Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03

1940 in Great Britain — Page 8

Explore 642 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1940.

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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

8 of 17Page

28Named events on this page

13Named people on this page

10Places on this page

June

1 June 1940

Evacuation

Montgomery, Bernard Law · La Panne · Commander of Second Corps · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Completes the withdrawal of Second Corps from La Panne & Dunkirk

1 June 1940

Second Corps Evacuation Completed

Montgomery, Bernard Law · Dunkirk · Commander of Second Corps · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Completes the withdrawal of II Corps as British forces evacuate from Dunkirk.

2 June 1940

Enemy Aliens

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Clamps down on "the enemy within" & strongly supports the deportation of enemy aliens

3 June 1940

Raid

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Sets up raiding forces to keep German troops tied down in occupied countries

4 June 1940

Battle of Narvik

Auchinleck, Claude John Eyre · Harstad · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Oversees withdrawal of British land forces from northern Norway.

4 June 1940

Battle of Narvik

Boyle, William · Narvik · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Directs evacuation of Allied forces from the Narvik area.

4 June 1940

Evacuation

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Dunkirk · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

The Germans enter Dunkirk

4 June 1940

Operation Alphabet

Auchinleck, Claude John Eyre · Harstad · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Oversees withdrawal of British land forces during the evacuation.

4 June 1940

Operation Alphabet

Boyle, William · Narvik · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Directs evacuation of Allied forces from the Narvik area.

4 June 1940

Operation Alphabet

Boyle, William · Narvik · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Directs evacuation of Allied troops and equipment from the Narvik area.

4 June 1940

Operation Alphabet

Cunningham, John · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Cunningham helps direct naval evacuation movements as Allied forces withdraw from northern Norway.

4 June 1940

Operation Dynamo

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Dunkirk · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

"We shall fight on the beaches...... we shall never surrender"

4 June 1940

Speech

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Dunkirk · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

"We shall fight on the beaches...... we shall never surrender"

4 June 1940

We Shall Fight on the Beaches

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Warns Parliament that Britain will fight on whatever happens.

5 June 1940

Battle of Narvik

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Narvik · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Continues evacuation arrangements after the temporary Allied victory at Narvik.

5 June 1940

Operation Alphabet

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Continues evacuation arrangements for Allied forces in northern Norway.

8 June 1940

Battle of Narvik

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Narvik · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Allied withdrawal from Narvik is completed as Norway becomes untenable.

8 June 1940

HMS Acasta Attack

Glasfurd, Charles Eric · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Commands HMS Acasta and torpedoes Scharnhorst before being sunk.

8 June 1940

HMS Ardent Lost

Barker, Jock · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Commands HMS Ardent during the defence of HMS Glorious.

8 June 1940

HMS Glorious Lost

D'Oyly-Hughes, Guy · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Commands HMS Glorious when German battlecruisers sink the carrier.

8 June 1940

Invasion of Norway

Auchinleck, Claude John Eyre · Field Marshal · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Final day of the evacuation of the British forces from Norway

8 June 1940

Operation Juno Encounter

Vian, Philip Louis · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Commands destroyers escorting ships during the evacuation period.

8 June 1940

Sinking of HMS Glorious

DOyly-Hughes, Guy · Norwegian Sea · Warfare / World War, 2nd

DOyly-Hughes commands HMS Glorious when German battlecruisers sink the carrier during Operation Juno.

8 June 1940

Withdrawal from Narvik

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Narvik · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Allied evacuation from Narvik is completed despite the earlier victory.

8 June 1940

Withdrawal from Narvik

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Narvik · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

British and Allied forces complete withdrawal from Narvik during Operation Alphabet.

10 June 1940

Declaration of War

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Benito Mussolini declares war on the Allies

10 June 1940

Invasion of Libya

Wilson, Henry Maitland · GOC · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declares war. Immediately Wilson's forces invade Libya

10 June 1940

Italy Enters War

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Responds as Mussolini brings Italy into the war.

11 June 1940

Supreme War Council

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Briare · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Meets French leaders as the French front collapses.

13 June 1940

Meeting with De Gaulle & greets him with the

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Meets de Gaulle & greets him with the words "Lhomme du destin"

13 June 1940

Production Council and Economic Policy

Greenwood, Arthur · London · Minister without Portfolio · Government / Wartime Coalition

Explains government arrangements for coordinating production and economic policy during the war.

13 June 1940

Result of Surrender of France

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Britain refuses to support a separate French peace and commits to continuing the war.

13 June 1940

Result of Surrender of France

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Tours · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

The collapse of the French military position forces the government toward an armistice decision.

13 June 1940

Supreme War Council

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Tours · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Urges Reynaud's government to continue fighting.

13 June 1940

Surrender of France

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Promises the Allies will restore France after the war. Forbids France making a separate peace with Germany

13 June 1940

Surrender of France

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Tours · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Informed of the imminent collapse of France. Flies to Tours where the French Government is now based

14 June 1940

Capture of Paris

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · Paris · Prime Minister of Great Britain · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Paris falls to the Germans. Churchill realises that Britain will be the next target for Hitler after France

14 June 1940

Fall of Paris

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Faces the strategic shock of Paris falling to Germany.

16 June 1940

Anglo-French Union

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer · London · Minister of Defence · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Offers a political union to encourage France to remain in the war.

16 June 1940

Battle of Halfaya Pass

Wavell, Archibald · Halfaya Pass · Commander in Chief · Warfare / World War, 2nd

Rommel orders his Panzers to remove the British from Halfaya. 200 of the Western Desert Force tanks are destroyed

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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.