January

21- 22              Operation Steinbock (Baby Blitz) by the Luftwaffe on London

 

24                    William Lake 9 days leave . During this leave William tried to teach his elder brother

                        John (then 38) how to ride a bicycle. Emily his wife, who was very nearly due

                        to give birth, was watching and was crying with laughter 

                  

27                    Liberia declared war on Germany

 

29                    Baby born to William & Emily Lake in Kew

 

February

10                    PAYE  (Pay As You Earn) system of tax collection introduced

 

26                    Last heavy air raids on London

 

March

3                      British civilian deaths during the war reached 50,324 whilst military deaths

                        stood at 50,103.

 

10                    Lifting of the prohibition of married women working as teachers

 

April

5                      William Lake 10 days leave

 

24                    All overseas travel is banned in Britain

 

27                    Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Rhodesia

                        all arrived in London for a conference

 

28                    Allied convoy T4 rehearsing for the Normandy landings at Start Bay in Devon were

                        attacked by German E Boats, 749 American servicemen were killed

May

1                      A military mission from General Tito arrives in London. His 60,000 strong army

                        is now the recognized force in Yugoslavia

 

9                      William Lake appointed Acting Lance Corporal

 

24                    Churchill announces that Spain will not be a target in the forthcoming

                        Allied invasion of Europe. He hoped that Spain under General Franco

                        would be a strong influence for peace in the Mediterranean after the

                        war

 

29                    Thunderstorms led to severe flooding especially around Holmfirth in

                        Yorkshire

 

June

5                      A coded message, the second line of a poem by Paul Verlaine, was broadcast by the

                        BBC to warn French resistance fighters that the invasion of Europe was about to begin

                       

6                      D Day. The invasion of allied troops began the largest seaborne invasion in history.

                        155,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy beginning Operation Overlord.

                        William Lake was part of the invasion landing with Canadian forces on Juno Beach

                        (see WW2 Personal Stories for more details of D Day)

 

13                    The first V-1 flying bomb attack on London. The bomb gets the

                        nickname “Doodlebug”

 

18                    The Guards Chapel across the street from Buckingham Palace was hit

                        by a V-1, 119 soldiers and civilians were killed.

 

19                    Conductor & Composer Henry Wood died he conducted the Proms for 50 years and

                        they are now named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in his honour

July

1                      So far 2,500 civilians have been killed by the V-1 flying bombs

4                      First Japanese kamikaze attack took place on the US fleet at Iwo Jima

7                      RAF bomber command drop 2,572 tons of bombs on the French town of Caen

20                    A heavy storm hampers the British offensive at Caen. William Lake involved in offensive

                        Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attepmt by Claus Von Stauffenburg

August

3                      The new Education Act creates a three tier system of secondary education in

                        England & Wales with Secondary Modern, Technical & Grammar Schools.

                        Entrance was determined by an 11 plus exam

 

4                      Anne Frank and family were arrested in Amsterdam following a tip off by an informer

 

12                    The V-1 attacks reach it’s 60th day with 6,000 deaths, 17,000 injured and more than

                        1 million buildings destroyed or damaged to date.

 

21                    The Dumbarton Oaks Conference opened in Washington DC with representatives

                        from USA, United Kingdom, China, France & Russia this meeting planned the

                        foundations of the United Nations

 

25                    General DE Gaulle returns to Paris and walks the Champs Elysee

 

September

3                      Brussels, Belgium is liberated by allied troops

                        William Lake was one of the allied soldiers in Brussels when it was Liberated

                       

                        In Britain a national day of Prayer is declared on the 5th anniversary of the

                        outbreak of war.

 

7                      The Belgian Government leaves London and returns to Belgium following the lberation

 

8                      The first V-2 rocket attack on Britain strikes in the Chiswick area resulting in 3 deaths

                        Chiswick is very close to Kew where the Lake family were living

 

17                    Blackout restrictions were relaxed

October

9                      Winston Churchill & Joseph Stalin began a 9 day conference in Moscow to discuss

                        the future of Europe

 

23                    The allies recognised Charles de Gaulle’s Cabinet as the provisional Government of France

November         

12                    Herbert Lake now based at the electrical section RAF Henlow Bedfordshire

                       

22                    The film release of Henry V starring Laurence Olivier the first work of Shakespeare

                        filmed in colour

 

25                    A V-2 rocket hits a Woolworths store in New Cross Rd London killing 168 civilians

                        and injuring 100.

 

27                    The largest explosion ever on UK soil occurred when between 3,500 – 4,000 tons of

                        ordnance exploded at an underground storage depot at RAF Fauld in Staffordshire.

                        It left a crater 0.75 miles across and 400 ft deep. 75 people were killed

 

                        William Lake passed as Operator Wireless and Line B II

 

                British Empire casualties announced as 282,162 killed, 80,580 missing,

                        386,374 wounded and 294,438 captured

December

3                      The Home Guard was stood down after 5 years with King George VI

                        declaring to the civilian force that they had “Fulfilled their charge”

 

15                    American band leader Major Glenn Miller missing presumed dead after his plane

                        disappeared over the English Channel in fog on its way to France

 

22                    William Lake Embarked NW Europe for a course

 

23                    William Lake Disembarked UK

 

24                    A V-1 Flying bomb aimed at Manchester killed 27 people in Oldham

                        8 miles away from it’s target

 

Undated events in 1944.

                        The Olympic Games that were to be held in London were cancelled

 

                        The Ministry of works built the first demonstration Prefab house in Northolt

                        the design was intended to last for 10 years.

                        (1.2 million were constructed between 1945 – 1951 some are still standing today)