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Merle Frances Williams

Female 1945 - 1969  (24 years)


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Timeline

1945
1950
1955
1959
1964
1969
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25


 
 
 




   Date  Event(s)
1 1945 
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - 34 people killed and 90 injured in explosion of the Grand Magazine in Pretoria.
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - Announcement made that as from the beginning of the war until 05 March 1945, more than 1500 South African soldiers were decorated, 2386 were mentioned in despatches and 330 were commended.
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuked
  • 4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945:
    Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
  • 17 Mar 1945—1945:
    SA - South African Forces capture Monte Sole and Monte Caprara, which were barring entering into Bologna.
  • 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945:
    Last V1 flying bomb attack
  • 25 Apr 1945—25 Apr 1945:
    Berlin surrounded by Russian troops
  • 30 Apr 1945—30 Apr 1945:
    Hitler commits suicide
  • 8 May 1945—8 May 1945:
    VE Day (Victory in Europe)
  • 9 May 1945—9 May 1945:
    Channel Islands liberated
  • 26 Jun 1945—26 Jun 1945:
    UN Charter signed in San Francisco
  • 16 Jul 1945—16 Jul 1945:
    First ever atomic bomb exploded in a test in New Mexico (although there were other forms of atomic device before that, such as the Pile at Stagg Field, first critical on 2nd Dec 1942)
  • 26 Jul 1945—26 Jul 1945:
    Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office
  • 29 Jul 1945—29 Jul 1945:
    BBC Light Programme starts
  • 6 Aug 1945—6 Aug 1945:
    Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
  • 9 Aug 1945—9 Aug 1945:
    Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
  • 15 Aug 1945—15 Aug 1945:
    VJ Day (Victory in Japan)
  • 2 Sep 1945—2 Sep 1945:
    Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri
  • 24 Oct 1945—24 Oct 1945:
    United Nations Organisation comes into existence
  • 4 Nov 1945—4 Nov 1945:
    UNESCO founded
2 1946 
  • 1946—1946:
    Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948)
  • 1946—1946:
    Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004
  • 1 Jan 1946—1 Jan 1946:
    First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport
  • 1 Mar 1946—1 Mar 1946:
    Bank of England nationalised
3 1947 
  • 1947—1947:
    Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later
  • 1947—1947:
    First British nuclear reactor developed
  • 1 Jan 1947—1 Jan 1947:
    Coal Mines nationalised
  • 23 Feb 1947—23 Feb 1947:
    International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded
  • 1 Mar 1947—1 Mar 1947:
    International Monetary Fund begins financial operations
  • 1 Apr 1947—1 Apr 1947:
    School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
  • 26 Oct 1947—26 Oct 1947:
    British military occupation ends in Iraq
  • 20 Nov 1947—20 Nov 1947:
    Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
4 1948 
  • 1948—1948:
    British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports
  • 1948—1948:
    Transistor radio invented
  • 1948—1948:
    Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark
  • 1948—1948:
    SA - Known as the beginning of apartheid era.
  • 1948—1948:
    SA - Nationalist Government come to power in SA
  • 1 Jan 1948—1 Jan 1948:
    British Railways nationalised
  • 5 Jul 1948—5 Jul 1948:
    National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain
  • 29 Jul 1948—29 Jul 1948:
    London Olympics begin
5 1949 
  • 1949—1949:
    Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap)
  • 1949—1949:
    De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner
  • 15 Mar 1949—15 Mar 1949:
    Clothes rationing ends in Britain
  • 4 Apr 1949—4 Apr 1949:
    Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
6 1950 
  • 1950—1950:
    SA - Korean War
  • 19 May 1950—19 May 1950:
    Points rationing ends in Britain
  • 26 May 1950—26 May 1950:
    Petrol rationing ends in Britain
  • 11 Jul 1950—11 Jul 1950:
    'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV
  • 9 Sep 1950—9 Sep 1950:
    Soap rationing ends in Britain
  • 28 Dec 1950—28 Dec 1950:
    The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
7 1951 
  • 3 May 1951—3 May 1951:
    Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London
  • 28 May 1951—28 May 1951:
    First Goon Show broadcast
  • 20 Dec 1951—20 Dec 1951:
    Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
8 1952 
  • 1952—1952:
    Contraceptive pill invented
  • 1952—1952:
    Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia
  • 1952—1952:
    Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects
  • 1952—1952:
    Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany
  • 6 Feb 1952—6 Feb 1952:
    King George VI dies
  • 21 Feb 1952—21 Feb 1952:
    Identity Cards abolished in Britain
  • 2 May 1952—2 May 1952:
    First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London and Johannesburg
  • 5 Jul 1952—5 Jul 1952:
    Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross)
  • 16 Aug 1952—16 Aug 1952:
    Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster
  • 6 Sep 1952—6 Sep 1952:
    DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed
  • 3 Oct 1952—3 Oct 1952:
    End of tea rationing in Britain
  • 1 Nov 1952—1 Nov 1952:
    The first H-bomb ever ('Mike') was exploded by the USA - the mushroom cloud was 8 miles across and 27 miles high. The canopy was 100 miles wide. Radioactive mud fell out of the sky followed by heavy rain. 80 million tons of earth was vaporised.
  • 25 Nov 1952—25 Nov 1952:
    Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London
  • 4 Dec 1952—4 Dec 1952:
    Great smog hits London
9 1953 
  • 31 Jan 1953—31 Jan 1953:
    Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century - severe storm and high tides caused the loss of hundreds of lives - - effects travelled from the west coast of Scotland round to the south-east coast of England [The Netherlands were even worse affected with over a thousand deaths]
  • 5 Feb 1953—5 Feb 1953:
    Sweet rationing ends in Britain
  • 5 Mar 1953—5 Mar 1953:
    Death of Stalin
  • 26 Mar 1953—26 Mar 1953:
    Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine
  • 24 Apr 1953—24 Apr 1953:
    Winston Churchill knighted
  • 25 Apr 1953—25 Apr 1953:
    Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA
  • 2 Jun 1953—2 Jun 1953:
    Coronation of Elizabeth II
  • 26 Sep 1953—26 Sep 1953:
    Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
10 1954 
  • 1954—1954:
    First comprehensive school opens in London
  • 1954—1954:
    Routemaster bus starts operating in London
  • 1954—1954:
    First transistor radios sold
  • 6 May 1954—6 May 1954:
    First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs)
  • 3 Jul 1954—3 Jul 1954:
    Food rationing officially ends in Britain
  • 5 Jul 1954—5 Jul 1954:
    BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin
  • 30 Sep 1954—30 Sep 1954:
    First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
11 1955 
  • 1955—1955:
    'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons
  • 27 Jul 1955—27 Jul 1955:
    Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends
  • 22 Sep 1955—22 Sep 1955:
    Commercial TV starts in Britain
12 1956 
  • 1956—1956:
    Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland
  • 1 Mar 1956—1 Mar 1956:
    Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc)
  • 17 Apr 1956—17 Apr 1956:
    Premium Bonds first launched - first prizes drawn on 1 Jun 1957
  • 3 Jun 1956—3 Jun 1956:
    3rd class travel abolished on British Railways (renamed 'Third Class' as 'Second Class', which had been abolished in 1875 leaving just First and Third Class)
  • 31 Oct 1956—31 Oct 1956:
    Britain and France invade Suez
13 1957 
  • 1957—1957:
    Britain introduces parking meters
  • 1957—1957:
    Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland)
  • 1957—1957:
    SA - Sputnik
  • 11 Jan 1957—11 Jan 1957:
    Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
  • 14 May 1957—14 May 1957:
    Post-Suez petrol rationing ends
  • 15 May 1957—15 May 1957:
    Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island
  • 25 May 1957—25 May 1957:
    Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - became operational Jan 1958
  • 4 Dec 1957—4 Dec 1957:
    Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct collapses on top of them
  • 25 Dec 1957—25 Dec 1957:
    Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
14 1958 
  • 1958—1958:
    Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND)
  • 1958—1958:
    Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce
  • 1958—1958:
    USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
  • 13 May 1958—13 May 1958:
    Velcro trade mark registered
  • 26 Jul 1958—26 Jul 1958:
    Prince Charles' Investiture as 'Prince of Wales'
  • 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958:
    Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979)
  • 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958:
    Preston by-pass opens - UK's first stretch of motorway
15 1959 
  • 3 Feb 1959—3 Feb 1959:
    'The Day The Music Died' - plane crash kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper
  • 17 Feb 1959—17 Feb 1959:
    Vanguard 2 satellite launched - first to measure cloud-cover distribution
  • 24 May 1959—24 May 1959:
    Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day
  • Aug 1959—Aug 1959:
    BMC Mini car launched
  • 3 Oct 1959—3 Oct 1959:
    Postcodes introduced in Britain
  • 1 Nov 1959—1 Nov 1959:
    First section of M1 motorway opened
16 1960 
  • 17 Mar 1960—17 Mar 1960:
    New ?1 notes issued by Bank of England
  • 18 Mar 1960—18 Mar 1960:
    Last steam locomotive of British Railways named
  • 21 Jul 1960—21 Jul 1960:
    Francis Chichester arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II (took 40 days), winning the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race which he co-founded
  • 12 Aug 1960—12 Aug 1960:
    Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched
  • 12 Sep 1960—12 Sep 1960:
    MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced
  • 1 Oct 1960—1 Oct 1960:
    HMS 'Dreadnought' nuclear submarine launched
  • 2 Nov 1960—2 Nov 1960:
    Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' case
17 1961 
  • 1961—1961:
    SA - South Africa becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth.
  • 1 Jan 1961—1 Jan 1961:
    Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK
  • 13 Mar 1961—13 Mar 1961:
    Black & White ?5 notes cease to be legal tender
  • 14 Mar 1961—14 Mar 1961:
    New English Bible (New Testament) published
  • 1 May 1961—1 May 1961:
    Betting shops legal in Britain
18 1962 
  • 1962—1962:
    Britain passes Commonwealth Immigrants Act to control immigration
  • 1962—1962:
    Thalidomide withdrawn after it causes deformities in babies
  • 1962—1962:
    Britain and France agree to construct 'Concorde'
  • 25 May 1962—25 May 1962:
    Consecration of new Coventry Cathedral (old destroyed in WW2 blitz)
  • 15 Jun 1962—15 Jun 1962:
    First nuclear generated electricity to supplied National Grid (from Berkeley Glos)
  • Jul 1962—Jul 1962:
    First passenger-carrying hovercraft enters service, along the North Wales Coast from Moreton to Rhyl
  • 10 Jul 1962—10 Jul 1962:
    First TV transmission between US and Europe (Telstar) - first live broadcast on 23 Jul
  • 24 Oct 1962—24 Oct 1962:
    Cuba missile crisis - brink of nuclear war
19 1963 
  • 1963—1963:
    France vetoes Britain's entry into EEC
  • Jan 1963—Jan 1963:
    Cold weather forces cancellation of most football matches (only 4 English First Division matches in the month) - the first 'pools panel' created
  • 27 Mar 1963—27 Mar 1963:
    Beeching Report on British Railways (the 'Beeching Axe')
  • 1 Aug 1963—1 Aug 1963:
    Minimum prison age raised to 17
  • 8 Aug 1963—8 Aug 1963:
    'Great Train Robbery' on Glasgow to London mail train
  • 17 Sep 1963—17 Sep 1963:
    Fylingdales (Yorks) early warning system operational
  • 18 Nov 1963—18 Nov 1963:
    Dartford Tunnel opens
  • 23 Nov 1963—23 Nov 1963:
    First episode of 'Dr Who' on BBC TV
20 1964 
  • 1 Jan 1964—1 Jan 1964:
    First 'Top of the Pops' on BBC TV
  • 9 Apr 1964—9 Apr 1964:
    First Greater London Council (GLC) election
  • 21 Apr 1964—21 Apr 1964:
    BBC2 TV launched
  • 22 Aug 1964—22 Aug 1964:
    'Match of the Day' starts on BBC2
  • 4 Sep 1964—4 Sep 1964:
    Forth road bridge opens
21 1965 
  • 1965—1965:
    Britain enacts first Race Relations Act
  • 1965—1965:
    SA - Rhodesian UDI
  • 7 Feb 1965—7 Feb 1965:
    First US raids against North Vietnam
  • 7 Apr 1965—7 Apr 1965:
    Winston Churchill dies
  • 1 Aug 1965—1 Aug 1965:
    TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain
  • 8 Oct 1965—8 Oct 1965:
    Post Office Tower operational in London
  • 28 Oct 1965—28 Oct 1965:
    Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then abolished 18 Dec 1969
  • 22 Dec 1965—22 Dec 1965:
    70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
22 1966 
  • 14 Feb 1966—14 Feb 1966:
    Australia converts from ? to $
  • 3 May 1966—3 May 1966:
    'The Times' begins to print news on its front page in place of classified Advertisements
  • 30 Jul 1966—30 Jul 1966:
    World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany)
  • 8 Sep 1966—8 Sep 1966:
    First Severn road bridge opens
  • 21 Oct 1966—21 Oct 1966:
    Aberfan disaster - slag heap slip kills 144, incl. 116 children
  • 1 Dec 1966—1 Dec 1966:
    First Christmas stamps issued in Britain
23 1967 
  • 1967—1967:
    SA - Six Day Arab - Isreali War
  • 4 Jan 1967—4 Jan 1967:
    Donald Campbell dies attempting to break his world water speed record on Conniston Water - his body and Bluebird recovered in 2002
  • 18 Mar 1967—18 Mar 1967:
    'Torrey Canyon' oil tanker runs aground off Lands End first major oil spill
  • 28 May 1967—28 May 1967:
    Francis Chichester arrives in Plymouth after solo circumnavigation in Gipsy Moth IV (he was knighted 7th July at Greenwich by the queen using the sword with which Elizabeth I had knighted Sir Francis Drake four centuries earlier
  • 27 Jun 1967—27 Jun 1967:
    First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain - at Enfield branch of Barclays
  • 1 Jul 1967—1 Jul 1967:
    First colour TV in Britain
  • 14 Aug 1967—14 Aug 1967:
    Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK
  • 20 Sep 1967—20 Sep 1967:
    'QE2' launched on Clydebank
  • 27 Sep 1967—27 Sep 1967:
    'Queen Mary' arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage
  • 30 Sep 1967—30 Sep 1967:
    BBC Radios 1 2 3 & 4 open first record played on Radio 1 was the controversial 'Flowers in the Rain' by 'The Move'
  • 5 Oct 1967—5 Oct 1967:
    Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
24 1968 
  • 18 Feb 1968—18 Feb 1968:
    British Standard Time introduced - Summer Time became permanent but arguments prevailed and Britain reverted to GMT in October 1971
  • 18 Apr 1968—18 Apr 1968:
    London Bridge sold (and eventually moved to Arizona) - modern London Bridge, built around it as it was demolished, was opened in Mar 1973
  • 20 Apr 1968—20 Apr 1968:
    Enoch Powell 'Rivers of Blood' speech on immigration
  • 23 Apr 1968—23 Apr 1968:
    Issue of 5p and 10p decimal coins in Britain
  • 29 May 1968—29 May 1968:
    Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup
  • 11 Aug 1968—11 Aug 1968:
    Last steam passenger train service ran in Britain (Carlisle- Liverpool)
  • 16 Sep 1968—16 Sep 1968:
    Two-tier postal rate starts in Britain
  • 5 Oct 1968—5 Oct 1968:
    Beginning of disturbances in N Ireland
25 1969 
  • 1969—1969:
    SA - Man on the Moon
  • 2 Mar 1969—2 Mar 1969:
    Maiden flight of 'Concorde', at Toulouse
  • 7 Mar 1969—7 Mar 1969:
    Victoria Line tube opens in London
  • 17 Apr 1969—17 Apr 1969:
    Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
  • 2 May 1969—2 May 1969:
    Maiden voyage of liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)
  • 31 Jul 1969—31 Jul 1969:
    Halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in Britain
  • 14 Aug 1969—14 Aug 1969:
    Civil disturbances in Ulster - Britain sends troops to support civil authorities
  • 7 Sep 1969—7 Sep 1969:
    First episode of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' recorded
  • 14 Oct 1969—14 Oct 1969:
    50p coin introduced in Britain (reduced in size 1998)

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