January –
Mass Observation carries out a national survey into the
sexual behaviour and attitudes of 4,000 British people, "Little
Kinsey". The results remain largely unpublished for over fifty years.[1][2][3]
1 January
Peacetime
conscription in the United Kingdom is regularised under the National Service Act 1947. Men aged 18–26 in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to serve full-time in the armed forces for 18 months.[4]
The
British Nationality Act 1948 comes into effect, creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", superseding the shared status of "
Commonwealth citizen".
Royal NavyfrigateHMS Amethyst goes up the
Yangtze River to evacuate
British Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of the Mao's communist forces. Under heavy fire, it runs aground off
Rose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on 26 April, it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time its cat,
Simon, raises the crew's morale.
29 April – The News Review reveals that neither the English
public school Selhurst College nor its headmaster
H. Rochester Sneath exist, but are a hoax created by
Humphry Berkeley the previous year.
3 May – Parliament passes the
Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of
Northern Ireland as part of the
United Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The government also recognises the existence of the
Republic of Ireland.
6 May –
EDSAC, the first practicable stored-programme computer, runs its first programme at
Cambridge University.[14]
30 July – Legal Aid and Advice Act establishes a much-extended system of
Legal aid in England and Wales[16] (with the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act applying similarly in Scotland).
31 July – Captain Kerans of HMS Amethyst decides to make a break after nightfall under heavy fire from the
Chinese People's Liberation Army both sides of the
Yangtze River and successfully rejoins the fleet at
Woosung the next day.
30 September – The
Berlin Airlift comes to an end, during which 17 American and 7 British planes have crashed delivering supplies to Soviet blockaded
Berlin.[6]
24 November –
Representation of the People Act 1949 provides for reviews of parliamentary boundaries by the permanent
Boundary Commissions; abolishes the terms 'parliamentary borough' and 'parliamentary county', renaming them 'borough constituency' and 'county constituency'; abolishes the
university constituencies; and removes remaining provisions allowing
plural voting in parliamentary elections by owners of business premises.[21]
28 November – Conservative Party leader
Winston Churchill makes a landmark speech in support of the idea of a European Union at
Kingsway Hall, London, but without commitment to early U.K. membership.[22]
The number of workforce deaths in the coal industry is reported to have fallen to a record low since
nationalisation two years ago.[23]
With an average
Central England temperature of 10.64 °C or 51.15 °F, the record for the hottest year in that series set in
1834 and equalled in 1921 is broken. 1949's record stands until 1990 by when
anthropogenic global warming has come largely to control temperatures.[24]
Publications
Enid Blyton's children's books Little
Noddy Goes to Toyland, the first to introduce the title character; and The Secret Seven, first in the eponymous
series.
^"Address given by Winston Churchill (London, 28 November 1949)". cvce.eu. Retrieved 28 March 2017. The British Government have rightly stated that they cannot commit this country to entering any European Union without the agreement of the other members of the British Commonwealth.
January –
Mass Observation carries out a national survey into the
sexual behaviour and attitudes of 4,000 British people, "Little
Kinsey". The results remain largely unpublished for over fifty years.[1][2][3]
1 January
Peacetime
conscription in the United Kingdom is regularised under the National Service Act 1947. Men aged 18–26 in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to serve full-time in the armed forces for 18 months.[4]
The
British Nationality Act 1948 comes into effect, creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", superseding the shared status of "
Commonwealth citizen".
Royal NavyfrigateHMS Amethyst goes up the
Yangtze River to evacuate
British Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of the Mao's communist forces. Under heavy fire, it runs aground off
Rose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on 26 April, it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time its cat,
Simon, raises the crew's morale.
29 April – The News Review reveals that neither the English
public school Selhurst College nor its headmaster
H. Rochester Sneath exist, but are a hoax created by
Humphry Berkeley the previous year.
3 May – Parliament passes the
Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of
Northern Ireland as part of the
United Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The government also recognises the existence of the
Republic of Ireland.
6 May –
EDSAC, the first practicable stored-programme computer, runs its first programme at
Cambridge University.[14]
30 July – Legal Aid and Advice Act establishes a much-extended system of
Legal aid in England and Wales[16] (with the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act applying similarly in Scotland).
31 July – Captain Kerans of HMS Amethyst decides to make a break after nightfall under heavy fire from the
Chinese People's Liberation Army both sides of the
Yangtze River and successfully rejoins the fleet at
Woosung the next day.
30 September – The
Berlin Airlift comes to an end, during which 17 American and 7 British planes have crashed delivering supplies to Soviet blockaded
Berlin.[6]
24 November –
Representation of the People Act 1949 provides for reviews of parliamentary boundaries by the permanent
Boundary Commissions; abolishes the terms 'parliamentary borough' and 'parliamentary county', renaming them 'borough constituency' and 'county constituency'; abolishes the
university constituencies; and removes remaining provisions allowing
plural voting in parliamentary elections by owners of business premises.[21]
28 November – Conservative Party leader
Winston Churchill makes a landmark speech in support of the idea of a European Union at
Kingsway Hall, London, but without commitment to early U.K. membership.[22]
The number of workforce deaths in the coal industry is reported to have fallen to a record low since
nationalisation two years ago.[23]
With an average
Central England temperature of 10.64 °C or 51.15 °F, the record for the hottest year in that series set in
1834 and equalled in 1921 is broken. 1949's record stands until 1990 by when
anthropogenic global warming has come largely to control temperatures.[24]
Publications
Enid Blyton's children's books Little
Noddy Goes to Toyland, the first to introduce the title character; and The Secret Seven, first in the eponymous
series.
^"Address given by Winston Churchill (London, 28 November 1949)". cvce.eu. Retrieved 28 March 2017. The British Government have rightly stated that they cannot commit this country to entering any European Union without the agreement of the other members of the British Commonwealth.