Events from the year1949 in theUnited Kingdom.

• Monarch –George VI
• Prime Minister –Clement Attlee (Labour)

• January –Mass Observation carries out a national survey into thesexual behaviour and attitudes of 4,000 British people, "LittleKinsey". The results remain largely unpublished for over fifty years.^[1]
• 1 January
  • Peacetimeconscription in the United Kingdom is regularised under the National Service Act 1947. Men aged 18–26 years in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to serve full-time in the armed forces for 18 months.^[2]
  • TheBritish Nationality Act 1948 comes into effect, creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", superseding the shared status of "Commonwealth citizen".
• 4 January –RMS Caronia of theCunard Line departsSouthampton for New York on her maiden voyage.
• 28 January –Lynskey tribunal on corruption in public life reports, leading to the resignation ofJohn Belcher as an MP.
• 31 January –Book at Bedtime makes its debut on theBBC Light Programme.
• 1 February –Women's Auxiliary Air Force renamed as theWomen's Royal Air Force.
• 15 March – Post-warrationing of clothes ends.^[3]
• 25 March –Laurence Olivier's filmHamlet (1948) becomes the first British film to win a'Best Picture' Oscar.^[4]
• 28 March – AstronomerFred Hoyle coins the termBig Bang during aBBC Third Programme radio broadcast.^[5]
• 1 April –The Marquess of Bath opensLongleat House to paying visitors, the first privately-ownedstately home to be opened.^[2]
• 4 April – Britain signs theNorth Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO.^[3]
• 12 April – The first women appointedKing's Counsel in England:Rose Heilbron andHelena Normanton.^[6]
• 20 April
  • Royal NavyfrigateHMSAmethyst goes up theYangtze River to evacuateBritish Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of the Mao's Communist forces. Under heavy fire, it runs aground offRose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on 26 April, it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the Communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time its cat,Simon, raises the crew's morale.
  • The firstBadminton Horse Trials are held atBadminton House in Gloucestershire.^[4]
• 24 April – Wartime rationing of confectionery ends, but is reinstituted shortly thereafter as shortages return.^[4]
• 26 April –Ealing comedy filmPassport to Pimlico makes its premiere in London.
• 28 April – The1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference issues theLondon Declaration, enablingIndia (and, thereafter, any other nation) to remain in the Commonwealth despite becoming a republic, creating the position of 'Head of the Commonwealth' (held by the ruling British monarch), and renaming the organisation from 'British Commonwealth' to 'Commonwealth of Nations'.
• 29 April – TheNews Review reveals that neither the Englishpublic school Selhurst College nor its headmasterH. Rochester Sneath exist, but are a hoax created byHumphry Berkeley the previous year.
• 30 April –1949 FA Cup Final:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. win theFA Cup for the first time in41 years, and the third time in their history, with a 3–1 win overLeicester City atWembley Stadium.^[7]
• April –Manchester Mark 1 computer operable at theUniversity of Manchester.
• May –Council for Wales and Monmouthshire, set up as a government advisory body, first meets.^[8]
• 1 May – The gas industry is nationalised.^[4]
• 3 May – Parliament passes theIreland Act guaranteeing the position ofNorthern Ireland as part of theUnited Kingdom as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The UK Government also formally recognises the existence of theRepublic of Ireland.
• 6 May –EDSAC, the first practicable stored-programme computer, runs its first programme atCambridge University.^[9]
• 10 May – Firstself-service launderette opens, inQueensway (London).^[2]
• 11 May –Christopher Fry's verse dramaThe Lady's Not for Burning premieres in London.^[10]
• 7–25 June – Dock strike forces the government to use troops to unload goods.^[3]
• 8 June –George Orwell'sdystopian novelNineteen Eighty-Four is published in London bySecker & Warburg.
• 16 June –Ealing comedy filmWhisky Galore! released.
• 21 June – Ealing comedy filmKind Hearts and Coronets released.
• 14 July – Church Dignitaries (Retirement) Measure of the Church of England provides for the retirement of certain diocesan office-holders on the grounds of incapacity, unbecoming conduct or neglect of duty.^[11]
• 27 July – Maiden flight of the British-builtde Havilland Comet, the world's first passenger jet, atHatfield, Hertfordshire.^[3]
• 30 July – Legal Aid and Advice Act establishes a much-extended system oflegal aid in England and Wales^[12] (with the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act applying similarly in Scotland).
• 31 July – Captain Kerans of HMSAmethyst decides to make a break after nightfall under heavy fire from theChinese People's Liberation Army both sides of theYangtze River and successfully rejoins the fleet atWoosung the next day.
• 22 August –T. S. Eliot's verse comedyThe Cocktail Party premieres at theEdinburgh Festival.^[13]
• 24 August –Old Trafford football stadium, home ofManchester United F.C., is reopened following a comprehensive rebuild due to bomb damage by theLuftwaffe eight years earlier.^[14]
• 2 September – FilmThe Third Man, with screenplay byGraham Greene, released. It wins the 1949 Grand Prix at theCannes Film Festival.
• 19 September – The pound isdevalued by 30% against the United States dollar.^[15]
• 21 September – Thefirst comprehensive school in Wales is opened inHolyhead,Anglesey.^[4]
• 30 September – TheBerlin Airlift comes to an end, during which 17 American and 7 British planes have crashed delivering supplies to Soviet blockadedBerlin.^[4]
• October –Valerie Hunter Gordon is granted a UKpatent for thedisposable nappy.
• 12 October –John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr wins theNobel Peace Prize.^[16]
• 26 October –How Do You View?, the first comedy series on British television, starringTerry-Thomas, is first broadcast on the BBC.
• 4 November –Cwmbran designated as the firstNew Town in Wales under powers of theNew Towns Act 1946.^[17]
• 24 November –Representation of the People Act 1949 provides for reviews of parliamentary boundaries by the permanentBoundary Commissions; abolishes the terms 'parliamentary borough' and 'parliamentary county', renaming them 'borough constituency' and 'county constituency'; abolishes theuniversity constituencies; and removes remaining provisions allowingplural voting in parliamentary elections by owners of business premises.^[18]
• 28 November – Former UK Prime MinisterWinston Churchill makes a landmark speech in support of the idea of a European Union atKingsway Hall, London, but without commitment to early UK membership.^[19]
• 16 December –Parliament Act given royal assent, cuts theHouse of Lords veto to one year.^[3]
• 17 December –Sutton Coldfield transmitting station beginstransmitting BBC Television to theEnglish Midlands, the first broadcasts to be seen outside the London area.^[2]

• The number of workforce deaths in the coal industry is reported to have fallen to a record low sincenationalisation two years ago.^[20]
• With an averageCentral England temperature of 10.64 °C or 51.15 °F, the record for the hottest year in that series set in1834 and equalled in 1921 is broken. The record set this year stands until 1990 by whenanthropogenic global warming has come largely to control temperatures.^[21]

• Enid Blyton's children's booksLittleNoddy Goes to Toyland, the first to introduce the title character; andThe Secret Seven, first in the eponymousseries.
• Agatha Christie's novelCrooked House.
• H. F. Ellis' humorous collectionThe Papers of A. J. Wentworth B.A.
• Graham Greene's novellaThe Third Man.
• Nancy Mitford's novelLove in a Cold Climate.
• George Orwell's novelNineteen Eighty-Four.

• 7 January –Brian Haw, protester and peace campaigner (died 2011)
• 16 January –Caroline Munro, actress and model
• 17 January –Mick Taylor, rock guitarist
• 19 January
  • Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003)
  • Andrew Samuels, psychologist and academic
  • Dennis Taylor, snooker player
• 23 January –Joan Walley, politician
• 25 January
  • John Cooper Clarke, performance poet
  • Paul Nurse, biologist andNobel Prize winner
• 29 January –Andy Carter, middle-distance runner
• 2 February –Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur
• 4 February –Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum, broadcaster and politician,Paymaster General
• 16 February –Lyn Paul, pop singer
• 18 February –Charlie Waite, landscape photographer
• 2 March –J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby player (died 2024)
• 6 March –Martin Buchan, footballer
• 9 March –Neil Hamilton, politician.
• 12 March –David Mellor, politician and broadcaster
• 13 March –Trevor Sorbie, celebrity hairdresser (died 2024)
• 17 March
  • Alex Higgins, snooker player (died 2010)
  • Stuart Rose, businessman and life peer
• 24 March –Nick Lowe, pop singer
• 26 March –Jon English, English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actor (died2016)
• 28 March –Kevin Lloyd, actor (died 1998)
• 3 April –Richard Thompson, rock guitarist and songwriter
• 8 April –Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 (died2018)
• 23 April –John Miles, rock music vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist (died2021)
• 24 April
  • Betty Jackson, fashion designer
  • James Paice, farmer and politician
• 25 April –James Fenton, poet
• 29 April –Anita Dobson, actress
• 2 May –Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter
• 3 May –Phil Scraton, criminologist
• 4 May –Lindsey Hughes, historian (died 2007)
• 13 May –Zoë Wanamaker, actress (born inNew York)
• 18 May –Rick Wakeman, rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes)
• 21 May –Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and broadcaster^[22]
• 24 May –Jim Broadbent, actor
• 26 May –Jeremy Corbyn,Leader of the Labour Party (2015-2020)
• 28 May –Susan Fitzgerald, British-born Irish actress (d.2013)^[23]
• 29 May –Francis Rossi, rock musician (lead singer, Status Quo)
• 30 May –Bob Willis, cricketer (fast bowler) (died 2019)
• 2 June –Heather Couper, astronomer (died 2020)
• 5 June –Ken Follett, novelist
• 10 June –Phil Redmond, screenwriter and television producer
• 13 June –Red Symons, English-born Australian musician and television personality
• 14 June
  • Jim Lea, rock musician (Slade)
  • Alan White, drummer (Yes) (died 2022)
• 15 June –Simon Callow, actor
• 21 June –John Agard, writer
• 22 June –Brian Leveson, judge
• 7 July
  • John Lippiett, senior Royal Navy officer
  • Bob Stewart, colonel and politician
• 8 July –Carmel Cryan, actress
• 9 July –Nigel Lythgoe, television producer
• 13 July –Richard Caddel, poet (died 2003)
• 15 July –Trevor Horn, pop singer and producer
• 17 July –Geezer Butler, heavy metal bassist (Black Sabbath)
• 22 July –Geoffrey Durham, entertainer
• 26 July –Roger Taylor, rock drummer (Queen)
• 28 July
  • Simon Kirke, drummer
  • Steve Peregrin Took, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1980)
• 6 August –Alan Campbell, clergyman
• 12 August –Mark Knopfler, rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Dire Straits)
• 15 August
  • Richard Deacon, sculptor
  • Edward McMillan-Scott, lawyer and politician
• 21 August –Rosemary Lenton, para-bowler and wheelchair curler^[24]
• 25 August
  • Martin Amis, novelist (died 2023)
  • Ross Davidson, actor (died 2006)
• 28 August –Martin Lamble,British folk rock musician (died1969)
• 9 September
  • John Curry, figure skater (died 1994)
  • Jolyon Brettingham Smith, composer and radio presenter (died 2008)
• 10 September –Freddy Marks, actor and musician (died 2021)
• 13 September –Linda Colley, historian
• 18 September
  • Mo Mowlam, Labour politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2005)
  • Peter Shilton, footballer
• 19 September –Twiggy, born Lesley Hornby, model
• 23 September –John Connaughton, footballer (died 2022)
• 26 September –Minette Walters, crime writer
• 5 October –Peter Ackroyd, writer and historian
• 19 October –George Fenton, composer
• 20 October –Jane Tucker, actress and musician
• 26 October –Maurice Gran, scriptwriter
• 30 October –Arabella Churchill, charity founder (died 2007)
• 1 November –Gerald Ratner, businessman
• 6 November
  • Nigel Havers, actor
  • John Zarnecki, space scientist
• 7 November –Gerald Ashby, football referee (died 2001)
• 24 November
  • Nick Ainger, Labour politician
  • Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer
• 27 November – Brumas,polar bear (first born atLondon Zoo)
• 4 December –Paul Dickenson, hammer thrower
• 6 December
  • Janet Anderson, politician (died 2023)
  • Peter Willey, cricketer^[25]
• 12 December
  • Chris Baillieu, rower and lawyer
  • Bill Nighy, actor
• 13 December –Robert Lindsay, actor
• 16 December
  • Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett, judge
  • Stephanie Lawrence, singer and actress (died 2000)
• 17 December –Paul Rodgers, rock singer (Free)
• 21 December –Nicholas Penny, art historian and academic
• Michael Houghton, virologist andNobel Prize winner

• 2 January –Jock McNab, footballer (born 1894)
• 9 January –Tommy Handley, radio comedian (born 1892)
• 21 January
  • William Price Drury, novelist, playwright and Royal Marines officer (born 1861)
  • J. H. Thomas, Welsh-born trade unionist and politician (born 1874)
• 22 January –Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett, industrialist and politician (born 1898)
• 10 February –Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, politician (born 1878)
• 19 March –Sir James Somerville, admiral (born 1882)
• 2 April –George Graves, comic actor (born 1876)
• 6 April – SirSeymour Hicks, actor (born 1871)
• 14 April –Reginald Hine, local historian and solicitor, suicide (born 1883)
• 18 April –Will Hay, comic actor (born 1888)
• 28 April
  • Sir Robert Robertson, chemist (born 1869)
  • SirFabian Ware, founder of theImperial War Graves Commission (born 1869)
• 21 June –Edward Wadsworth, Vorticist painter (born 1889)
• 9 July –Fritz Hart, composer (born 1874)
• 15 July –Eva Hubback, feminist (born 1886)
• 25 July –Lilian Bowes Lyon, poet (born 1895)
• 31 July –Alfred Bashford, cricketer (born 1881)
• 9 August –G. E. M. Skues, inventor of nymphfly fishing (born 1858)
• 16 August –Tom Wintringham, soldier and politician (born 1898)
• 30 August –Arthur Fielder, cricketer (born 1877)
• 9 September –Fredegond Shove, poet (born 1889)
• 23 October –J. R. Clynes, trade unionist and Labour leader (born 1869)
• 24 October –Thomas Rowland Hughes, writer (born 1903)
• 30 October –Denis Eden, painter (born 1878)
• 27 November –Tom Walls, actor and director (born 1883)
• 30 November – DameIrene Vanbrugh, actress (born 1872)
• 5 December –Arthur Bedford, navy officer (born 1881)
• 13 December –John Hope, Liberal politician (born 1860)
• 16 December –George Maitland Lloyd Davies, pacifist politician (born 1880)
• 24 December –Gertrude Bacon, aeronautical pioneer (born 1874)

• List of British films of 1949

• 1949 in the United Kingdom
• Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom
• 1949 by country
• 1940s in the United Kingdom
• 1949 in Europe

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2014
• EngvarB from April 2014