Brith of a Nation: 1940

1960s British Rock and Pop Chronology

The Birth of a Nation 3: 1940

5 Jan	Liverpool: Billy Burton [b. William Wesley]. The Pete Best Combo, Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes
	US: successful test of FM broadcast for government regulators.
8 Jan	London: Government rationing of bacon, butter, and sugar.
10 Jan	Liverpool: Colin Middlebrough. Drummer: The Kansas City Five, Dale Roberts and the Jaywalkers, The Four Originals
30 Jan	Hove, Sussex: Mitch Murray [b. Lionel Michael Stitcher] Songwriter
2 Feb	Chelsea: Alan Caddy [d. 16 August 2000]. Guitar, the Tornados. Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland: Jimmy Campbell [b. James Campbell]. Drummer, Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds.
7 Feb	London: nationalization of railroads.
	New York City: Walt Disney's animated film Pinoccio debuts
9 Feb	Palmers Green, London: Brian Bennett. Drums: the Shadows. Producer:
	Brooklyn, New York City: Carole King [b. Carole Klein]. Songwriter, singer
10 Feb	Glenn Miller: "In the Mood" [US #1]
13 Feb	Enfield: Clive Thacker. Brian Auger Trinity
21 Feb	London: Government announces pensions for women over 60
24 Feb	Briston, Southwest London: Jes Conrad [b. Gerald James]. Singer.
27 Feb	Shepperton: Jackie Lynton [b. John Bertram Lynton]. Singer
29 Feb	Los Angeles: Gone with the Wind wins Oscar
8 Mar	Prescot, Lancashire: Neil Foster. Alto sax, vocalist: The Delaracades, John Day and the Nighthawks
11 Mar	North Middlesex Hospital, Silver Street, Edmonton, North London: Bobby Graham [b. Robert Francis Neate]. Drums: Outlaws, Joe Brown & the Bruvvers, sessions. Producer: Pretty Things
12 Mar	Finland: Surrender to Soviet Union
18 Mar	Rome: Mussolini signs alliance treaty with Germany.
19 Mar	Paris: French government falls.
	Liverpool: Michael (Mike) James Cox. Singer
23 Mar	Hampstead, London: Alan Blaikley. Songwriter (Howard and Blaikley)
27 Mar	Berlin: Himmler orders the building of Auschwitz.
1 Apr	Dartford, Kent: John St John [b. John Gilliard]. Guitarist: Sounds Incorporated
9 Apr	Denmark and Norway: Germany invades
9-10 Apr	Carnegie Hall, New York City: Bell Laboratories demonstrates stereo recording
17 Apr	Smithdown Hospital [now Sefton General Hospital], Smithdown Road, Sefton, Liverpool 15: Billy Fury [b. Ronald William Wyncherley; d. St Mary Abbots Hospital, Paddington, West London, 28 January 1983]. Singer
19 Apr	Amsterdam: Prime Minister De Geer declares that the Netherlands is under a state of siege.
24 Apr	Blyth, Northumberland: Graham Bell. Skip Bifferty, Bell and Arc
25 Apr	Rotherhithe, South-east London: Alan Holmes. Flute, saxophone: Sounds Incorporated
28 Apr	New York: Glenn Miller records "Pennsylvania 6-5000"
29 Apr	Norway: King Haakon escapes to UK
4 May	Andover: Ronnie Bond [b. Ronald James Bullis]. Troggs
8 May	Teaneck, New Jersey: Erick (Rick) Hilliard Nelson
9 May	Bournemouth, Dorset: John Christopher Hawken [Cruisers Rock Combo; Nashville Teens] Horley, Sussex: Dick Morrisey [b. Richard Edwin Morrisey]. Tenor/soprano sax, clarinet, flute: The Original Climax Jazz Band, The Gus Galbraith Septet, The Dick Morrisey Quartet, etc.
10 May	London: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns London: Winston Churchill forms a new government London: Formation of Home Guard (Local Defence Volunteers)
	Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg: Germany attacks
	Florence, Alabama: Arthur Alexander
12 May	Muese River: German blitz conquest of France begins.
13 May	London: Winston Churchill: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat"
14 May	Netherlands: Surrender to Germany.
15 May	Paris: PM Churchill arrives for conference.
	US: Nylon stockings available for sale.
17 May	Brussels: German occupation.
20 May	East London: Charles Blackwell [b. Charles Ramsey]. Music director, songwriter.
23 May	France: British Spitfires encounter the German Luftwaffe
26 May	Dunkirk, France: the evacuation of British Expeditionary Force begins in Operation Dynamo
	Huyton, Liverpool: Raymond ("Ray") Vincent Ellis. Swinging Blue Jeans
4 Jun	London: Clifford (Cliff) Bennett. Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers Lincoln, Lincolnshire: Vince Eager [b. Roy Taylor]. Singer: The Harmonica Vagabonds, The Vagabonds Skiffle Group, Vince Eager and the Quiet Three
5 Jun	Somme, France: Battle of France begins Dunkirk: Operation Dynamo completed, 300,000 evacuated
7 Jun	Pontypridd, Wales: Tom Jones [b. Thomas Jones Woodward]. Singer
9 Jun	Norway: Surrender to Germany.
10 Jun	Rome: Italy declares war on the Allies
14 Jun	Paris: German troops enter the city
15 Jun	Abingdon, Berkshire: Barron [b. Anthony Michael John Osmond]. Barron Knights
	New York City: Moses Asche records Huddie Ledbetter performing "Rock Island Line"
	Paris: France surrenders to Nazi forces
17 Jun	Saint-Nazaire, Brittany: Nazis sink the British troopship, Lancastria, killing 3,000.
18 Jun	London: Winston Churchill remarks that history will say of the British, "This was their finest hour."
22 Jun	Versailles: France signs an armistice with Germany
23 Jun	4 Churchfield Road East, Acton, West London: Adam Faith [b. Terry Nelhams-Wright; d. 7 March 2003, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire]. Singer Edinburgh: Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe. Bass: Beatles
25 Jun	Wilton Street, Aston, Birmingham: Clint Warwick [b. Albert Clinton Eccles; d. Birmingham, 15 May 2004]. Bass: the Moody Blues
2 Jul	Berlin: Hitler orders the invasion of Britain.
3 Jul	Wembley, Middlesex: Anthony Paul ("Tex") Makins. Bass: Marty Wilde and the Wild Cats, Vince Taylor, Vince Eager, Georgie Fame.
7 Jul	9 Madryn Street, Dingle, Liverpool: Ringo Starr [b. Richard Starkey Jr.]. Drums: Rory Storm and the Hurricaines, the Beatles
9 Jul	Germany: Britain bombs factories.
10 Jul	English Channel: British and German aircraft clash as the Nazis bomb an English ship convoy.
18 Jul	Malta: John ("Johnny") Hutchinson. Cass and the Casanovas, The Big Three
19 Jul	Berlin: Hitler demands that Britain surrender.
22 Jun	New York: Billboard's first singles chart (Tommy Dorsey: "I'll Never Smile Again")
7 Aug	Dartford, Kent: Richard Huxley. Bass; The Riverside Blues Boys, The Spon Valley Stompers, The Dave Clark Five featuring Stan Saxon, The Dave Clark Five, The Barron Knights
11 Aug	Chicago: Shel Talmy. Producer: the Kinks, the Who, the Bachelors, Pentangle, Easybeates, etc
13 Aug	Dublin: Sean (John) James Stokes. The Bachelors
19 Aug	Fishponds, Bristol, Somerset: Roger Cook [b. Roger Frederick Cook]. Singer; The Kestrels, David and Jonathan, Blue Mink; songwriter Coventry: Don Fardon [b. Donald Maughan]. Singer: The Hawks, The Boys Blue, The Sorrows, Don Fardon and the Soul Machine
20 Aug	London: Winston Churchill commends the RAF, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
20 Aug	Newbury: John David Lantree [Honeycombs]
21 Aug	Mexico City: Leon Trotsky dies of wounds inflicted the previous day by an assassin.
23 Aug	Liverpool: Victoria Mary Haseman [-Brown]. Singer: Vernons Girls, the Breakaways
25 Aug	Berlin: Beginning of night bombing by the RAF
26 Aug	Oxford: Nick Turner. Hawkwind
3 Spt	Schenectady, NY: RCA successfully broadcasts color television.
4 Spt	NY: CBS begins broadcasting TV as station W2XAB
7 Spt	London: "Black Saturday" on which Nazi Germany bombs the Woolwich Arsenal and the Victoria and Albert, East India, and Surrey Commercial Docks.
10 Spt	London: Buckingham Palace bombed.
11 Spt	Manchester, Lancashire: Bernard ("Bernie") Dwyer [d. 4 February 2002]. Drums: The Kingfishers, Freddie and the Dreamers
14 Spt	Chelsea, London: Direct bomb hit on shelter kills numerous civilians.
	Washington, D.C.: Congress passes the Selective Service Act, providing for the first peacetime American draft
15 Spt	Britain: Turning point in the Battle of Britain.
17 Spt	Berlin: Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of Britain.
27 Spt	Bradford, Yorkshire: Mike Sagar [b. Michael Sagar]. Singer
2 Oct	North Atlantic: The Empress sinks with hundreds of British women and children bound for Canada.
9 Oct	Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Oxford Street, Liverpool 7: John Winston Lennon
12 Oct	Berlin: Hitler abandons his British invasion plans.
13 Oct	Islington: Chris Farlow [b. John Henry Deighton]
14 Oct	Lucknow, India: Cliff Richard [b. Harry Roger Webb]
20 Oct	Small Heath, Birmingham: John Carter [b. John Shakespeare]. Vocals, guitar; Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Ivy League, songwriter, session musician
23 Oct	8 Menzies Street, The Dingle, Liverpool 8: Freddie Marsden [b. Frederick John Marsden; d. Southport, Lancashire, 9 December 2006]. Drummer: Gerry and the Pacemakers.
25 Oct	Erith, Kent: Barrie Cameron. Organist: Sounds Incorporated
10 Nov	New End Hospital, New End, Hampstead, London: David Edward "Lord" Sutch [d. 16 June 1999, London]. Singer
14 Nov	Coventry: German bombers destroy most of the town
17 Nov	Molesey, Surrey: Edward ("Ted") Joseph Barber. Bass; the Scorpions.
22 Nov	Leicester: David ("Davy") Graham. Guitarist, singer
8 Dec	Britain: The Luftwaffe drops over 3,000 incendiary bombs
	Liverpool: Johnny Gentle [b. John Askew]. Singer
14 Dec	Barnehurst, Kent: Griff West [b. David Glyde]. Saxophone: Shakin' Bentley and his Bachelors, Sounds Incorporated
25 Dec	Bronx, New York City: Philip Spector
29 Dec	London: Incendiary bombs devastate the commercial center of the city, but miss St. Paul's Cathedral.
30 Dec	Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Perry Ford [b. Bryan Pugh; d. 29 April 1999]. Singer, songwriter: The Ivy League

	Other 1940 Artifacts
	Portsmouth: Johnny Vance [b. David John Cobb]. Bass: Vince Taylor and the Playboys; Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages Battersea, South-west London: Richard ("Ricky") Carvello. Bass: Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds Britain: Nicholas Turner. Sax: The Canterbury Tailgaters, Group X, Hawkwind Zoo, Hawkwind Redcar, Yorkshire: Leslie ("Les") Bennett. Guitarist: Les Hobeaux Skiffle Group, Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group Belfast, Northern Ireland: Brian Rossi [b. Brendan Rosbotham]. Singer: The Golden Eagles, The Wheels

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1941

This site is a living document. I welcome corrections and suggestions. Gordon Thompson, Department of Music, Skidmore College