Dismissal
Dismissed by Chamberlain
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1940 in Great Britain — Page 15
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
15 of 17Page
26Named events on this page
31Named people on this page
4Places on this page
Other events (month unknown)
Double First
Healey completes his Oxford degree with a double first in classical studies.
Economy of Great Britain
Given responsibility for directing economic policy
Education
Healey achieves a double first for his degree, awarded in 1940.
Emergency Medical Service
Continues wartime coordination of hospitals and casualty services.
Emergency Medical Service
Maintains the emergency medical system during wartime pressure.
Enigma Machine
Works in Hut 6 on German Army and Luftwaffe Enigma before later transferring to Naval Enigma.
Enigma Machine
Joins Hut 6 and applies advanced mathematics to German Army and Luftwaffe Enigma.
Enigma Machine
Arrives at Bletchley Park and is assigned to Turing's Hut 8 team working on Naval Enigma.
Enigma Machine
Becomes skilled in Banburismus, reducing the Bombe processing required for Naval Enigma.
Enigma Machine
Joins Dilly Knox's team and learns techniques for attacking Enigma variants used by Axis forces.
Enigma Machine
Works in Hut 6 on German Army and Luftwaffe Enigma and helps organise the growing cryptanalytic operation.
Enigma Machine
Works with Dilly Knox's section on Enigma variants used by German intelligence and other Axis organisations.
Enigma Machine
Leads Hut 6 as regular Luftwaffe Enigma reading begins to provide operational intelligence.
Failure of a Mission
Publication of "Failure of a Mission"
Field Marshal
Appointed Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Appointed Field Marshal
Fighter Command
Once appointed soon introduces wing-sized fighter sweeps into France, known as "rodeos". Leigh-Mallory takes over from Park as Commander of 11 Group
Fire Service
Founds the National Fire Service
First Speech as Prime Minister
Churchill's first Commons speech as prime minister set out the resolve and sacrifices expected during wartime.
Flag Officer
Appointed Flag Officer Submarines
Flag Officer
Appointed Flag Officer Submarines
Food Rationing
Opposes food rationing, encourages the Ministry of Food to increase imports
Foreign Secretary of Great Britain
Appointed Foreign Minister, 3rd term
General
Appointed General
General
Appointed General
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Edwin Hubble receives the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Governor
Appointed Governor of the Bahamas, 1940-45
Guilty Men
Publishes a bestselling attack on appeasement under the shared pseudonym Cato.
Guilty Men
Co-writes Guilty Men with Michael Foot and Frank Owen.
Guilty Men
Co-writes Guilty Men with Michael Foot and Peter Howard.
Hamas
Appointed Governor of the Bahamas, 1940-45
Home Guard
Serves in the Home Guard during the war.
Hut 8 Leadership
Heads Hut 8 during the early development of systematic methods for breaking German Naval Enigma.
Inspector
Appointed Inspector General
Inspector
Appointed Inspector General
Knight of the Grand Cross
Credited with winning the battle and made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Leader of House of Commons
Appointed Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Chancellor
Appointed Lord Chancellor
Lord President
Appointed Lord President
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.