Operation Chariot
A naval and commando raid on the St Nazaire (Operation Chariot) succeeds at badly damaging the ports dry dock and denying it German navy capital ships
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1942 in Great Britain — Page 2
Explore 306 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1942.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1942
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 306 unique records.
306Unique records
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31Named events on this page
17Named people on this page
16Places on this page
March
Siege of St Nazaire
A naval and commando raid on the St Nazaire (Operation Chariot) succeeds at badly damaging the ports dry dock and denying it German navy capital ships
April
Battle of Wadi Akarit
Leads the Eighth Armys to victory at Wadi Akarit
Operation Bolero
US and British military commanders discuss the build-up of US forces in the UK for an eventual invasion of German-occupied Europe, the build-up phase is codenamed Bolero
National Service
Registers for national service
Dieppe Army Planning Responsibility
Takes responsibility for Army planning connected with the proposed Dieppe raid before leaving home command.
Enigma Machine
Visits U.S. Navy cryptanalysts and argues for closer sharing of Enigma results and methods.
Siege of Dieppe
Made responsible for the Army planning for the raid on Dieppe
May
Battle of Kalewa
Gets his remaining troops across the Chindwin River & into the border region
Birth of Ian Dury
Birth of Ian Dury
Birth of Jeff Astle
Birth of Jeff Astle
Treaty of Anglo-Soviet
An Anglo-Soviet Treaty of alliance is signed in London
1st Meeting With Eisenhower
1st meets Eisenhower, disagrees with him about how to defend the British coast
Bombing of Bath
Visits Bath
Invasion of Burma
Withdraws to India with his Burmese Corps
Promotion to Major
Is promoted to major after assuming responsibilities normally associated with more senior intelligence officers.
June
Great Britain and Soviet Russia Treaty
Speaks during Commons consideration of the Anglo-Soviet treaty of alliance.
Birth of Paul McCartney
Birth of Paul McCartney, born in Walton General Hospital in Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary, had previously worked as a nursing sister in the maternity ward
Birth of Paul McCartney
Birth of Paul McCartney at Walton Hospital in Liverpool.
Conference of Washington
An allied pact becomes the United Nations
Conference of Washington
Molotov receives military assistance & economic aid. A second front is established & atomic research is intensified. An allied pact becomes the United Nations
Agreement on Attack German forces in North Africa (Operation
Churchill and Roosevelt meet and agree to attack German forces in North Africa (Operation Torch) before launching invasion of Continental Europe, Torch serves to stall Bolero troop build-up in UK
Operation Torch
Churchill and Roosevelt meet and agree to attack German forces in North Africa (Operation Torch) before launching invasion of Continental Europe, Torch serves to stall Bolero troop build-up in UK
H2S Radar
Dies during airborne radar testing after major electronics work.
July
Battle of Alamein, 1st
Holds the Axis advance at El Alamein, preventing Rommel from breaking through toward Alexandria and the Suez Canal.
Battle of Alamein, 1st
Auchinleck halts Rommel's advance at the First Battle of El Alamein, gaining time for the defence of Egypt.
Poll-War
Opinion polls show half the population is dissatisfied with the conduct of the war
Vote of Confidence
Opinion polls show half the population is dissatisfied with the conduct of the war. Churchill wins a resounding victory of 476 votes to 25 on the conduct of the War
Siege of Dieppe
The raid on Dieppe is postponed because of bad weather
Siege of Dieppe
Troops cannot embark for the raid on Dieppe because of bad weather, it is postponed
Operation Gymnast
The British propose "Operation Gymnast," the invasion of French North Africa
Operation Sledgehammer
The Americans wish to launch Operation Sledgehammer in France directly against Germany. Sledgehammer is dropped in favour of Operation Torch, preferred by the British. General Marshall, Admiral King & Harry Hopkins discuss "Sledgehammer" at Chequers. Churchill refuses to co-operate & inisists on an invasion of North Africa instead
Agreement on the postponement of a 2nd front until
Stalin informs Churchill he cannot agree to the postponement of a 2nd front until 1943
Battle of Alamein, 1st
The First Battle of El Alamein ends with the Axis advance checked and the Allied line intact.
Field Marshal
Appointed Commander of the Eighth Army after the fall of Tobruk
Field Marshal
Appointed Commander of the Eighth Army after the fall of Tobruk
Lieutenant
Appointed Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Appointed Lieutenant
August
Meeting
Churchill visits Auchinleck at the Eighth Army HQ in the Egyptian desert. Agrees to appoint a new Commander for the Eighth Army. Advised he cannot be C-in-C Middle East & Command the Eighth Army
Meeting
Auchinleck agrees Brookes proposal to make Montgomery Comander of the Eighth Army
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.