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1955 in the United Kingdom

Other years

1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957

British and Irish current events

Sport and Music

1955 English cricket season

Football England | Scotland

1955 in British music

Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

• Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister - Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden Conservative Party

Events

• 23 January - Sutton Coldfield rail crash: fourteen people killed and dozens injured in a train crash at Sutton Coldfield.^[1]
• 24 February - A big freeze across Britain has resulted in more than 70 roads being blocked with snow, and in some parts of the country rail services have been cancelled for several days. The Royal Air Force has been working to deliver food and medical supplies to the worst affected areas.^[2]
• 25 February - The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal completed.^[3]
• 29 March - Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen calls a strike which continues until 14 June, leading to a State of emergency being declared on 31 May.

Anthony Eden

• 5 April - resignation of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister due to ill-health at the age of 80.^[4]
• 21 April - national newspapers published for the first time after a month-long strike by newspaper maintenance workers.^[5]
• 5 May - American virologist Dr Jonas Salk promotes a polio vaccine in Britain, with the 500,000th person receiving a vaccine against the disease.^[6]
• 27 May - Anthony Eden wins the general election for the Conservative Party.^[7]
• 9 July - Bertrand Russell issues the Russell-Einstein Manifesto highlighting the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.
• 13 July - Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK.^[8]
• 17 July - Stirling Moss becomes the first English person to win the British Grand Prix.^[9]
• 18 July - Winterborne St Martin enters the UK Weather Records with the Highest 24-hour total rainfall at 279 mm. As of July 2006 this record remains.
• 27 August - Guinness Book of Records first published.^[8]
• 4 September - Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall become the first BBC television newsreaders to be seen reading the news.^[3]
• 21 September - United Kingdom annexes Rockall.^[10]
• 22 September - first ITV franchises of Independent Television Authority begin broadcasting the UK's first commercial television ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBC.^[11]
• 26 September - Clarence Birdseye begins selling fish fingers in Britain.^[3]
• 31 October - Princess Margaret calls off her proposed marriage to Peter Townsend.^[12]
• 20 November - Milton rail crash: a passenger train takes a crossover too fast and derails at Milton, near Didcot. 11 killed, 157 injured.
• 2 December - Barnes rail crash, Barnes, South London: collision due to signal error and consequent fire. 13 killed, 35 injured.
• 7 December - Clement Attlee resigns as leader of the Labour Party.^[13]
• 14 December - Hugh Gaitskell becomes the leader of the Labour Party.^[14]
• 16 December - The Queen opens a new airport terminal at London Airport.^[15]

Publications

• Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel Hickory Dickory Dock.
• Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Moonraker.
• Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American.
• Aldous Huxley's novel The Genius and the Goddess.
• C. S. Lewis' novel The Magician's Nephew.
• Alistair MacLean's novel HMS Ulysses.
• J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, third and final part of The Lord of the Rings.
• Evelyn Waugh's novel Officers and Gentlemen, second of the Sword of Honour trilogy.
• John Wyndham's novel The Chrysalids.

Births

• 6 January - Rowan Atkinson, comedian and actor
• 15 January - Nigel Benson, author and illustrator
• 19 January - Simon Rattle, conductor
• 25 January - Terry Chimes, drummer (The Clash)
• 27 January - Alexander Stuart, author
• 3 February - Kirsty Wark, television presenter
• 10 February - Chris Adams, professional wrestler (died 2001)
• 23 February - Howard Jones, musician
• 5 April - Janice Long, radio disc jockey
• 23 April - Tony Miles, chess player (died 2001)
• 2 May - Willie Miller, footballer
• 6 May - John Hutton, politician
• 16 May - Hazel O'Connor, singer
• 21 May - Paul Barber, field hockey player
• 30 May - Topper Headon, drummer (The Clash)
• 8 June - Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
• 12 June - Paul O'Grady, talk show host and comedian
• 14 June - Gillian Bailey, actor
• 26 June - Mick Jones, guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
• 29 July - Stephen Timms, politician
• 1 September - Bruce Foxton, musician
• 3 September - Steve Jones, guitarist (Sex Pistols)
• 5 September - John Bentley, rugby football player
• 9 October - Steve Ovett, athlete
• 15 October - Kulbir Bhaura, field hockey player
• 18 October - Timmy Mallett, television presenter
• 9 November - Karen Dotrice, actress
• 24 November - Ian Botham, cricketer
• 30 November - Billy Idol, singer
• 15 December - Paul Simonon, bassist (The Clash)
• 23 December - Carol Ann Duffy, poet

Deaths

• 29 January - Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams, politician (born 1865)
• 11 March - Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1881)
• 22 April - Herbert MacNair, artist (born 1868)
• 27 April - Ambrose Bebb, author (born 1894)
• 11 May - Gilbert Jessop, cricketer (born 1874)
• 13 July - Ruth Ellis, murderer (born 1926)
• 18 July - Billy McCandless, footballer (born 1894)
• 16 September - Leo Amery, politician (born 1873)
• 28 September - Lionel Rees, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1883)
• 11 October - Hector McNeil, politician (born 1907)
• 14 October - Harry Parr Davies, songwriter (born 1914)
• 15 October - Thomas Jones (T. J.), founder of Coleg Harlech (born 1870)
• 27 December - Alfred Carpenter, soldier (born 1881)

References

See also