1952:
This year in history
February 6th: King George VI dies peacefully in his sleep
at Sandringham House. He had succeeded the throne unexpectedly after
the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII in 1936. Princess
Elizabeth, who is at the Royal hunting lodge in Kenya, immediately
becomes Queen at the age of 25.
February 15th: King George VI is buried at St George's Chapel
on the Windsor Castle estate. For the first time ever a Royal funeral
is televised.
April 30th: The diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish victim of the
Holocaust, is published for the first time in English.
May 2nd: BOAC introduces the de Havilland Comet on its London-Johannesburg
route, the first regular passenger service flown by a jet airliner.
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"This
murder is an act of charity!"
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May 3rd: Newcastle United became the first club in the 20th
Century ~ and the first since 1891 ~ to win the FA Cup in consecutive
seasons. They beat Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
June 23rd - July 5th: Frank Sedgman becomes the Men's Single
Champion at Wimbledon with a victory over Jaroslav Drobny. In the
Ladies' singles final Maureen Connolly beats Louise Brough.
July 7th: After nearly a century of service, London's last
tram trundles into history. The tram's journey time was extended
by almost three hours by crowds of cheering Londoners.
July 19th: Summer Olympics takes place in Helsinki, Finland.
For the first time in history, a team from the Soviet Union participated
in the Olympics. After being barred from participation in 1948,
Germany was allowed to compete again, but only West German athletes
took part.
August 15th: One of the worst flash floods ever to have occurred
in Britain sweeps through the Devon village of Lynmouth. Thirty
five people die as a torrent of 90m tons of water and thousands
of tons of rock pour off saturated Exmoor and into the village destroying
homes, bridges, shops and hotels.
September 6th: Dozens die in air show tragedy. At least 27
people are killed and 63 injured after a jet fighter disintegrates
and falls into the crowd at the Farnborough Air Show.
October 3rd: News of the end of tea rationing means Britons
will soon be able to enjoy unlimited "cuppas" for the first time
in 12 years.
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October
4th: The Gene Kelly musical Singing in the Rain is released.
The movie chronicles Hollywood's transition from silent films to
talkies.
October 8th: At least 85 people are killed and more than
200 injured in the country's worst peacetime rail crash. Three trains
are involved in the accident at Harrow railway station.
November 14th: The first British singles chart is published
in the the New Musical Express. Al Martino's "Here In My Heart"
is number one in the first ever chart.
November 25th: Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The
Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It's the longest
continuously running play in history and has clocked up over 20,000
performances. The original West End cast included Richard Attenborough.
December 25th: Millions of British and Commonwealth listeners
tune in to Queen Elizabeth's first Christmas radio broadcast of
her reign.
December 27th: In Plymouth, the new Co-operative House opened
its doors following the post-war rebuilding. Other buildings in
Armada Way, Cornwall Street and New George Street were under construction. |
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