican prelate, Archbishop of York (born 1875)
Notes
^ This total was reported for the Meteorological Day from 0900–0900 GMT. Other 24 hour periods have exceeded this value (November 2009 and December 2015), but not during the meteorological day.
See also
References
^ Crosby, Francis (2006). The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day 288 . ISBN 9781846810008 ^ McFarlane, Brian, ed. (2003). The Encyclopedia of British Film BFI . p. 48 . ISBN 9780413773012 ^ Leab, Daniel J. (2007). Orwell Subverted . Pennsylvania State Press. p. xiii-xiv. ISBN 978-0-271-02979-5 ^ Ranter, Harro. "Avro Shackleton MR.2" . Aviatiomn Safety Network . Retrieved 24 April 2023 . ^ "Express train crashes killing 14" . BBC News Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ Gloag, Kenneth (2013). "Tippett's operatic world: from The Midsummer Marriage to New Year ". In Gloag, Kenneth; Jones, Nicholas (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Michael Tippett . Cambridge University Press. pp. 230–31. ISBN 978-1-107-60613-5 ^ "Britain's big freeze" . BBC News . 24 February 1955. Retrieved 5 December 2009 .^ a b c Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0 ^ Hannah, Leslie (1982). Engineers, Managers and Politicians: The First Fifteen Years of Nationalised Electricity Supply in Britain . London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-22087-0 ^ "Duncan Edwards: A prodigious talent cut down in his prime" . Mirror Football . Daily Mirror . Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012 .^ "Sir Winston Churchill resigns" . BBC News . 5 April 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "Anthony Eden 1955" . The Cabinet Papers 1915-1981 . Kew: The National Archives . Retrieved 24 January 2012 .^ "Fleet Street papers back after strike" . BBC News . 21 April 1955. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "Trophy – 1955 League Title" . chelseaafc.com . Chelsea Football Club. 11 July 2002. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012 .^ Oliver, W. T. (30 April 1955). "Emphasis on young artists at the Academy". Yorkshire Post . p. 7. ^ Simons, Paul (2008). Since Records Began . London: Collins. pp. 36–8. ISBN 978-0-00-728463-4 ^ "Dr Salk promotes polio vaccine in UK" . BBC News . 5 May 1955. Retrieved 5 December 2009 .^ "1955" . The FA Cup . Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2011 .^ "British Public Opinion Polls Predict Conservative Victory" . The Palm Beach Post . Retrieved 7 July 2012 .[dead link ] ^ "Election victory for Tories under Eden" . BBC News . 27 May 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "1951 General election results summary" . UK Political Info . Retrieved 10 February 2012 .[dead link ] ^ "Four Killed in Air Crash". The Times ^ "The Simonstown Agreement: Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 29 October 1974" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2023 .^ "Severe droughts in Yorkshire" . 2002. Retrieved 30 October 2009 .^ "Whatever happened to full employment?" . BBC News . 13 October 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011 .^ a b "The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC" . Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "Moss claims first Grand Prix victory" . BBC News . 17 July 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ Contrary to his later recollection of the event. Burnett, Archie, ed. (2012). The Complete Poems of Philip Larkin . London: Faber. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-571-24006-7
^ Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft . New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7607-0592-6 ^ Craig, Dennis (1964). Breeding Racehorses from Cluster Mares . London: J.A. Allen. ^ Pietrobon, Steven S. (24 June 2005). "Airfix's First Aircraft Kit: The Spitfire BTK" . Retrieved 6 November 2010 . ^ a b c Macintyre, Ben (2014). A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal . London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-6192-9 ^ "Britain claims Rockall" . BBC News . 21 September 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "New TV channel ends BBC monopoly" . BBC News . 22 September 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "A Short History of British TV Advertising" . Science and Media Museum . Retrieved 10 September 2021 .^ "Baroness Sharp". Obituaries. The Times . No. 62234. London. 4 September 1985. col F, p. 14. ^ "Princess Margaret cancels wedding" . BBC News . 31 October 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ Parkinson, C. Northcote (19 November 1955). "Parkinson's Law" . The Economist . Retrieved 5 October 2010 . ^ "Attlee steps down as Labour leader" . BBC News . 7 December 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "Ladykillers, The (1955)" . screenonline.org.uk . BFI. Retrieved 9 July 2010 .^ "Cumbernauld Town Centre" . Retrieved 18 July 2010 .^ "Gaitskell elected Labour leader" . BBC News . 14 December 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "1955: Queen opens London Airport terminal" . BBC News . 16 December 1955. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "Capital claims – A city's struggle" . BBC News . 22 April 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2011 .^ "Melanie Johnson: Political Profile" . BBC News. 16 October 2002. Retrieved 26 May 2021 .^ Jeffries, Stuart (29 March 2023). "Paul O'Grady obituary" . The Guardian . Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023 . ^ "Asgar Saboo" . nettv4u.com . Retrieved 18 July 2023 .^ "Alexander Fleming | Biography, Education, Discovery, & Facts" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 15 October 2020 .
