24 March – After an eight-day trial at
WinchesterAssizes,
The Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, his cousin
Michael Pitt-Rivers, and their friend
Peter Wildeblood are convicted of "conspiracy to incite certain male persons to commit serious offences with male persons" or
buggery and related charges.[4] Pitt-Rivers and Wildebood are sentenced to eighteen months and Lord Montagu to twelve months in prison.
24 April –
Wolverhampton Wanderers win the
Football League First Division title for the first time in their history.[7] The result ends the hopes that their local rivals, FA Cup finalists West Bromwich Albion, had of becoming the first team of the 20th century to win
the double of the league title and FA Cup.[8]
12 June – An
Irish Republican Army unit carries out a successful arms raid on
Gough Barracks in
Armagh, signalling the renewal of IRA activity following a long hiatus.
30 June – Britain witnesses its first eclipse since 1927 as the eclipse in
America casts its shadow over
Europe and
Asia.[14]
19 July –
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority established by the Atomic Energy Act "to produce, use and dispose of atomic energy and carry out research into any matters therewith".[19]
5 August –
Julian Slade's
musicalSalad Days opens in London, following a premiere at the
Bristol Old Vic, it becomes the longest-running musical in British theatre history until 1960.
13 October –
Chris Chataway breaks the world record for the 5000 metres by five seconds.[28]
14 October – The Ethiopian emperor
Haile Selassie visits the United Kingdom.[29]
19 October
Britain agrees to end its military occupation of the
Suez Canal.[13]
A public inquiry into the
de Havilland Comet airline disasters hears that metal fatigue is the most likely cause of the two recent crashes which claimed the lives of a total of 50 people.[30]
November – Postwar government limitations on housebuilding are lifted.
27 November – The South Goodwin
lightvessel is wrecked on the
Goodwin Sands with the loss of six of the seven on board.[31] The tanker World Concord breaks in two in the
Irish Sea.
30 November –
Winston Churchill becomes the first, and to the present day, the only UK Prime Minister to celebrate his eightieth birthday whilst in office.
^Doyle, Billy H. (1999). The Ultimate Directory of Silent and Sound Era Performers: A Necrology of Actors and Actresses. Scarecrow Press. p. 240.
ISBN9780810835474.
24 March – After an eight-day trial at
WinchesterAssizes,
The Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, his cousin
Michael Pitt-Rivers, and their friend
Peter Wildeblood are convicted of "conspiracy to incite certain male persons to commit serious offences with male persons" or
buggery and related charges.[4] Pitt-Rivers and Wildebood are sentenced to eighteen months and Lord Montagu to twelve months in prison.
24 April –
Wolverhampton Wanderers win the
Football League First Division title for the first time in their history.[7] The result ends the hopes that their local rivals, FA Cup finalists West Bromwich Albion, had of becoming the first team of the 20th century to win
the double of the league title and FA Cup.[8]
12 June – An
Irish Republican Army unit carries out a successful arms raid on
Gough Barracks in
Armagh, signalling the renewal of IRA activity following a long hiatus.
30 June – Britain witnesses its first eclipse since 1927 as the eclipse in
America casts its shadow over
Europe and
Asia.[14]
19 July –
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority established by the Atomic Energy Act "to produce, use and dispose of atomic energy and carry out research into any matters therewith".[19]
5 August –
Julian Slade's
musicalSalad Days opens in London, following a premiere at the
Bristol Old Vic, it becomes the longest-running musical in British theatre history until 1960.
13 October –
Chris Chataway breaks the world record for the 5000 metres by five seconds.[28]
14 October – The Ethiopian emperor
Haile Selassie visits the United Kingdom.[29]
19 October
Britain agrees to end its military occupation of the
Suez Canal.[13]
A public inquiry into the
de Havilland Comet airline disasters hears that metal fatigue is the most likely cause of the two recent crashes which claimed the lives of a total of 50 people.[30]
November – Postwar government limitations on housebuilding are lifted.
27 November – The South Goodwin
lightvessel is wrecked on the
Goodwin Sands with the loss of six of the seven on board.[31] The tanker World Concord breaks in two in the
Irish Sea.
30 November –
Winston Churchill becomes the first, and to the present day, the only UK Prime Minister to celebrate his eightieth birthday whilst in office.
^Doyle, Billy H. (1999). The Ultimate Directory of Silent and Sound Era Performers: A Necrology of Actors and Actresses. Scarecrow Press. p. 240.
ISBN9780810835474.