1942 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1942 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - George VI of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - Winston Churchill, coalition

Events

* 29 January - "Desert Island Discs" first broadcast on BBC radio.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 7 February - soap rationing introduced.
* 15 February - World War II: Arthur Ernest Percival's forces surrender to the Japanese at the Battle of Singapore.
* 25 February - Princess Elizabeth registers for war service.
* 5 April - World War II: Japanese Navy attacks Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy Cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
* 9 April - World War II: Japanese Navy launches air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the country's East Coast.
* 23 April
** Exeter becomes the first city to bombed as part of the Baedeker Blitz in retaliation for the British bombing of Lübeck.
** William Temple enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
* 5 May–6 November - World War II, Battle of Madagascar: British commander Robert Sturges leads the invasion of Vichy French held Madagascar.
* 30 May - Over a thousand RAF bombers attack Cologne in Germany.
* 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 - Prince George, Duke of Kent, the brother of King George VI is killed in an 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.
* 5 October - Oxford Committee for Famine Relief founded.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 389-390|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 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.
* 29 October - Holocaust: Leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews.
* 3 November - World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein ends with German forces under Erwin Rommel forced to retreat during the night.
* 8 November - World War II: British and American troops invade French North Africa in Operation Torch.
* 1 December - Publication of the Beveridge Report into social insurance.
* 7 December - British commandos conduct Operation Frankton a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour.

Publications

* Agatha Christie's novels "The Body in the Library" (Miss Marple), "Five Little Pigs" (Hercule Poirot) and "The Moving Finger" (Miss Marple).
* C. S. Lewis' novel "The Screwtape Letters".
* Evelyn Waugh's novel "Put Out More Flags".

Births

January - April

* 3 January - John Thaw, English actor (died 2002)
* 8 January
** Stephen Hawking, British physicist
** George Passmore, English artist (Gilbert and George)
* 19 January - Michael Crawford, English singer and actor
* 31 January - Derek Jarman, English director and writer (died 1994)
* 1 February - Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
* 2 February - Graham Nash, English musician
* 28 February - Brian Jones, English musician (The Rolling Stones) (died 1969)
* 9 March - John Cale, Welsh composer and musician
* 25 March - Richard O'Brien, English actor and writer
* 27 March
** John E. Sulston, British chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
** Michael York, English actor
* 28 March
** Neil Kinnock, British statesman
** Mike Newell, British film director
* 5 April - Peter Greenaway, Welsh filmmaker
* 8 April - Roger Chapman, British singer (Family, Streetwalkers)

May - August

* 8 May - Terry Neill, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
* 12 May - Ian Dury, British musician (died 2000)
* 18 May
** Albert Hammond, English-born musician and composer
** Nobby Stiles, English footballer
* 18 June - Paul McCartney, English musician and composer (The Beatles)
* 24 June - Mick Fleetwood, English drummer (Fleetwood Mac)
* 4 July - Prince Michael of Kent
* 23 July - Myra Hindley, English murderer (died 2002)
* 26 August - Dennis Turner, British politician

eptember - December

* 17 September - Desmond Lynam, British TV presenter
* 26 October - Bob Hoskins, English actor
* 24 November - Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian
* 29 November - Michael Craze, British actor (d. 1998)
* 4 December - Gemma Jones, British actress
* 31 December - Andy Summers, English musician

Deaths

* 16 January - Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn- third eldest son of Queen Victoria (born 1850)
* 10 March - William Henry Bragg, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1862)
* 16 April - Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria (born 1878)
* 7 June - Alan Blumlein, English electronics engineer (born 1903)
* 22 July - Gilbert Cunningham Joyce, Bishop of Monmouth (born 1866)
* 28 July - William Matthew Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist (born 1853)
* 10 August - Bob Kelso, Scottish footballer (born 1865)
* 25 August - Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth eldest son of King George V (born 1902)
* 4 December - Hugh Gordon Malcolm, Scottish VC recipient (born 1917)
* 22 December - Elias Henry Jones, Welsh educationist and author (year of birth unknown)

References

ee also