War Cabinet
Appointed Member of War Cabinet
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1940 in Great Britain — Page 5
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
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30Named events on this page
21Named people on this page
6Places on this page
May
War Cabinet
Appointed Member of War Cabinet
War Cabinet
Creates a smaller War Cabinet for rapid wartime decision making.
War Cabinet
Appointed Member of War Cabinet
War Office
Churchill appoints Eden Secretary of State for War in the new coalition government
Board of Trade
Appointed President of the Board of Trade, 1st term
Invasion of France
Attends an inter-allied conference in the Chateau at Casteau near Mons
Lord Chancellor
Appointed Lord Chancellor
President of Board of Trade
Appointed President of the Board of Trade, 1st term
Battle of Narvik
Takes command of reorganised British land forces in northern Norway.
Battle of Narvik
Oversees the campaign as Allied troops capture Elvegardsmoen and advance toward Narvik.
Blood Toil Tears and Sweat
Tells Parliament he can offer only blood toil tears and sweat.
Narvik Command
Takes command of reorganised British land forces in northern Norway.
Narvik Command
Auchinleck takes command of reorganised British land forces in the Narvik area.
Speech
In the Commons says "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears & sweat"
Vote of Confidence
Wins a unanimous vote of confidence from the Commons for the new administration
Beaverbrook Appointment
Appoints Beaverbrook to accelerate aircraft production.
Home Guard
Eden announces the formation of the Home Guard
Local Defence Volunteers
Broadcasts the appeal for volunteers to form the Local Defence Volunteers
Local Defence Volunteers (LDV)
Foundation of the Local Defence Volunteers, later Home Guard
Local Defence Volunteers (LDV)
Calls for volunteers to form the LDV, within 24 hours 250,000 enrol
Minister of Economic Warfare
Appointed Minister for Economic Warfare
Minister of Shipping
Appointed Minister for Shipping
Minister of Transport
Appointed Minister for Transport
Secretary of State
Appointed Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Agriculture
Appointed Minister for Agriculture
Attorney General
Appointed Attorney General
Battle of France
Confronts the crisis created by the German breakthrough at Sedan.
Solicitor General
Appointed Solicitor General
Air Reinforcement Debate
Debates sending more RAF fighter squadrons to France.
Supreme War Council
Attends a crisis meeting after the German breakthrough at Sedan.
Supreme War Council
Flies to Paris to discuss the collapsing French front.
Supreme War Council
Accompanies Churchill during the crisis meeting in Paris.
Supreme War Council
Accompanies Churchill and records strategic discussions.
Supreme War Council
Attends as air reinforcements for France are debated.
Home Defence
Orders urgent preparations against possible invasion of Britain.
Arrest of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
Makes it known he would like communists & fascists detained but nothing comes of this
Commission on General List
Receives an emergency commission as a second lieutenant on the General List after completing officer training.
Enemy Aliens
Makes it known he would like communists & fascists detained but nothing comes of this
Operation Dynamo
Operational control is delegated to Ramsay
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.