A CENTURY OF CHANGE                   
Part 1 - 1905 to 1954

1905

The 'MCAC' is formed. The Trans Siberian Railway officially opens.  Transatlantic liner tickets increase to £6 (third class).  French fashion Designer Christian Dior is born.  A Paris Court declares all gramophone recordings of published music to be in breach of copyright.  Two Frenchmen cross the English Channel in a balloon and land at Crystal Palace.  French writer Jules Verne dies.  President Roosevelt is re-elected to office.  The London County Council decide to spend £1.7million on a new headquarters opposite the Houses of Parliament.  The first flight of a motorised aeroplane in Europe takes place.  Henry Fonda and Bob Hope are born.  The Automobile Association is founded.  Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Greta Garbo is born whilst John Barnado passes away.  The King and Queen lay the foundation stone for the new General Post Office.  Kingsway and Aldwych are opened to help ease congestion between Holborn and The Strand.  US Industrialist Howard Hughes is born.

 

1906

New Darraq racing car achieves new speed of 108mph in France. Aristotle Onassis is born.  Government drops plans to build a fast motor highway between London and Brighton.  William S Kellogg forms the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. HMS Dreadnought, the worlds biggest and fastest warship is launched.  The underground railway opens between Baker Street and Waterloo - the 'Bakerloo' line is born.. Parliament approves the principal of old age pensions paid for by taxation. San Francisco earth quake. The Olympics are held in Athens. The sonar is invented by Lewis Nixon. Vauxhall Bridge opens. The first circuit motor race held at Le Mans is won by Ferenc Szisz in a Renault.

 

1907

England thrash France 41-13 at rugby.  57 suffragettes appear in court following bitter clashes with police. The new Criminal Courts of Justice at Old Bailey are opened by the King and Queen.  Liberal MP Winston Churchill is appointed a Privy Councillor.  The Bill to facilitate the construction of a railway tunnel under the Channel is withdrawn due to Government opposition. Laurence Olivier is born. Prince of Wales becomes the first President of the All England Club at Wimbledon.   Robert Baden-Powell forms the Boy Scouts. Lloyd George approves plans for a Channel ferry from Dover to Calais.   Prince Borghese of Italy wins the Peking to Paris motor race which was initially hampered by bureaucratic hitches when, apparently, the Chinese Government thought that the race was a plot to discover how to invade China.  The liner Lusitania travels from Liverpool to New York on her maiden voyage in a record time of five days and 54 minutes.   

 

1908

Count von Zeppelin announces that he is building an airship capable of carrying 100 passengers.  London's Playhouse Theatre opens. Oklahoma becomes the 46th state of the US. Actress Bette Davis is born.  The Territorial Army is formed. James Stewart and Ian Fleming are born. The White City stadium is opened.  Parliament passes the Invalid and Old Age Pensions Act.    The Rotherhithe Tunnel under the Thames is opened.  The American Thomas car is declared the winner of the New York to Paris race after the first car home, a German Protos, is penalised for travelling part of the way by rail.  The Olympics are held in London. Winston Churchill marries Clementine Hozier.  Lyndon B Johnson is born.  The Ford Model T commences production in Detroit. Dr W. G. Grace retires from first class cricket.  Buick and Oldsmobile merge to become General Motors. A new harbour is opened at Dover.  Rutherford discovers the atom.

 

1909

State pension of five shillings a week for Britons over 70.  Astronomers report that there may be another planet beyond Neptune. Tennessee passes legislation prohibiting the manufacture of alcohol from next year - a law that soon spreads.  Colour films are screened in public for the first time. Chiricahua Apache chief Geronimo dies. Selfridges's opens in London.  The Anglo Persian oil Company is formed.  British actor James Mason and jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman are born. Shackleton arrives back in Dover after his Antarctic expedition.  The Victoria & Albert Museum is opened by King Edward VII. Two banks merge in London to form the London, Country & Westminster Bank.  Frenchman Louis Bleriot flies across the Channel.  First Boy Scout parade at Crystal Palace.  Katherine Hepburn is born. US President William Taft announces the formation of a new naval station at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.   Henry Ford announces the Model T Ford as being available in any colour you like, as long as it's black.  Bakelite is invented by Leo Baekeland.  The union of South Africa is formed.

 

1910

Halley's Comet is seen over London for the first time.  The first Labour Exchanges open.  The first Hollywood film is released. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, alias Mark Twain, dies.  King Edward VII dies - he is succeeded by King George V.  The Girl Guides are formed.  Captain Robert F Scott's expedition to find the South Pole embarks  from the East India Dock.  Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker form their tool company in Baltimore.  Dr Crippen is arrested on the SS Montrose after a radio call from her Captain.  Charles Stewart Rolls, founding partner in Rolls Royce Ltd, dies in a plane crash.  The first section of the Panama Canal is opened.  Florence Nightingale dies.  Thomas Edison demonstrates his talking motion pictures. 

 

1911

The Automobile Association and Motor Union amalgamate.   The siege of Sidney Street in London's East End.  The Spirit of Ecstasy statuette appears on Rolls Royce cars for the first time.  Ramsey MacDonald elected Labour Party chairman.  Ronald Regan is born.   Tennessee Williams is born.    Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500.  The White Star liner Titanic is launched.  Juan Manuel Fangio is born.  Frenchman Georges Pompidou and US comedienne are born.  Winston Churchill is appointed First Lord of the admiralty.  The Chevrolet Motor Company is incorporated in Detroit.  Roald Amundsen wins the race to the South Pole. 

 

1912

Thr National Telephone Company is taken over by the Post Office.  The London General Omnibus Co and London Underground Electric Railways Co provisionally agree to merge.  Scott reaches the South Pole.  Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from an aeroplane.  The King lays the foundation stone for County Hall, the new London County Council headquarters.  Both boats sink in the University boat race.  James Callaghan is born.  The Titanic disaster.  US aviator Wilbur Wright dies.  Airmail service between London and Paris starts.  General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, dies.  The first Keystone Cops film is released.

 

1913

Richard Nixon is born.  New York's Grand Central Station is opened.  The first Morris Oxford leaves the converted military academy at Cowley.  Stewart Granger and James Stewart are born.  Gerald Ford and Jo Grimond are born.  Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, dies.  Henry Ford unveils the first moving assembly line.  The Panama Canal is completed. 

 

1914

The Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace is completed.  In London, Marconi announces that he can light a lamp six miles away by wireless power. US writer Tennessee Williams and British actor Sir Alec Guinness are born.  In London, the amalgamation of the British India Steamship Co and the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Co is announce. The Performing Rights Society is formed. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, the Duchess of Hohenburg are assassinated by a 19 year old student in Sarajevo.  Austria declares war on Serbia.  Russia, Germany and France mobilise their forces soon after whilst the Italian Government proclaims neutrality.  The Royal Navy is mobilised and tells Germany that it will continue to guarantee Belgium neutrality and protect the French coasts. Germany invades Belgium. Austria declares war on Russia, Serbia declares war on Germany. Germany and Austria threaten Italy. British Expeditionary Forces land in France.  Brussels falls to German troops. Japan declares war on Germany. Thomas Edison's miners electric safety lamp is patented. George Eastman announces invention of colour photographic processes by Kodak Eastman Co. Norwegian explore Thor Heyerdahl dies.  Welsh poet Dylan Thomas is born. 

 

1915

The Stock Exchange reopens for the first time since war was declared. The Olympic Games, planned for Berlin in 1916, are cancelled. German introduces a sea blockade of Britain.  British footballer (Sir) Stanley Matthews and US blues singer Billie Holiday are born.  The Charlie Chaplin film 'The Tramp' is premiered. Italy declares war on Austria.  The Cunard liner, Lusitania is sunk off the Irish coast by a German torpedo.  Italy declares war on Turkey. Stonehenge and 30 acres of surrounding land is sold at auction to C H E Chubb for £6,600.  British cricketer W G Grace dies.  Frank Sinatra is born.  The ill fated Gallipoli expedition is abandoned after 10 months. 

 

1916

Conscription is introduced in Britain.  Germany declares war on Portugal.  Harold Wilson is born.  Daylight Savings is introduced putting clocks forward one hour in the summer (British Summer Time).  US President Wilson calls for a 'League of Nations' to be formed when the war is over.  The Coca Cola Co introduces a new contoured bottle to make imitation difficult.  The Pacific Aero Products Co is formed by William Edward Boeing.  The Somme campaign starts.  The US pays $25 million for The Danish Virgin Islands. Rumania declares war on Austria-Hungary and Germany declares war on Rumania.  Bulgaria declares war on Rumania.  Greece declares war on Bulgaria.  Medical scientists in the UK announce the discovery of X-Ray photographs.  The first Tanks are sent into battle in the Somme.  The boom is US Stock Markets creates the worlds first billionaire - JD Rockefeller.   French socialist Francois Mitterrand is born.  British pharmaceuticals manufacturer Sir Joseph Beecham dies.  The price of a loaf of bread reaches 10d. Gregory Rasputin is murdered by two relatives of Czar Nicholas II. 

 

1917

William F Cody, alias Buffalo Bill, dies.  the National Trust acquires a 500 year lease on parts of Exmoor.  US Congress votes to allow US ships to arm themselves for self defence against German submarines.  Czar Nicholas II abdicates.  The Pacific Aero Products Co changes its names to the Boeing Airplane Co. The United States enters the war.  John F Kennedy is born.  King George V orders members of the Royal Family to drop their German titles so Saxe-Coburg-Gotha becomes Windsor and Battenberg becomes Mountbatten.  The convoy system is introduced to counter shipping losses.    US actor Robert Mitchum is born.  The Chequers mansion and estate in the Chiltern Hills is given to the nation for the use of the Prime Minister.  In London, Bankers and Chambers of Commerce call for the decimalisation of the British Currency.  A second revolution in eight months sees Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky rise to power in Russia.  Russia's new Bolshevik regime starts peace talks with delegates of the central powers led by Germany. 

 

1918

Food shortages start to bite in the UK.  London County and Westminster bank announces merger with Parr's Bank to become Westminster Bank.  The Labour Party plan state control of industries.  Russia signs a peace treaty with the Central Powers.  The school leaving age is raised to 14.  The Bolsheviks change their name to The Russian Communist Party.  The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, is killed in the second Battle of the Somme.  The Royal Flying Corps and The Royal Naval Air Service are merged to form The Royal Air Force.  In the US, Charles Strite announces the invention of the 'pop up' toaster.  The former Czar Nicholas II and his family are murdered in Ekaterinburg.  C H E Chubb presents Stonehenge to the nation.  The Allies break through the German lines.  Bulgaria surrenders to the Allies.  The Central Powers make peace overtures as the Allies tighten the noose around them.  Germany signs the Armistice.  The British Government announces that the UK suffered nearly a million deaths and ran up war debts of £7,100 million.  Big Ben is heard for the first time in four years.  Women vote for the first time in a UK election. 

 

1919

Professor Ernst Rutherford splits the atom. Former President Theodore Roosevelt dies.  Winston Churchill is appointed Secretary of State for War.   The UK, USA, France and Italy agree on the basic principals of The League of Nations. The first London to Paris air service starts - taking three hours and thirty minutes to complete.  A wireless telephone is invented in the UK enabling pilots to talk in flight.  Petrol in the UK costs 3/6d a gallon.  Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin and D.W. Griffith form their own film distribution company - United Artists.  German sailors open sea cocks on the 70 vessels interned at Scapa Flow.  Alcock and Brown fly the Atlantic non stop in a Vickers-Vimy biplane.    Germany, under threat of military occupation, finally signs the peace treaty imposed on them without negotiation.  Lloyd George comments that the harsh terms will lead to another war in twenty five years time.  The Cenotaph is unveiled in Whitehall.  Jack Dempsey becomes world heavyweight champion.  General Jan Smuts becomes South African Prime Minister.  British peer Viscount William Waldorf, Lord Astor dies. 

 

1920

18th Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol, become law in the USA. The US boycotts the first meeting of The League of Nations.  The sixth modern Olympics in Antwerp are opened.  The first night bus services are introduced in London.  A Moorhouse sets a new motor cycling record of 100mph at the Brooklands circuit.  The Flying Squad of the Metropolitan Police is formed.  The body of the unknown soldier arrives for internment in Westminster Abbey. 

 

1921

Winston Churchill is appointed Colonial Secretary.  UK unemployment figures top 1,000,000.  Churchill promises Jews in the UK a homeland in Palestine.  The UKs first birth control clinic opens in London.  The first Police motor cycle patrols start in London.  Peter Ustinov is born.  Immigration quotas are introduced in the USA in an attempt to save jobs.  Prince Phillip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh,  is born in Greece. US astronaut and politician John Glenn is born.   John Boyd Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tyre, is born.  British and Irish negotiators sign an agreement to create the Irish Free State consisting of 26 southern states while six of the eight Ulster counties will remain part of the United Kingdom. 

 

1922

Sir Earnest Shackleton dies.  Ford buy the Lincoln Motor Company for $8M.  The Reader's Digest is published for the first time.  Waterloo Station is opened by Queen Mary.  Judy Garland is born.  County Hall, the new headquarters for the London County Council is opened by King George V.  18 year old Johnny Weissmuller becomes the first man to swim 100 metres in less than a minute.  The first advertisement is broadcast in the USA.  British born inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell dies.  P. Bordino in a Fiat wins the first motor race at the Monza circuit near Milan.  William Lyons and his friend William Walmsley form the Swallow Sidecar Company.  The last turf is laid on the playing field at the Imperial Stadium, Wembley.  The BBC is formed.  British chocolate manufacturer, George Cadbury dies.  The tomb of Tutankhamen is discovered. 

 

1923

Adolf Hitler calls for the repeal of the Treaty of Versailles.  The career of Vladimir Lenin,  Soviet leader, comes to an end as he suffers a massive stroke.  The Duke of York marries Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons.  The first FA Cup final at Wembley takes place, notable for the the actions of PC George Storey and his white horse as they cleared the crowds from the pitch.  Belgium national airline Sabena is formed.   The first 24 hour Le Mans Grand Prix is won by Frenchmen Lagache and Leonard.  Henry Kissinger is born.  Gustave Eiffel dies. 

 

1924

Vladimir Lenin dies.  The first Winter Olympics take place at Chamonix in the shadow of Mont Blanc.  Imperial Airways is formed by the merger of four smaller companies.  Marlon Brando is born.  MGM is formed by the amalgamation of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and the Louis B Mayer Corporation.  News reaches London of the deaths of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine - less than 1000 feet from the summit of Mount Everest.  The Paris Olympics take place.  Cunard liner Mauretania crosses the Atlantic in five days, one hour and 35 minutes.  Winston Churchill becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

 

1925

US actor Paul Newman is born.  The International Motor Racing Federation decides to institute a world motor racing championship.  In the University Boat Race, the Oxford vessel sinks.  The Distillers whisky group is formed.  US actor Rod Steiger is born.  The rebuilt Great West Road from Chiswick to East Bedfont is opened by King George V.  Walter P Chrysler founds the Chrysler Motor Co.  British actor Peter Sellers is born.  White lines are to be painted on British roads to reduce road accidents.  Margaret Thatcher and Robert F Kennedy are born. 

 

1926

German airline Lufthansa is formed.  John Logie Baird demonstrates moving pictures being transmitted by wireless at the Royal Institute in London.  The National Grid is proposed and the Central Electricity Generating Board is formed.  One way traffic schemes are introduced to Hyde Park Corner and Trafalgar Square.  The General Strike begins.  Marilyn Monroe is born.  Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel.  England regain the Ashes after 14 years.  Chuck Berry is born.  Harry Houdini dies.  The formation of the Imperial Chemical Industries is announced.  Agartha Christie disappears and is then found in a Harrogate hotel. 

 

1927

Malcolm Campbell sets a new world land speed record of 174.224 mph on Pendine Sands in Wales.  Morris Motors buys Wolseley Motors for £730K.  In London the price of a four pound loaf drops to 9d.  The Grand National is broadcast by wireless for the first time.  The Gaumont-British Film Corporation is founded.  Henry Seagrave sets a new world land speed record of 203.841 mph at Daytona Beach.  Charles Lindburg completes the first solo non-stop flight between New York and Paris.   The Nurburgring motor racing circuit is opened.  America golfers wins the first Ryder Cup competition.  Gina Lollobrigida is born.  The price of petrol drops to 1/1d a gallon.  A seven bedroom house in London's Holland Park costs £1,750.  Al Jolson stars in The Jazz Singer - the first 'talkie' film. The UK's first automatic telephone exchange is installed at Holborn.  Jules Rimet, head of the FIFA announces the creation of football's World Cup.

 

1928

The first state pensions of 10/- a week commence.  Boxer Jack Dempsey announces his retirement.  The Winter Olympics open in St. Moritz.  The Oxford English Dictionary is completed after 70 years work.  Malcolm Campbell sets a new land speed record of 206.35 mph at Daytona.  The Equal Franchise Bill gives the vote to all women over 21.  Shirley Temple is born.  In the USA, Chrysler and Dodge merge.  Everton's Dixie Dean scores his 60th league goal of the season.    The Flying Scotsman starts a daily, non-stop service between London and Edinburgh.  In Australia, the Flying Doctor service starts.  Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly the Atlantic.  Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, dies.  The eighth Olympic Games, in Amsterdam, open.  The Morris Minor is launched.  Professor Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillium.  JH Robertson invents the automatic gearbox for cars.  Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance in Steamboat Willie.  The first Elastoplasts are manufactured in Hull.  The first £1 and 10/- notes come into circulation.  Piccadilly Circus Tub station opens. 

 

1929

US motor manufacturer General Motors buys German firm Opel.  80 year old Wyatt Earp dies.  The first area of 'green belt' is approved at Hendon.  The St Valentines Day massacre in the USA.  Henry Seagrave sets a new land speed record of 231 mph at Daytona.  The first Monaco Grand Prix is won by Williams of Great Britain is an Bugatti.  Experimental traffic lights appear in Oxford Street.  Audrey Hepburn is born.  The first Academy Awards.  The Vatican becomes a Sovereign State.  Anne Frank, author of the 'Diary' is born.  The Popeye cartoon makes its first appearance.  Flying Officer Waghorn wins the Schneider Trophy in a Supermarine Rolls Royce S6 seaplane.   The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes adopts the official name of Yugoslavia.  The Wall Street Crash.  US actress Grace Kelly is born.  The first public telephone boxes appear. 

 

1930

US astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Armstrong is born.  The planet Pluto is discovered.  Car firms Rover, Lanchester and Standard announce that they are to merge.  New York scientists predict that man will land on the moon before 2050.  The Daily Herald is launched.  Clint Eastwood is born.  Sir Henry Seagrave is killed on Lake Windermere.  British cars take the first four places in the Le Mans Grand Prix.  The first frozen peas go on sale in the USA thanks to the quick freeze technique pioneered by Clarence Birdseye.   The first football World Cup is won by hosts Uruguay.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle dies.  The two halves of the new Sydney Harbour Bridge are joined.  US astronaut Neil Armstrong and British actor Sean Connery are born.   Transcontinental and Western Airlines - TWA - is formed from the merger of three airlines.  Nylon makes its first appearance.   

 

1931

The Road Traffic Act comes into force.  James Dean is born.  Malcolm Campbell sets a new land speed record of 245 mph at Daytona.  The London Transport Bill is published to merge all the capitals transport under one body.  Mikhail Gorbachev and Rupert Murdock are born.  The Empire State Building is officially opened by President Hoover.  Whipsnade Zoo opens.  Jesse Boot, founder of Boots the Chemist, dies.  The economic crisis forces Britain off the Gold Standard - a 30% devaluation of the pound from its current $4.86 is expected.  Thomas Edison dies.  Rolls Royce buys Bentley Motors.  In the UK, His Masters Voice and Columbia merge to form Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI).

 

1932

Malcolm Campbell breaks his own land speed record at a speed of 253.4 mph at Daytona.  Elizabeth Taylor is born.  Charles and Anne Lindbergh's son is kidnapped and murdered.  The BBC makes it's first broadcasts from its new  'Broadcasting House'.  Kodak founder George Eastman dies.  Lambeth Bridge opens.  US dog and film star Rin Tin Tin dies.  The Austin Car Co introduces the 'Ten'.  King George V makes the first royal Christmas Day broadcast to the Empire. 

 

1933

Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.  King Kong premiers in New York.  Malcolm Campbell sets a new land speed record at a speed of 272 mph at Daytona.  A Westland Wallace biplane flies over Everest.  Sir Frederick Henry Royce dies.  Franklin D Roosevelt's 'New Deal' in the USA.  Richmond, Chiswick and Hampton Court Bridges are opened.  A detached house at Mill Hill, North London, costs £800.  The London Passenger Transport Board is created to control all transport (apart from main line railways) in the capital under public ownership.  The airline Air France is created.  Fred Perry wins the US Open.  Plans are announced to turn the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco bay, into a prison.  Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.  The first Lyons Corner House.  Fred Astaire makes his debut.  In the USA, Prohibition comes to an end. 

 

1934

Sir Edward Elgar dies.  Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin is born.  After a four year partnership, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Clyde died in a police ambush.  Italy wins the first World Cup in Europe.  Fred Perry wins Wimbledon.  The King opens the Mersey Tunnel.  Al Capone enters Alcatraz.  German Statesman Paul von Hindenburg dies.  The Cunard-White Star liner Queen Mary is launched at Clydebank.  Sophia Loren and Brigit Bardot are born.  Winston Churchill warns that the UK defences are weak.  Johnny Weissmuller stars as Tarzan of the Apes.  The government in Tehran announces that Persia will now be known as Iran. 

 

1935

The Italian colonies of Cyrenaica, Tripoli and Fezzan are merged under the name of Libya.  Elvis Presley is born.  The BBC announces the world's first public television service.  Sir Malcolm Campbell sets a new land speed record at a speed of 276.8 mph at Daytona.  The 30 mph speed limit in built up areas is announced.  Cats Eyes are introduced to British roads.  British comedian Dudley Moore is born.  Leicester Square Tube station opens.  Thomas Edward Lawrence (of Arabia) dies after a motor cycle accident.  King George V celebrates his Silver Jubilee.  President Roosevelt orders the building of Fort Knox.  The Ministry of Transport announces that dipped car headlights will be compulsory.  French Engineer and motor manufacturer Andre Citroen dies. Malcolm Campbell broke his own land speed record again at Utah - the record now stands at 301.337 mph.  William Lyon's SS Cars announces the new SS Jaguar costing £385.  The prototype Hawker Hurricane fighter makes it's maiden flight as does the Douglas DC-3 in the USA. 

 

1936

The first 'hit parade' appears in the US magazine Billboard.  Rudyard Kipling dies.  King George V dies, Edward VIII is proclaimed King.  Hitler opens the forth Winter Olympics and the first factory producing the Volkswagen Beetle.  The Spitfire makes it's maiden flight.  Hitler's armies march into the Rhineland.  Ursula Andress is born. The liner Queen Mary makes it's maiden voyage.  Gatwick Airport opens.  The Wellington bomber makes it's maiden flight.  Gas masks go into mass production.  Civil War erupts in Spain.  The GPO's Speaking Clock service begins.  Monopoly is launched in the USA.  Fred Perry wins Wimbledon for the third successive year.   The Berlin Olympics open - Jesse Own quickly becomes the star.  Spanish rebel close the frontier with Gibraltar.  Yves Saint-Laurent is born.  Egypt becomes an independent state.  The BBC starts transmitting sound with it's television pictures.  The inventor of Meccano, Dinky toys and train set manufacturer Frank Hornby dies.  Pinewood Studios open.  The Jarrow Protest March starts.  The Crystal Palace burns down.  Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication and his brother Prince Albert becomes King George VI. 

 

1937

Horse drawn traffic is banned from a wide area of London's West End.  A survey shows that there are 824 millionaires in Britain.  The new 12-sided threepenny piece comes into circulation.  San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opens.  The airship Hindenburg, explodes as it attempts to land in New Jersey.  Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister.  The Coronation of King George VI.  In France, the Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.  Dustin Hoffman is born.  Malcolm Campbell sets a new water speed record of 129 mph in Switzerland.  The first London Motor Show opens at Earl's Court.  The land speed record is raised to 309 mpg, then 311.42 mph by Briton George Eyston.  Physicist Lord Ernst Rutherford and former Prime Minister Ramsey MacDonald die. 999 becomes Scotland Yards emergency number.    In Dublin, the new constitution comes into force and Eire is created.  Jane Fonda is born. 

 

1938

Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs becomes Walt Disney's first feature length cartoon.  John Baird demonstrates a large screen colour television.  The first Nylon based products - toothbrushes - go on sale in New Jersey.  Hitler annexes Austria.  In the UK, police recommend that all bicycles are fitted with rear lights.  The Bren Gun enters service.  The Superman comic strip makes it's first appearance.  Italy wins it's second World Cup.  Eskimos in the Artic complain of a heat wave - 67'F.  British locomotive Mallard sets a new record of 126 mph.  The land speed record is raised to 357 mph by John Cobb - two days after George Eyston had raised it to 350.2 mph!  Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arrives back from Munich waving a copy of the Anglo-German agreement and saying ' I believe it is peace for our time'.  The Cunard White Star liner Queen Elizabeth is launched on the Clyde.  The German army march into Czechoslovakia.  The 'altimeter' a new aircraft safety device is launched.  Eddie Cochran is born.  H.G. Wells 'The War of the Worlds' is broadcast on the American CBS network - thousands of listeners mistake it for the real thing and panic erupts. 

 

1939

Nylon stockings go on sale in the USA for the first time.  Widespread distribution of air raid shelters begins.  John Wayne stars in Stagecoach.  Neville Chamberlain pledges to defend Poland.  The Spanish Civil war ends as General Franco takes control of the capital Madrid.  The military Training (Conscription) Bill is introduced in the UK.  Pan-American Airways commence scheduled transatlantic services to Europe.  Jackie Stewart is born.  The German Heinkel He-178 becomes the world's first jet aircraft.  17 year old Judy Garland stars in The Wizard of Oz.  German troops invade Poland and war is declared by London and Paris.  Russia also invades Poland from the east. 'Whinnies back' is flashed to the fleet as Winston Churchill becomes First Lord of the Admiralty again.  158,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force are moved to France.  Petrol now costs 1/9d a gallon.  Imperial Airways and British Airways merge to form the British Overseas Aircraft Corporation.  Russia invades Finland.  The German battleship Graf Spee is scuttled outside of Montevideo after being threatened with internment by the Uruguayan Government. 

 

1940

The Thames freezes over as a cold wave strikes Europe.  Food rationing starts in the UK.  Lord Haw Haw, William Joyce start broadcasting from Germany.   The first squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force arrives in Britain.   The liner Queen Elizabeth sails secretly to the US to await the end of the war.  The two-seater Mosquito fighter bomber makes it maiden flight.  Hitler invades Denmark and Norway, Holland and Belgium.  The Dunkirk evacuation begins.  Neville Chamberlain resigns and Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister and forms an all party Coalition Government.   Belgium and Holland surrender.  The Dunkirk evacuation rescues 338,226 troops against the 45,000 anticipated.  Italy declares war on Britain and France.  France falls to Germany and Hitler forces the French to surrender in the same railway carriage used to sign the Armistice in 1918.  Russia marches into the Baltic.    Britain sinks the bulk of the French fleet at anchor in Algeria to prevent it falling into German hands.  The Local Defence Volunteers are renamed The Home Guard.  Germany invades the Channel Islands.  The first bombing raids on London are quickly followed by RAF raids on Berlin.  The RAF win the Battle of Britain.  The Blitz starts.  Pele, is born.  The Willys Jeep is launched.  Neville Chamberlain dies.  Britain attacks the Italians in the Western Desert. 

 

1941

The Africa Korps arrive in North Africa.  FD Roosevelt signs the Lease Lend agreement with Britain whereby Britain uses American military equipment but only pays after the war has ended.  Yugoslavia and Greece surrender to Germany.  Bismarck sinks HMS Hood before being sunk herself by the Royal Navy.  Bob Dylan is born.  Rudolph Hess flies to Scotland.   Britain's first jet aircraft, the Gloster E28/39, makes it's maiden flight.  Germany invades the USSR.  Coal is rationed.  Japanese troops move into East Asia.  Walt Disney's Dumbo premiers.  HMS Ark Royal is sunk by an Italian U-boat.  Pearl Harbor is bombed by 360 Japanese aircraft.  The USA and Britain, declare war on Japan.  Hong Kong falls to Japan.  The German advance is hindered by the Russian winter. 

 

1942

Boxer Cassius Clay is born.  Singapore falls to Japan.  Fuel rationing is introduced.  Mata is awarded the George Cross.  The USA shocks Japan by bombing Tokyo.  The US rout Japan in the battle of Midway.  The new Waterloo Bridge is opened.  Montgomery scores a major victory at El Alamein.  Torbruk in Libya is recaptured by the Allies.  Atomic energy is produced for the first time by scientists working on the top secret Manhattan project. The Beverage Report outline The Welfare State.

 

1943

German troops surrender in Stalingrad.  The Allies take Tripoli.  Lord Nuffield creates The Nuffield Foundation - Britain's biggest charitable trust.  The Keynes Plan for post war economic co-operation proposes that an international monetary fund is created.  The Dambusters raid devastates the Ruhr and Eder valleys.   German and Italian troops surrender in North Africa.  In the Atlantic, the tide turns against the U-boat. In Argentina, Juan Peron is appointed labour minister.  The Italian dictator Mussolini is disposed as Scilly surrenders to the Allies.  Italy surrenders to the Allies.   Midget submarines torpedo the German battleship Tirpitz.  Italy declares war on Germany.  The Allies announce the creation of a United Nations war crimes commission.  US tennis player Billie Jean King is born. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in Teheran.  Beatrix Potter dies. 

 

1944

Dwight D Eisenhower is appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied invasion forces in Europe.  Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA, is discovered.    The Government announces plans for a national health service radical reforms to the education system.  American forces launch assaults on Japanese positions in the Pacific.  British forces land in Burma.   'Pay-As-You-Earn' taxation is introduced.  The first pre-fabricated houses are put on show.  The Red Army powers through the Crimea.  The first V-1 bomb lands in London.     Rome is liberated by the Allies.   The USA starts bombing the Japanese mainland.  The D-Day landings in Normandy.  British conductor Sir Henry Wood dies.  Paris is liberated.  Nazi death camps are found in Poland.  The first V-2 rocket lands on London.  The black-out is lifted.  Britain, China, the USA and Russia simultaneously announce plans for the United Nations to combat future war makers.  Erwin Rommel commits suicide.  British troops land in Greece.  Winston Churchill celebrates his 70th birthday.  RAF bombers sink the German battleship Tirpitz.  US bandleader Glenn Miller goes missing during a routine flight to France.  Express highways and satellite 'new towns' are announced as well as an encircling 'green belt' and four 'ring-roads' around London plus the development of a 'transocean' airport at Feltham.  Civil war grips Greece. 

 

1945

Hungary declares war on Germany.  Russia discovers the horrors of Auschwitz.  Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in Yalta.  The bombing of Dresden.  Anne Frank dies.  US and Soviet troops meet in Germany.  US President Franklin D Roosevelt dies suddenly.  The Allies reach Berlin.  Adolf Hitler commits suicide.   Mussolini is killed by Italian partisans.  The first meeting of the United Nations.  German troops in Italy, Austria and Norway surrender.  Germany surrenders.  V-E Day.  Winston Churchill resigns in preparation for a general election.  Germany is divided into American, British, French and Soviet controlled sectors.  Labour win the general election.  Winston Churchill says that an Iron Curtain now exists in Europe.  The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.  London discloses the secret of Radar.  The second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.  Japan surrenders to the Allies.  V-J Day.  The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are established. 

 

1946

Test flights start from a new major airport at Heath Row, to the west of London.   The United Nations set up an Atomic Energy Commission.  Hungary is declared a republic.  The IOC announce that the 1948 Olympic Games will be held in London.  London's coal stocks reach a critical point.  Civil war looms in India as violence flares.    IBM announce the invention of an electronic brain known as ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).  Ho Chi Minh is elected president of North Vietnam.  Aneurin Bevan presents his full NHS proposals to parliament.  Churchill makes his 'Iron Curtain' speech.  The government announces plans for 20 'new towns' costing £380M.  Italy is declared a republic.  John Logie Baird dies.  Juan Peron becomes President of Argentina.  The first sub-surface tests take place at Bikini Atoll.  British European Airways is created.  HG Wells dies.  Civil war resumes in China.  The first Cannes Film Festival opens.  Nazi war criminals are executed at Nuremberg.  The Biro is introduced. 

 

1947

Labour nationalises Britain's coal mine.  Steel works close down through lack of coal.  Al Capone dies.  The RAF begin evacuating Britons from Palestine.  Lord Mountbatten is appointed the last Viceroy of India.  Britain freezes as four million workers are made idle by power cuts.  Prince Phillip of Greece becomes a naturalised Briton.  BUPA is founded.  Henry Ford and Henry Gordon Selfridge die. The UK Government announces a flat rate car tax of £10pa.  The Transport ministry approve plans for the world's biggest suspension bridge over the River Severn.  Britain's first atomic reactor at Harwell starts up.  Ettore Bugatti dies.  British rule in India ends with country being divided into two new dominions of India and Pakistan.  John Cobb sets a new land speed record of 394mph.  Harold Wilson joins the Cabinet - aged 31.  The Austin A40 is unveiled.  Chuck Yeager, in a Bell X1 rocket plane, breaks the sound barrier.  Princess Elizabeth marries Phillip Mountbatten.  Stanley Baldwin dies. 

 

1948

The UK railways are nationalised.  Mahatma Ghandi is assassinated.  US aviator Orville Wright dies.   Burma gains independence.  Communists seize power in Czechoslovakia.  The UK electricity industry is nationalised.  The General Certificate of Education is introduced.   Russian imposes rigid checks on all road and rail traffic between Berlin and the Weston Zones.  The state of Israel is proclaimed.  The new Deutschmark replaces the Reichmark in Western Germany.  The Berlin Airlift is put into operation to beat the Russian blockade of the city.  The Vickers Viscount makes its maiden flight.  The London Olympic Games.  The National Health Service comes into being.  The Middlesex County Council introduces 'Comprehensive' schools.  Prince Charles is born.  Bell Labs, in the USA, introduce the transistor.

 

1949

Sir Malcolm Campbell dies.  The 7" record is introduced in the USA albeit that RCA's version runs at 45rpm whilst Columbia's runs at 33.3rpm.   The National Parks Bill is approved by MPs.  Eight countries, including Britain, announce a new peace alliance to be known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.  In Dublin, Eire is proclaimed the Republic of Ireland.  Chocolate and sweet rationing ends in the UK.  The UK gas industry is nationalised.  The Russian blockade of Berlin is lifted.  The Federal Republic of Germany is formed.  A new UK invention, the 'ejector seat', is tested.  After four months entrapment by Chinese communists, HMS Amethyst escapes  from the Yangtse River under cover of darkness.  The De Havilland Comet, the worlds first jet airliner, makes its first flight.  Sugar refiners, Tate and Lyle, announce all-out war against plans to nationalise the industry.   Britain devalues the pound from $4.03 to $2.80 - 30%!  Mao Tse-tung is elected Chairman of the Peoples Republic of China.  Composer Richard Strauss dies.  Russia tests it first A-bomb.      The German Democratic Republic is formed.  The BBC announces that it is to buy the Shepard's Bush studios from Rank Films.  Rainier III becomes the 30th ruling Prince of Monaco. 

 

1950

Jody Scheckter is born.  Labour wins the General Election by the closest margin for 100 years.  Senator McCarthy launches his crusade against communism in Federal government.  Alaska becomes the 49th US state.  The Eagle comic is launched.  The French announce plans for a European Federation.  Petrol in the UK costs 3/- a gallon.  North Korea invades South Korea.  England's footballers lose 1-0 to the USA.  The first kidney transplant is carried out in the USA.  Ford UK launch their Consul and Zephyr range.  J Sainsbury's first self-service store opens in Croydon.  The Korean conflict begins to suck in global powers.  Princess Ann is born.  South African statesman Jan Smuts and American singer/actor Al Jolson both die.  George Bernard Shaw dies.  UN forces in Korea are forced to retreat when Chinese forces join the conflict.    

 

1951

Ferdinand Porsche dies.   The UN halts the North Korean offensive.  VHF is tested successfully by the BBC. The Oxford boat sinks in the University Boat Race.  UN and South Korean forces cross the 38th Parallel.  The Festival of Britain is inaugurated and the Royal Festival hall is opened.  Guy Burgess and Don MacLean disappear from the Foreign Office.  Britain grants permission for the US Air Force to open a base at Greenham Common.  Peter Walker in a Jaguar wins the Le mans Grand Prix.  The Hawker Hunter jet makes its maiden flight.  Dartmoor is designated a National Park.  Deutsche Grammophon lunch the first 33rpm 'Long Playing' record.  William Kellogg dies.  Winston Churchill is elected Prime Minister.  Austin and Morris announce plans to merge. 

 

1952

 King George VI dies at Sandringham.  Churchill announces that Britain has the A-bomb.  The BSI 'Kite Mark' is introduced.  Anne Frank's diary is published.  Eva Peron dies.  The Olympics are held in Helsinki.  The Avro Vulcan makes its maiden flight.  John Cobb dies when his boat Crusader disintegrates on Loch Ness.  Dwight D Eisenhower becomes President of the USA.  The first H-bomb is tested by America and an island disappears. 

 

1953

 Derek Bentley is hanged at Wandsworth Prison for the murder of a police man.  The east coast of Britain is devastated by floods  as sea defences collapse.  Joseph Stalin dies of cerebral haemorrhage.  The royal yacht, Britannia is launched by the Queen.  Two Cambridge scientists solve one of the great mysteries of biology - the double helix of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is found to be the material of genes via which hereditary characteristics are passed from parent to offspring.  A BOAC Comet mysteriously crashes.  The Stanley Mathews FA Cup Final.  Jaguar cars finish first, second, fourth and ninth in the Le Mans 24-hour Grand Prix d'Endurance.   John Christie appears at the Old Bailey charged with the multiple murders at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill.  Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing reach the summit of Mount Everest.  Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of England.  The war in Korea finally ends after three years - the last two taken up with peace negotiations.  Tractor makers Ferguson are to merge with Canadian firm Massey-Harris.  Khrushchev is elected Soviet leader.  Ford unveil its new Anglia and Prefect models.  Dylan Thomas dies.    England lose 6-3 to Hungary at Wembley.

 

1954

BOAC ground all of their Comets following a second mystery crash only to give them the all clear after 50 modifications.   The Television Bill is introduced which would set up an Independent Television Authority.  The Government withdraws the Comet's Certificate of Airworthiness after a thirds mystery crash.  Bill Haley releases 'Rock Around the Clock'.  The Aintree motor racing track is opened with wins for Stirling Moss and Reg Parnell.  Roger Bannister breaks the 4-minute-mile.  IBM commences production of a business version of it's electronic brain.  Elvis Presley records his first single - That's all Right Mama.  The expansion of Gatwick Airport is approved by a public enquiry.  The Boeing 707 makes it's maiden flight.  Rolls Royce reveals the Flying Bedstead.  The Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough reveal that metal fatigue was the cause of the recent Comet crash.  MP's approve the new Highway Code.   The Road Traffic Bill, introducing roadworthiness tests and parking metres, is published.  The British Petroleum Company is formed.

 

(go to Part 2, 1955 to 2004)

 

The vast majority of this information came from the 'Chronicle of the 20th Century' series of books published by Longman and their successors.   My version of what was  worth noting down may differ from other peoples but that's life.  Errors are probably down to my misinterpretation of the text (or was it a combination of tiredness and red wine?).  If something is drastically wrong please let me know - I will correct anything that can be validated. Malc Farmer