1968 in the United Kingdom

1968 in the United Kingdom
Other years
1966 | 1967 | 1968 (1968) | 1969 | 1970
Constituent countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Events from the year 1968 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

  • 7 June – Start of Ford sewing machinists strike at the Dagenham assembly plant: women workers strike for having their work valued as 'skilled' (Grade C) rather than 'unskilled' (Grade B). The machinists feel that they are skilled as they have had to pass a test to gain employment making the seats. They do not achieve full wage parity but are given 92% of the men's rate rather than 85%. This influences the Equal Pay Act 1970.
  • 8 June – James Earl Ray, who was responsible for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States on 4 April, is arrested at Heathrow Airport when he attempts to depart on a flight bound for Rhodesia.
  • 10 June – The National Health Service reintroduces prescription charges.
  • 18 June – Frederick West, the United Kingdom's first heart transplant patient, dies 46 days after his operation.
  • 20 June – Austin Currie, Member of Parliament at Stormont in Northern Ireland, along with others, squats a house in Caledon to protest against discrimination in housing allocations.
  • 29 June – The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway runs its "Re-Opening Special", the first public service since the line's closure in 1961 on what becomes a popular heritage railway

July

August

September

  • September
    • The new school year in England sees the first local authorities adopt three tier education, where 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior schools are replaced by 5–8 or 5–9 first schools and 8–12 or 9–13 middle schools, with the transfer age to grammar and secondary modern schools being increased to 12 or 13.
    • Japanese carmaker Nissan launches its Datsun badged range of cars onto the British market.
  • 8 September – English tennis player Virginia Wade wins the 1968 U.S. Open Women's Singles event.
  • 13 September – An agreement for merger between the General Electric Company and English Electric, the largest industrial merger in the UK up to that time.
  • 15 September – Great Flood of 1968 in South East England.
  • 16 September – General Post Office divides post into first-class and second-class services.
  • 26 September – Theatres Act 1968 (royal assent 26 July) ends censorship of the theatre.
  • 27 September – US musical Hair opens in London following the removal of theatre censorship.

October

November

December

Full date unknown

  • BackCare medical research charity is founded.

Publications

Births

January – March

April – June

July – September

October – December

Unknown dates

Deaths

January – March

April – June

July – September

October – December

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-11-27 21:13 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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