Bombing of Gelsenkirchen
British bombers conduct a raid on the Gelsenkirchen oil plant
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1940 in Great Britain — Page 13
Explore 642 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1940.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1940
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 642 unique records.
642Unique records
13 of 17Page
33Named events on this page
15Named people on this page
13Places on this page
November
Bombing of Southampton
150 German aitcraft bomb Southampton
Airborne Radar
Airborne radar is successfully used by the Royal Air Force.
Birmingham Blitz
A major German air raid causes extensive deaths and destruction across Birmingham.
Mediterranean Strategy
Reviews British commitments in Egypt Greece and the Mediterranean.
Bristol Blitz
German bombing causes severe damage across Bristol.
Bombing of Coventry
Tours the ruins of Coventry for 5 hrs
Retirement
Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal removes Dowding from his post and replaces him with Sholto Douglas
December
War Cabinet Review
Reviews air defence shipping losses and imperial commitments.
Invasion of Egypt
Wilson launches Operation Compass, the strategy is outstandingly successful and very quickly the Italian forces are cut in half
Operation Compass
Wilson launches Operation Compass, the strategy is outstandingly successful and very quickly the Italian forces are cut in half
Invasion of Egypt
The Italians are driven out of Egypt in the 1st major british offensive of the War
North Africa
Opens a counter-offensive threatening Tripoli, the fascist capital in north Africa
Operation Compass
Authorises offensive action against Italian forces in Egypt.
Operation Compass
Launches Operation Compass against Italian positions in Egypt, helping remove the immediate Axis threat to the Suez Canal.
Siege of Tobruk
Opens a counter-offensive threatening Tripoli, captital of fascist north Africa
Western Desert Offensive
Receives news of early British success against Italian forces.
Roosevelt Correspondence
Presses Roosevelt for greater American material aid.
Lend Lease Appeal
Appeals for American help as Britain's financial resources are strained.
Foreign Secretary
Returns to the Foreign Office as Churchill's Foreign Secretary
Manchester Blitz
Responds to the bombing of Manchester during the winter Blitz.
Christmas Broadcast
Addresses the Empire during the first wartime Christmas of his premiership.
London Blitz
Responds after heavy bombing and fires across the City of London.
Bombing of Guildhall
Visits the ruins of Guildhall with his wife
Bombing of London
Visits the ruins of Guildhall with his wife. Germany bombs Londo with 1,000 bombers
Bombing of Naples
Churchill says Mussolini is "the one man" who brought Italy into the war
1940 Review
Reviews a year in which Britain survived invasion threats and fought on.
Battle of Britain
Supports continued expansion of aircraft output after the Battle of Britain.
Bombing of London
Makes a broadcast on BBC TV outlining plans for fire-fighting in London
Bombing of London
In 5 months 22,000 are killed
Invasion of Libya
Wilson oversaw the first stages of the campaign during which the British Army secured its first field victories of the war and advanced to the border with Libya
Other events (month unknown)
1922 Committee
Appointed Chairman of the 1922 Committee
Accretion by Stars
Hoyle and Lyttleton developed an influential model for gravitational accretion of interstellar material by moving stars.
Admiral
Appointed Commander in Chief during the Norwegian campaign
Admiral
Appointed Commander in Chief during the Norwegian campaign
Ambassador
Appointed Ambassador of Spain
Another Time
Publication of "Another Time"
Army Enlistment
Healey joins the British Army after completing his Oxford degree.
Banburismus
Develops Banburismus, a statistical method that reduces the number of Naval Enigma rotor settings requiring Bombe tests.
Battle of Britain
Naval construction is top followed by production of fighters for the Battle of Britain
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.