1940s Timeline: Key Dates, Events And Milestones

The 1940s in order, one year at a time, from 1940 to 1949.

Each year gives the headline of the year, the news that mattered, and the music, screen and sport people remember.

Useful for quizzes, school projects, reminiscence sessions and milestone birthday cards.

1940

• Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed.
• Food rationing began on 8 January, starting with bacon, butter and sugar.
• Winston Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 May.
• The Dunkirk evacuation ran from 26 May to 4 June.
• The Battle of Britain was fought through the summer, and the Blitz on London began on 7 September.
• Vera Lynn's 'We'll Meet Again', recorded in 1939, became the song of the year.
• BBC television had closed in September 1939 and stayed off air.
• League football was suspended and replaced by regional wartime competitions.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1940

1941

• The Blitz continued, clothes went on the ration and America entered the war.
• Clothes rationing was introduced on 1 June.
• The House of Commons chamber was destroyed by bombing on 10 May.
• The Coventry and Plymouth raids and the Liverpool May Blitz devastated those cities.
• Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December and America entered the war.
• 'The White Cliffs of Dover' was published and became one of the best-known songs of the war.
• 49th Parallel and Citizen Kane were released.
• Wartime regional leagues continued in football.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1941

1942

• The Beveridge Report, soap on the ration and the first American troops arriving.
• The Beveridge Report, published in December, set out the plan that led to the welfare state.
• Soap was rationed in February; the utility clothing scheme began.
• The second Battle of El Alamein in October and November was the first major British land victory of the war.
• American troops began arriving in Britain in large numbers.
• 'White Christmas' was written and recorded by Bing Crosby, becoming one of the best-selling records ever made.
• In Which We Serve was released.
• Wartime football internationals drew large crowds.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1942

1943

• The tide turned, the Dambusters flew and the country got used to going without.
• The Dambusters raid was carried out on the night of 16-17 May.
• The Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster in March killed 173 people.
• Pay As You Earn income tax was announced, starting the following year.
• Italy surrendered in September.
• 'You'll Never Know' and 'As Time Goes By' were among the year's most-played songs.
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp was released despite official disapproval.
• Wartime cup competitions carried on, with guest players and scratch teams.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1943

1944

• D-Day, the V-1s and the Education Act that changed school for everyone.
• The Normandy landings took place on 6 June.
• V-1 flying bombs began hitting London in June, followed by V-2 rockets in September.
• The Education Act raised the school leaving age to fifteen and set up the eleven-plus system.
• The blackout was relaxed to a dim-out in September.
• 'I'll Be Seeing You' and 'Swinging on a Star' were among the year's popular songs.
• Henry V, with Laurence Olivier, was released.
• Wartime football continued with large crowds at cup matches.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1944

1945

• VE Day, VJ Day, a landslide election and street parties on bomb-damaged roads.
• VE Day was 8 May and VJ Day 15 August.
• Labour won the general election in July and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister.
• The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
• The United Nations was founded in October.
• Vera Lynn's wartime songs were sung at street parties all over the country in May.
• Brief Encounter was released in November.
• Moscow Dynamo toured Britain in November and drew enormous crowds.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1945

1946

• Television came back, bread went on the ration and the family allowance started.
• Bread rationing was introduced in July, for the first time.
• Family allowance payments began in August.
• The New Towns Act was passed, creating Stevenage and the others.
• The National Insurance Act laid the ground for the welfare state.
• 'The Gypsy' and 'Bless You (For Being an Angel)' were among the year's popular songs.
• BBC television returned on 7 June, London only.
• League football resumed for the 1946-47 season.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1946

1947

• The worst winter in memory, a royal wedding and Indian independence.
• The winter of 1947 brought weeks of snow, fuel shortages and power cuts, followed by serious flooding in March.
• Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten on 20 November.
• India and Pakistan became independent in August.
• The coal industry was nationalised in January.
• 'Near You' and 'Peg o' My Heart' were among the year's most popular songs.
• Hue and Cry, often called the first Ealing comedy, was released.
• The first post-war full football season was played, and crowds were enormous.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1947

1948

• The NHS began, the Olympics came to London and the Windrush docked at Tilbury.
• The National Health Service began on 5 July.
• The Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury on 22 June.
• The British Nationality Act was passed the same year.
• The Berlin airlift began in June.
• 'Buttons and Bows' and 'Nature Boy' were among the year's popular songs.
• Oliver Twist and The Red Shoes were released.
• The Austerity Olympics were held in London from July, with athletes bringing their own towels and food.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1948

1949

• Clothes rationing ended, the pound was devalued and the decade closed on austerity.
• Clothes rationing ended in March.
• The pound was devalued in September, from 4.03 to 2.80 dollars.
• NATO was founded in April.
• The Ireland Act recognised the Republic of Ireland in the same year.
• 'Some Enchanted Evening' and 'Riders in the Sky' were among the year's popular songs.
• The Third Man and Passport to Pimlico were released, and Kind Hearts and Coronets the same year.
• Portsmouth won the First Division.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1949

How to use this timeline

• Quiz round: read an event and ask for the year, or read a year and ask for what happened.
• Reminiscence: start at the year someone left school and read forwards.
• Milestone birthday: read the timeline from their birth year to the year they turned 18.
• Anyone born in 1940 turns 50 in 1990, 60 in 2000 and 70 in 2010.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Read the timeline alongside the decade history guide: one gives the order, the other gives the story.
• For a birthday card, pick the one event from their birth year that still gets a reaction.
• Years rarely change neatly at the decade line. Check the year either side before setting a quiz question.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1940
• Look back to 1941
• Look back to 1942
• Look back to 1943
• Look back to 1944
• Look back to 1945
• Look back to 1946
• Look back to 1947
• Look back to 1948
• Look back to 1949
• 1940s history: events, politics and culture
• 1940s calendar: year by year
• 1940s music: songs, genres and trends
• 1940s films and directors
• 1940s books, films and TV
• 1940s books: novels and authors
• 1940s art: artists and styles
• 1940s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 1940s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 1940s travel: destinations and holidays
• 1940s technology: gadgets and computers
• 1940s shopping guide: what to buy
• 1940s games: board, card and video
• 1940s trivia: fun facts
• 1940s quiz: questions and answers
• The 1940s: the whole decade
• The decade before: the 1930s
• The decade after: the 1950s
• All decade guides in one place
• Card messages by occasion: every guide in one place
• Card hub: cards, badges and messages by occasion
• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade timelines: key dates and events by era
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
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• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
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Frequently asked questions

What are the key dates of the 1940s?

The timeline above runs from 1940 to 1949, with the headline events of each year in order. Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed.

What happened in 1940?

Rationing, Dunkirk, Churchill and the Blitz - the year everything changed. There is a full page for 1940 at /blogs/news/look-back-to-1940.

Are the dates accurate?

Yes. Every date, name and event on this page is real and comes straight from our year-by-year pages, so the timeline and the year pages always agree.

Can I use this for a quiz or a school project?

Yes, freely. Print it, read it out, copy it - no permission needed. We make greeting cards, prints and pin badges; these pages are free.