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| Gas Masks issued to the public. link Air raid trenches dug in parks. link | |
| February | Gas mask demonstrations take place in London. link |
| September 15 - 30 | Neville Chamberlain travels three times to Germany to meet Hitler, the last meeting was at Munich. Chamberlain returns saying he believes it was “peace for our time”. |
| February 25, Saturday | Distribution of Anderson shelters begins. link |
| March | Air raid precautions service set up. link |
| March 24, Friday | Britain and France guarantee Poland's frontier. |
| April | Conscription begins. |
| August 11, Friday | Trial run for the blackout. link |
| August 24, Thursday | Britain calls up military reservists. ARP workers put on alert. |
| August 25, Friday | Britain and Poland sign a Mutual Assistance Treaty. |
| August 30, Wednesday | Warships of Royal Navy proceed to war stations. |
| September 1, Friday | German troops march into Poland. Italy declares non-belligerent status. Scandinavia and Baltic States declare neutrality. General mobilisation in Britain. Blackout begins. link Mass evacuation of schoolchildren, pregnant women and children under 5 with their mothers begins. link 1 link 2 |
| September 2, Saturday | Eire (Republic of Ireland) declares neutrality. |
| September 3, Sunday | At 9am the British ultimatum ”that German troops be withdrawn from Poland” is handed to the German Government. It expires at 11 am. Britain and France declare war on Germany. link sound India, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany. Belgium proclaims neutrality. 11.20a.m. sees London’s first air-raid alert. link In Britain Men aged between 18 and 41 are liable for conscription into army, navy or air force. SS Athenia torpedoed and sunk by U-boat in contravention of a direct order from Hitler. ‘Phoney war’ begins. link |
| September 4, Monday | Advance units of British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrive in France. 3.20a.m. sees Hull's first air-raid alert. |
| September 10, Sunday | Canada declares war on Germany. |
| September 16, Saturday | ‘Pool’ Petrol introduced. |
| September 17, Sunday | Russia invades Poland. |
| September 22, Friday | Petrol rationed. |
| September 27, Wednesday | Poland surrenders. |
| September 29, Friday | Russia and Germany formally divide Poland between them. In Britain National Registration set up. link |
| October | Barrage balloons go up. Petrol rationed. Identity cards issued. link |
| October 6, Friday | Hitler offers peace settlement to Britain and France. |
| October 11, Wednesday | BEF strength in France 158,000 troops. |
| October 12, Thursday | Hitler's peace offer rejected. |
| October 14, Saturday | Battleship Royal Oak torpedoed and sunk in Scapa Flow. |
| November 8, Wednesday | Assassination attempt on Hitler fails. |
| November 30, Thursday | Following dispute over status of islands in the Baltic, Russia invades Finland. |
| December 3, Sunday | Conscription of all males aged 19-41 introduced in Britain. Females aged 20-30 are required to join women's auxiliary forces or do essential war work. |
| December 29, Friday | Finns inflict crushing defeat on Red Army at Suommusalmi. |
| January 8, Monday | Food rationing begins. Bacon, ham, sugar and butter rationed. link Finns defeat Red Army at Karelin. |
| February 11, Sunday | Red Army launches massive offensive against Finland. |
| February 17, Saturday | Further evacuations of British towns and cities. link |
| March 11, Monday | Meat rationed. |
| March 12, Tuesday | Russo-Finnish war ends. |
| March 16, Saturday | The first British civilian casualty of the war is Jim Isbister following a German air-raid on the naval base at Scapa Flow on the Orkney Islands. link |
| March 29, Friday | Russia declares her neutrality in the European war. |
| April 3, Wednesday | Lord Woolton appointed Minister of Food. |
| April 8, Monday | Germany invades Norway and Denmark. 'Phoney War' ends. |
| April 30, Tuesday | The first civilian casualty on the British mainland when a German mine-laying bomber is shot down and crashes into the garden of a house at Clacton, Essex. link |
| May 10, Friday | Germany invades Low Countries. Neville Chamberlain resigns. Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister over a coalition government. |
| May 13, Monday | Germany invades France. Liege falls. |
| May 14, Tuesday | The Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden, appeals for volunteers for the ‘Local Defence Volunteers’ LDV.link Any piece of countryside on which an invading plane could land is covered with obstacles, such as old cars. Pill boxes (small concrete huts for housing machine guns) and tank traps (lines of large concrete "teeth") are erected in the countryside. |
| May 18, Saturday | Antwerp falls to the Germans. |
| May 22, Wednesday | Emergency Powers (Defence) Act passed to allow the government to make new defence rules without the consent of Parliament. Previously issued identity cards ‘must now be carried at all times’. link |
| May 26, Sunday - June 3, Monday | Over 300,000 British and French soldiers trapped in NE France are evacuated from Dunkirk beaches. Britain in danger of invasion by the German army. Churchill gives his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech in the House of Commons. |
| June 10, Monday | Italy declares war on France and Britain. |
| June 14, Friday | Germans enter Paris. |
| June 22, Saturday | Armistice between France and Germany. |
| June 30, Sunday | Germany occupies the Channel Islands. |
| July | Tea, margarine and lard rationed. |
| July 2, Tuesday | Hitler orders invasion of Britain. |
| July 10, Wednesday | Intense air activity around Dover - prelude to the ‘Battle of Britain’. |
| July 14, Sunday | Churchill refers to the new force of citizen volunteers as the ‘Home Guard’, the name sticks. link |
| July 19, Friday | Peace terms offered to Britain by Hitler. |
| August 13, Tuesday | ‘Adlertag’ Eagle Day. The beginning of the systematic destruction of Fighter Command by the Germans. The Battle of Britain has begun. |
| August 15, Thursday | In Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force shoots down 180 German planes. |
| August 20, Tuesday | In Battle of Britain, the German emphasis shifts to attacking British airports and aircraft factories. |
| August 24, Saturday | German bombing raid of oil refineries at Thameshaven. Accidental (?) bombing of Central London. link Churchill orders retaliatory attacks on Berlin. |
| August 25, Sunday | Hull's first fatalities in an air-raid, six people killed. |
| August 26, Monday | First British air raid on Berlin. |
| August 27/28, Tuesday/Wednesday | Hull raided. Maternity home on Hedon Road hit but no serious casualties. |
| August 28-31, Wednesday-Saturday | Liverpool bombed on each of these nights. |
| September | Churchill praises the R.A.F. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". |
| September 7, Saturday | Deliberate mass attack on the East End of London. Now begins the period of intense bombing known as the 'Blitz'. link |
| September 11, Wednesday | Anti-aircraft guns brought into London. |
| September 13, Friday | Buckingham Palace hit by a bomb. |
| September 17, Tuesday | Evacuation ship City of Benares torpedoed and sunk by U-boat with the loss of 256 lives including 77 out of 90 child evacuees. link 1 link 2 |
| October 30, Wednesday | Neville Chamberlain resigns from the Government due to ill health. |
| November 1, Friday | Daylight raid on Hull, one person killed, eight seriously injured. |
| November 8, Friday | Minor raid on Hull, no fatalities reported but two people seriously injured. |
| November 9, Saturday | Neville Chamberlain dies. |
| November 11, Monday | Minor raid on Hull, no fatalities reported. |
| November 14/15, Thursday/Friday | Coventry severely bombed in an 11 hour raid. link |
| November 30, Saturday | Hull ‘War Weapons Week’ begins. |
| December 29, Sunday | The Great Fire Of The City Of London. link |
| January 21, Tuesday | Daily Worker closed down under the Defence Regulations. |
| February | Standard ‘National Wheatmeal’ loaf introduced. |
| February 22/23, Saturday/Sunday | Minor attack on Hull. 32 tonnes HE and incendiaries dropped. 12 people killed. |
| March | Jam, marmalade, treacle and syrup rationed. |
| March 13, Tuesday | Sharp attack on Hull results in 38 killed and 790 seriously injured. |
| March 31, Monday | Heaviest attack on Hull to date, 52 killed and 72 seriously injured. ARP Control Centre hit and Infirmary badly damaged. |
| April 8, Tuesday | HRH The Princess Royal visits Hull. |
| April 15, Tuesday | Community shelter in Holderness Road, Hull, takes direct hit from parachute mine leaving 60 dead and many seriously injured. |
| May | First consignment of food from U.S.A. under ‘Lend-Lease’ act. |
| May 5, Monday | Cheese rationed. |
| May 7/8, Wednesday/Thursday | Major raid on Hull due to aircraft being diverted en route from their primary target of Liverpool. |
| May 8/9, Thursday/Friday | Major raid on Hull due to aircraft being diverted en route from their primary target of Sheffield. |
| May 10, Saturday | The last heavy bombing raid on London since the beginning of the Blitz, 1436 people killed and 1792 seriously wounded. Further bombing raids take place throughout the war but this is recognised as the end of ‘The Blitz’ on London. link Rudolf Hess lands in Scotland. |
| June | Eggs rationed. |
| June 1, Sunday | Clothing and furnishings are rationed. link 1 link 2 |
| June 2, Monday | Hull's 50th air-raid. |
| June 22, Sunday | Germany invades Russia. |
| July | Male conscription extended to those aged 51. |
| July 11, Friday | Sharp attack on Hull causing widespread damage, major fires. |
| July 18, Friday | Heavy raid on Hull results in more than 150 fires with Reckitts, East Hull Gasworks and Spillers hit; 140 fatalities and 108 seriously injured. |
| August 6, Wednesday | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Hull. |
| August 18, Monday | National Fire Service established. link |
| August 30/31, Saturday/Sunday | Concentrated attack on Hull in which around 200 houses are destroyed. |
| September | Firewatching made compulsory. Morrison shelters introduced. link |
| September 22, Monday | ‘Tanks for Russia Week’ begins in factories. |
| November | Milk rationed. |
| December 1, Monday | Introduction of points scheme for food. Women aged between 20 and 30 made liable to conscription.link German armour within nine miles of the Kremlin. |
| December 7, Sunday | Japanese attack U.S naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. |
| December 8, Monday | USA and Britain declare war on Japan. |
| December 11, Thursday | Germany and Italy declare war on USA. War no longer confined to Europe, now a truly global affair. |
| January | First American soldiers (called G.I.s after the words "Government Issue" on their equipment) land in Britain. |
| February | Soap rationed. |
| March | Basic petrol ration for private cars ceases. |
| April | Sir Archibald Sinclair says 'in April more bombs fell on Malta than fell on the whole of Britain in any but one month of the blitz'. |
| April 6, Monday | Illegal to sell ‘white’ bread. |
| April 21, Tuesday | The BBC, as the first royal command performance of a radio programme broadcasts ITMA (It’s That Man Again), starring Tommy Handley. |
| April - June | The "Baedeker" raids. These were a series of German air raids directed at provincial towns and cities, all of which were known for their beautiful buildings. The chosen targets included Bath, York and Canterbury. "Baedeker" was the name of a well known series of guide books for tourists. Clothing coupons cut to 48 per year. |
| May | During May, Exeter, Hull, Canterbury and S. Coast hit by Luftwaffe; 339 killed and 425 injured. |
| May 11, Monday | British unemployment reaches new low of 108,963. |
| May 12, Tuesday | First contingent of US Eighth Army Air Force arrives in Britain. |
| May 19, Tuesday | Hull's heaviest raid of year leaves 50 killed and 58 seriously injured. Blackburn Aircraft factory at Brough suffers blast damage. |
| May 21,Thursday | Hitler postpones invasion of Malta indefinitely. |
| May 25, Monday | Labour Party Conference in London welcomes UN Alliance, 2,319,000 votes to 164,000. |
| May 26, Tuesday | Britain and Russia sign 20-year collaboration treaty in London. |
| June | UK civilian casualties for June: 300 killed and 337 wounded. |
| June 6, Saturday | German bomb undiscovered for 13 months explodes in Elephant and Castle house; 19 killed, more than 50 injured and 300 families homeless. |
| June 12, Friday | Withdrawal of basic petrol ration announced in Britain; licences to be issued instead. |
| June 15, Monday | British unemployment falls below 100,000. |
| June 22, Monday | Defence Regulations introduced in Britain to ensure black marketeers shall be made to 'disgorge their ill-gotten gains'. |
| June 23, Tuesday | Miners accept recommendations of Arbitration Board; national minimum for faceworkers, 83/- (£4.15) per week. |
| July | Tea ration for under 5s abolished. British civilian casualties for July: 41 killed, 871 injured. |
| July 16, Thursday | Widows' and pensioners' allowances increased by 2/6d per week; Labour MPs say it's not enough. |
| July 26, Sunday | Sweets rationed. |
| August | Luftwaffe attacks on Britain in August mainly limited to coastal areas; casualties are 403 killed, 509 injured. |
| August 12, Wednesday | Churchill arrives in Moscow. |
| August 14, Friday | Tanker Ohio (with 10,000 tons oil) towed into Malta by three warships. |
| August 17, Monday | British unemployment rises for second month running; 107,534 now out of work. |
| August 25, Tuesday | Duke of Kent killed in air crash in N. Scotland. |
| September | Raids on south and east coasts of Britain in September: 207 killed, 238 injured. |
| September 7, Monday | Chairman of UK War Damage Commission says that up to August last, 597,755 claims have been received. |
| September 9, Wednesday | Chancellor of Exchequer says War Expenditure now running at £12,500,000 per day. |
| September 10, Thursday | British servicemen get 6d (2½p) a day pay rise. |
| September 14, Monday | British unemployment drops below 100,000 again after summer rises; now 98,662. |
| October | Luftwaffe made 'hit and run' raids on British coast and badly damaged Canterbury; monthly casualties 229 killed, 370 injured. |
| October 11, Sunday | First night-raid on Britain by Luftwaffe for 15 days. |
| October 22, Thursday | Royal Proclamation signed reducing British call-up age to 18. |
| October 23, Friday | Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt arrives in London for three-week visit as guest of the King. |
| November - December | Members of the Allied forces land in North Africa, in "Operation Torch". |
| November 1, Sunday | The government prohibits manufacturers to make any furniture except Utility styles, in order to save raw materials. |
| November 4, Wednesday | Afrika Korps defeated by British 8th Army at El Alamein. |
| November 15, Sunday | Production of all private cars in UK banned. |
| December | British air-raid casualties for December: 109 killed, 201 injured. |
| December 1, Tuesday | Beveridge Report on Social Security published: blueprint for the modern Welfare State; proposals include increase in the dole and comprehensive free medical treatment. |
| December 11, Friday | British railmen get 5/- (25p) pw pay rise. |
| December 14, Monday | British unemployment hits new low of 81,943. |
| December 22, Tuesday | Imperial War Graves Commission announce roll of honour for civilians to be deposited in Westminster Abbey: 42,000 Battle of Britain victims in first book. |
| December 25, Friday | Church bells ring in Britain on Christmas morning as ban is lifted for three hours. |
| December 31, Thursday | Red Cross now spending £375,000 per month on food parcels for POWs. |
| "Tip and run" raids on towns and cities in Britain continue throughout the year. Utility Clothing appear in British shops in the Spring | |
| January | Utility furniture only available. British civilian air raid casualties: 328 killed, 507 injured. |
| January 13, Wednesday | Call-up for single girls in Britain lowered to 19. |
| January 20, Wednesday | Daylight raids over SE England by Luftwaffe include bombing of school in London, killing 44 children and one teacher. |
| February 2, Tuesday | German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad. |
| March | British civilian casualties were 293 killed and 439 injured. |
| March 3, Wednesday | 173 Londoners killed in panic crush at Bethnal Green tube station shelter: cause of alarm - new AA weapon noise. |
| April | Luftwaffe attacks on Britain mostly 'hit-and-run'; 172 killed and 205 injured. |
| April 20, Tuesday | Limited recruitment of women for Home Guard announced. |
| May | Luftwaffe raids on Britain increased: 584 killed, 733 injured. |
| May 13, Thursday | German and Italian troops in North Africa surrender. For the first time in the war, British now claim more German prisoners than the Germans have British. |
| May 16, Sunday | Wing Commander Guy Gibson leads the 'Dambusters' night attack on the Ruhr dams; 'bouncing bombs' breach Mohne and Eder Dams; Gibson later awarded VC. |
| May 20, Thursday | First Tory Party Conference since 1939 meets at Central Hall, Westminster; Beveridge proposals accepted 'in principle'. Signposts to be re-erected in rural Britain as fear of invasion fades; all restrictions gradually being lifted. |
| May 30, Sunday | 20 children killed when bomb hits Torquay church. BBC reintroduces Bow Bells call-sign - dropped in invasion threat emergency. |
| June | British civilian casualties relatively light; 201 killed, 284 injured. |
| June 1, Tuesday | Eden announces Empire casualties in first three years of war; 92,089 killed, 226,719 missing, 88,294 wounded and 107,891 captured. |
| June 3, Thursday | First allocation of Algerian wine reaches British shops; 8/- (40p) a bottle. |
| June 12, Saturday | King George VI lands in Morocco; his second visit of the war to forces overseas. |
| June 13, Sunday | 3,000 anti-personnel bombs dropped on Grimsby and Cleethorpes, resulting in 74 people killed and 88 seriously injured. |
| June 30, Wednesday | British publish aircraft losses incurred to date: Axis 18,031; RAF 9,906. |
| July | Conscription for women extended to those aged 51. UK air-raid casualties in July: 167 killed and 210 injured. |
| July 9, Friday | At least 12 die as hit-and-run raider hits E. Grinstead cinema during afternoon performance. |
| July 10, Saturday | US and British troops land in Sicily. |
| July 13, Tuesday | Hull raided, 26 killed but three of the attackers are destroyed. |
| July 24, Saturday | RAF attack Hamburg with 740 aircraft. |
| July 25, Sunday | Essen raided by 627 aircraft. |
| July 27, Tuesday | Hamburg raided by 739 aircraft. Death toll amongst civilian population estimated at 20,000 men, women and children. |
| August 15, Sunday | Portsmouth has heaviest raid for two years by 91 German bombers. |
| August 17, Tuesday | 597 RAF 'heavies' bomb Peenemunde - birthplace of the 'V' weapons on Baltic coast. |
| August 27, Friday | Civil Defence casualties so far: 1,211 killed and over 2,000 seriously injured. Brenden Bracken, UK Minister of Information, makes first ministerial statement on Hess since May '41: says Hess came to find British Quislings to overthrow Churchill; 'a Nazi of very low mentality' who 'babbled like an excited schoolboy'. |
| September | British air raid casualties for the month lowest since May 1940: five killed and 11 in hospital. |
| September 3, Friday | Italy surrenders unconditionally. |
| September 6, Monday | TUC Conference opens in Southport; Bevin says that demobilization will be much harder than mobilization. |
| September 7, Tuesday | RAF bomb V1 (flying bomb) launch sites on the N. French coast. |
| September 8, Wednesday | Italian surrender made public. |
| October | British air raid casualties for October: 118 killed and 282 injured. |
| October 13, Wednesday | Italy declares war on Germany. |
| November | British civilian air-raid casualties: 119 killed, 238 injured. |
| November 17, Wednesday | Storm of protest in Britain over release of Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist, on health grounds. |
| December | 10 civilians killed in UK air raids, 41 injured. |
| December 2, Thursday | Ernie Bevin announces conscription to mines as coal output continues to flag. |
| December 16, Thursday | Education Bill published in Britain: sweeping reforms proposed: becomes the basis of postwar education in Britain. |
| January | Civilian casualties in Britain rose to 107 killed and 260 injured in January. |
| January 6, Thursday | Air Ministry says Bomber Command dropped 157,000 tons of bombs on Germany in 1943; Luftwaffe dropped only 2,400 tons on Britain. |
| January 20, Thursday | British air force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin. |
| January 21, Friday | Largest Luftwaffe raid on Britain for some time: 90 planes spotted over SE England in 'Little Blitz'. |
| January 22, Saturday | British miners win pay rise: face workers earn £5 a week. |
| January 29, Saturday | Luftwaffe penetrate to London: Davis Cinema, Croydon, receives direct hit but miraculously only seven killed out of 1,250 audience. |
| January - April | Series of heavy air raids on London and other major cities, known as the "Little Blitz". |
| February | UK air-raid casualties: 961 killed, 1,712 injured. |
| February 9, Wednesday | Protests in the House of Lords about the bombing of German cities. |
| February 17, Thursday | Government suffer another heavy by-election defeat: Common Wealth candidate C. F. White, takes W. Derbyshire with majority of 4,561. British publish proposals for comprehensive National Health Service. |
| February 18, Friday | Heaviest night raids on London since 1941 as Luftwaffe intensify 'Little Blitz'. Road deaths in Britain for '43: 5,796; more than half occurring during blackout. |
| March | Air raid victims: 279 killed and 633 injured. |
| March 3, Friday | British civilian casualties now total 50,324 dead; military deaths: 50,103. |
| March 6, Monday | Unofficial strikes in British mines now losing 40-50,000 tons per week; Welsh miners all out. |
| March 9, Thursday | Miners' strike spreads to Scotland; output loss now 300,000 tons per week. |
| March 12, Sunday | Welsh miners return to work. |
| April | UK civilian casualties down: 146 killed, 226 injured. |
| April 1, Saturday | 'Salute the Soldier' week raises £166m throughout Britain. |
| April 2, Sunday | 13 babies die in blaze in temporary maternity hospital at Hindhead, Surrey. |
| April 4, Tuesday | de Gaulle becomes head of Free French Armed Forces. |
| April 6, Thursday | Miners' leaders in Britain say unofficial strikes must end in national interest. |
| April 17, Monday | British unemployment fell in last quarter to 73,092. |
| April 21, Friday | Princess Elizabeth celebrates her 18th birthday. Miners' pay agreement signed in London: 'the beginning of the end of insecurity in miners' lives. Railmen win 5/- (25p) a week increase. |
| April 24, Monday | All overseas travel banned in Britain. |
| April 25, Tuesday | Budget Day: very few tax changes; big tax reliefs for postwar reconstruction; prices have risen 28% against prewar; wages now up 37%. |
| April 29, Saturday | Curtin, Australian PM, arrives in London. |
| May 1, Monday | Imperial Conference opens in London. |
| May - June | Allied forces mass in Southern England for D-day invasion. |
| June 4, Sunday | Allied forces enter Rome. |
| June 6, Tuesday | D-day - Allied forces land on the coast of Normandy, France for the invasion of German-occupied Europe. |
| June 12, Monday | First V-1 rocket attack on Britain. link |
| June 22, Thursday | Russia launches summer offensive. |
| August 24, Thursday | A French armoured unit enters Paris. |
| August 25, Friday | Charles de Gaulle arrives in Paris, Liberation of Paris. |
| August 30, Wednesday | Last V-1 launch sites overrun by British troops. |
| September 3, Sunday | British troops enter Brussels, Belgium. |
| September 8, Friday | First V-2 rocket falls on Britain. link |
| September 11, Monday | Compulsory Home Guard parades end. |
| September 17, Sunday | Blackout ends. |
| September 30, Saturday | Part demobilization of National Fire Service. Those released are liable to military service or to be directed to industry. |
| December 3, Sunday | Home Guard stood down. link |
| February 13, Tuesday | Undefended German city of Dresden attacked by 773 aircraft of the RAF. Estimated that 132,000 people killed. |
| March 17, Saturday | Hull's last air-raid resulting in 12 killed and 22 seriously injured. |
| March 27, Tuesday | The last V2 lands in Kent. |
| March 29, Thursday | Last enemy action incident of any kind on British soil a ‘flying bomb’, V1, lands at Datchworth, Hertfordshire. |
| April 12, Thursday | American President Roosevelt dies. Harry S. Truman becomes President. |
| April 23, Monday | Blackout restrictions lifted. |
| April 25, Wednesday | Allied forces surround Berlin. |
| April 29, Sunday | German forces in Italy surrender. |
| April 30, Monday | Hitler commits suicide. |
| May 1, Tuesday | Britain's remaining ARP workers given one month's notice. |
| May 2, Wednesday | Berlin surrenders to Soviet army. |
| May 7, Monday | Surrender of Germany. |
| May 8, Tuesday | VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Total UK civilian casualties: 60 595 killed and 86 182 seriously wounded. link In all, Germany dropped a total of 71 270 tons of bombs on Britain, including the V1s and V2s. The Allies (Britain and U.S.A.) dropped 1 996 036 tons of bombs on Germany, killing an estimated 600 000 civilians. |
| May 22, Tuesday | Rations cut in Britain. |
| May 23, Wednesday | Churchill resigns and forms ‘caretaker' Government. |
| July 5, Thursday | General election in Britain. |
| July 26, Thursday | Labour gains power with 393 seats. Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister. |
| August 6, Monday | American forces drop atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. |
| August 9, Thursday | American forces drop atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. |
| August 14, Tuesday | Japan surrenders. |
| August 15, Wednesday | VJ Day (VJ stands for Victory in Japan). |
| September 1, Saturday | Clothing ration reduced by 25 per cent. |
| September 19, Wednesday | William Joyce (`Lord Haw Haw') sentenced to death for treason. |
| December 20, Thursday | Labour controls end. |
| July | Bread rationed. |
| July | Bread rationing ends. |
| December | Jam rationing ends. |
| February 22, Friday | Identity Cards no longer required. |
| October | Tea rationing ends. |
| February | Sweet rationing ends. |
| March | Egg rationing ends. |
| April | Cream rationing ends. |
| September | Sugar rationing ends. |
| May | Butter, cheese, margarine and cooking fat rationing ends. |
| June | Meat rationing ends. No more rationing. |
Copyright © 2003 Peter N. Risbey.
