WesWorld

1 January
A serious railway accident has occurred at Lichfield Trent Valley station in Staffordshire. Twenty people have been killed and another twenty-one injured in the accident, caused when a points failure routed a goods train into the back of a stationary passenger train waiting at the station. The crash occurred at 18:58, and involved the 14:50 fish train from Fleetwood to London Broad Street. It was travelling at around 35 mph when it passed into the station, and was scheduled to run through on the fast up line. However at the north end of the station, it was accidentally diverted by the failed points, onto the station's up passing loop, where it collided with the rear end of a Stafford to Nuneaton local passenger train, which was waiting at the station on the loop.

The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust has been officially formed today to preserve its first nature reserve, Askham Bog on the outskirts of York.

4 January
Basildon in Essex has been designated as a New Town. It lies 25 miles east of Central London and 11 miles south of the county town of Chelmsford. It will accommodate part of the London population overspill and will be created from the conglomeration of four small villages, Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange. The Basildon Development Corporation will be formed next month and the town will be planned around small neighbourhoods with the first houses due for completion in June 1948.

Extract from Warships In Focus: HMS Revolution, 'The Special', J. James, Conway Maritime Press, 1998



The planning for what became HMS Revolution began in 1940 and crystallised during the 1941 Naval Planning Committee. The Admiralty decided to renew the policy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries of building ‘Specials’, ships that incorporated new ideas and concepts for extensive testing.

The DNC had begun studies in Jun 1940 of a future destroyer and with input from across the Admiratly and the Fleet, it became the first of a breed of new ships. HMS Revolution herself was to be a showcase design. The initial designs were somewhat larger than contemporary destroyers, being over 450 feet in length and displacing around 4,000 tons. The DNC designed a sleek hull with 2in thick box protection for the magazines. The DNO (Director of Naval Ordnance) provided a main armament of new 5.5in automatic loading guns developed in co-operation with Canada. The anti-aircraft armament was then to comprise eight of the new 2pdr guns and eight fixed torpedo tubes, angled outboard, would be carried on the upper deck, although the DNC prefered to mount them inside the hull on the main deck. The E-in-C (Engineer-in-Chief) and the DME (Director of Mechanical Engineering) outlined a novel propulsion system of high-pressure steam boilers and turbo-electric drive to provide for a quieter ship and greater responsiveness. The DASW (Director of Anti-Submarine Warfare) wanted to include the Mortar B (Squid) and the DNC made space for two of these devices aft with no provision for depth-charges at all. Up to three ASDIC sets, all prototype sets would be fitted. The DEE (Director of Electrical Engineering) added new X-band radars for search and several “blind-firing” directors for AA use allied with height-finding radar. The DRW (Director of Radio Warfare) would provide newer RU-series Elint equipment and jammers. With the estimated appearance of the various items of new equipment during 1945 it was been decided to order the ship for the 1944-45 Naval Estimates.

HMS Revolution was laid down on 1 January 1945 at Royal Dockyard Chatham, was launched on 1 April that year and commissioned on 15 February 1946.

Hull
The final design of the hull was fairly straightforward with longitudinal construction and widespread use of welding and light alloys of several superstructure elements. It was flushed decked to provide ample hull space and dryness in rough seas and to avoid any concentrations of stress. The waterline length was 448 ft, beam 48 ft 6in and draught at normal load was 14 ft 6in.
The only hull armour was a box with 2in sides and top for the main magazines and anti-splinter protection for the wheelhouse.

Armament
The main armament comprised four 5.5in 60 cal. Mk VI designed and built by Canadian Vickers and Vickers-Armstrongs. The planned rate of fire was 35 rounds per minute against aerial targets and 35 rounds per minute against surface targets. In practice, the sustained rate of fire was around 20 rounds per minute. The unmanned turret was to have automatic loading at all elevations and traverse, 80 degree elevation for the gun. Also designed for the gun was a new series of ammunition with VT fuzes and capability for radio-proximity fuzes with separate AA and surface rounds (AP and HE). The layout had all four mounts widely separated along the hull and without superfiring to give good arcs and prevent excessive topweight. The fire control for these guns consisted of two Mk VI Directors with twin-antenna Gunnery Director Type 288 sets with a 'Tallboy' console for each director to enable anti-aircraft barrage fire.
The anti-aircraft armament was upgraded from planned octuple pom-poms to two twin 6pdr Mk III mounts and one twin 2pdr Mk IV mount controlled by three Close Range Blind Firing (CRBF) directors equipped with Heavy Automatic Gunnery Director Type 289 radars with conical scanning and in the X-Band (9,670MHz).
The torpedo armament was eight 21in tubes (four on each beam) fixed at an angle of 55 degrees with provision for one reload per tube. The anti-submarine armament was a Double Squid system allied to Type 147 ASDIC, Type 148 Deep ASDIC and Type 145 Depth-Finding ASDIC. Newer passive and improved Type 940 ASDIC sets were not ready in time for installation. A plan to fit the Mortar C (Limbo) was abandoned at an early stage.

Electronic Systems
In addition to the fire-control systems mentioned above the ship completed with a surface search Type 970 set, operating in the X-Band, a Type 272 which could serve as suface-search and height-finding, an aerial search Type 971 set and the much-reduced Elint fit actually carried comprised a Type 295Q VHF Direction Finder Type 295Q, Type 293 passive radio intercept equipment (293P, Q, M & O) and Type 297 passive radio-location intercept equipment operating in S, C and X-Bands.

Machinery
The powerplant was the first use of the YARD unit which was designed for all uses as a 30,000shp set. Two YARD sets were fitted to give 60,000shp for a speed of 34 kts at full power. The two shafts were driven by a geared transmission system, the planned electric gearing not being completed in time by Metropolitan Vickers. In addition, with a lessened anti-submarine role it was not deemed as important. 505 tons of bunkerage gave a range of 7,000nm at 16 kts, standard fleet cruising speed.

19 January
Aboard the trials ship HMS Ocean, Lieutenant Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown successfully took off using the full-scale steam catapult in a de Havilland Sea Vampire. It is hoped the trials will be completed by the end of the year to allow certification and training to begin and for this huge advance for carrier aviation to enter wider service across the fleet.

24 January
The Central Signals Establishment is formed at RAF Watton by merging the Radio Warfare Establishment and the Telecommunications Flying Unit.

[OOC Knowledge: 192 Squadron at RAF Watton is being re-formed as the CSE's flying unit. It will be equipped with around 4-5 Avro Lancaster B.Mk.I bombers converted to 'Y Lancaster' configuration for Elint duties. A Special Operator station will be fitted amidships with racking and two receivers (VHF and metric bands) with associated dipole antennas and an Oscilloscope and an audio oscillator for pulse analysis and a Boosey & Hawkes magnetic wire recorder. The H2S radar will be retained as will all three turrets. IC these will be Radio Calibration Aircraft and that will be the official duty of the squadron, eventually these aircraft will roam to the Med and Far East]

British Culture 1946

Art
Painting is an oil-on-linen painting by the Irish-born artist Francis Bacon. It was originally to depict a chimpanzee in long grass; Bacon then attempted to paint a bird of prey landing in a field. Bacon has described the work as his most unconscious, the figurations forming without his intention.

Barbara Hepworth has exhibited two sculptures, entitled Pelagos and Tides.

L. S. Lowry has completed his painting Good Friday, Daisy Nook.

Northern Irish artist John Luke holds his first one-man exhibition at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery and paints Northern Rhythm.
Northern Irish artist Georgia O'Keeffe painted Bare Tree Trunks With Snow.

Music
In February Kathleen Ferrier's recording contract with Columbia Records expired and she transferred to Decca.
The Nordish premiere of Peter Grimes, the opera's first performance outside the United Kingdom, took place in Stockholm on 21 March.
George Formby is awarded the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 King's Birthday Honours List.
Michael Tippett arranges the first British performance of Monteverdi's Vespers at Morley College on 5 July, adding his own organ Preludio for the occasion.
Leonard Bernstein conducted the first US performance of Peter Grimes at the Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood on the 6, 7 and 9 August.

Popular music hits
Geraldo and his Orchestra - "We'll Gather Lilacs" (Ivor Novello)
Archie Lewis and The Geraldo Strings - "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)"
Billy Ried - "It's A Pity To Say Goodnight"

Classical music: new works
Malcolm Arnold – Symphony for Strings opus 13
Edmund Rubbra – Cello Sonata opus 60
Michael Tippett – Little Music for String Orchestra
Ralph Vaughan Williams - Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, co-arranged with Joseph Cooper
William Walton – String Quartet No. 2 in A minor

Opera: new works
Benjamin Britten – The Rape of Lucretia

Musical Theatre
Noël Coward's new musical Pacific 1860 opens at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on 19 December starring Mary Martin and Graham Payn.

1 February
Henry G. Ivatt is promoted to Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, succeeding Charles Fairburn.

14 February
A Top Secret Memorandum for the government outlines the forthcoming new items of electronic equipment and weaponry to enter production this year.

Quoted

Type 287 Target Indication RDF set, in naval service since December 1944 it is being linked to TIU Mk II (Target Indication Unit) and should enter production in July.
The first two items of the planned advanced shipborne RU-Series of Radio-Location Jammers will enter production; the RU4 (2-4GHz) and RU1 (130-500MHz).
The H2S Mk IV Ground Mapping RDF set entered frontline service in September 1945 and work this year will see the set allied to the new Navigation and Bombing Computer to form NBC/H2S Mk V, it should enter service in 1947.
New land-based equipment includes:
AMES Type 12: 10cm wavelength surveillance radar
AMES Type 14: mobile 10 cm surveillance radar
AMES Type 18: CHL/GCI Modified Type 11 Mk2 (H) with height finding
AMES Type 19: GCI Final Type
AMES Type 21: Mobile Tactical Control, a five vehicle GCI convoy for home and overseas use

Weapons
3in Unguided Rocket (RP) Mk III: an improved variant with an improved motor and which can be launched for aircraft on modified hardpoints without launch rails
11.5in RP Mk I Uncle Tom: a specially designed anti-ship unguided rocket powered by six 3in rocket motors with a shaped-charge warhead
Little Ben: design work begins on an air-air GAP using trio of 3in motors for propulsion and fitted with the guidance system from Brakemine.

Research Rockets
CTV.1: design work continues on research testbed for a 5in diameter beam-riding air-air GAP was planned during 1945. The CTV.1 testbed designed by TRE has a trio of boosters but is unpowered in cruise phase, telemetry trials will begin next year.
CTV.2: 5in diameter trials rocket by TRE, trials begin this year.
[All OOC Knowledge]

15 February
The Inland Waterways Association had been founded as a registered charity to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. The Association was sparked off by a letter sent by Robert Aickman to Tom Rolt following the publication of Rolt's highly successful book, Narrow Boat in 1944 describing the declining and largely unknown world of the British canals. Robert Aickman is chairman, Charles Hadfield, vice-chairman, Tom Rolt honorary secretary and Frank Eyre treasurer.

20 February
The three-year long excavation of the ancient Sumerian city of Eridu has begun. The excavation is led by Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage.

25 February
Irgun and Lehi members in an audacious series of coordinated attack have blown up dozens of RAF aircraft at RAF Lydda and at the local airstrips at Qastina and Sirkin.

28 February
The Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park becomes Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). There are also outstations at RAF Cheadle, Staffordshire and five Wullenweber-type arrays world-wide for radio relay and SIGINT.
[OOC Knowledge]

Books

Agatha Christie has released another Hercule Poirot novel, The Hollow. First published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company, the British edition was published by the Collins Crime Club in November. The novel is a fine example of a country house mystery and is the first of her novels in four years to feature Hercule Poirot.

The noted authoress Stella Gibbons has published a new satirical novel entitled Westwood.

Jill is a novel by a new English writer Philip Larkin, published by The Fortune Press. It was written between 1943 and 1944, when Larkin was an undergraduate at St John's College, Oxford. The novel is set in Oxford, the protagonist John Kemp is a young man from Lancashire, who goes up to Oxford. With great sympathy it analyses his emotions at this first experience of privileged southern life. Socially awkward and inexperienced, Kemp is attracted by the reckless and dissipated life of his roommate Christopher Warner, a well-off southerner who has attended a minor public school. The eponymous Jill is Kemp's imaginary sister, whom he invents to confound Warner. Kemp then discovers a real-life Jill called Gillian, the 15 year old cousin of Warner's friend Elizabeth. Kemp becomes infatuated with Gillian, but his advances are thwarted by Elizabeth and rebuffed by Gillian.

Titus Groan is a novel by noted illustrator Mervyn Peake. The story begins with the birth of the eponymous Titus, as the heir to the throne of the House of Groan, and finishes just over a year later with his "Earling" or formal investiture as the seventy-seventh Earl of Groan, after the untimely death of his father Sepulchrave. The main plot follows the somewhat bizarre inhabitants of Gormenghast Castle, and in particular chronicles the rise to power of Steerpike, a scheming kitchen boy. Steerpike successfully destroys the existing order of the castle by inciting the twin sisters of Sepulchrave, Cora and Clarice, to burn Sepulchrave's beloved library. This event drives Sepulchrave into madness and eventually into taking his own life. Although Cora and Clarice are not exposed as the perpetrators of the fire, they are now under Steerpike's power. A sub-plot involves the feud between Sepulchrave's loyal servant Flay, and the chef Swelter, which ends with them fighting and Swelter being killed.

How to be an Alien is the second book by George Mikes. It is a humorous look at the English and their relationship with foreigners, "alien" meaning in this context any non-English person. The book is characterised by much humour, affection and a total lack of rancour or bitterness. Mikes, an immigrant from Hungary, demonstrates not only his knowledge of English society but an insight into the English language. The first part, "How to be a General Alien", deals with such important English topics as the weather, tea, how not to be clever (since it is considered bad manners), how to compromise, and queuing (according to Mikes, the national passion). The chapter entitled "Sex" is in its entirety as follows; “Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles.” The second part, "How to be a Particular Alien", describes particular occupations from Bloomsbury intellectual to bus driver, finishing with how to be a naturalised citizen, which includes the eating of porridge for breakfast, and alleging that you like it.

Rev. W. Awdry has released the second of his Thomas the Tank Engine books for children this year, and is illustrated by Reginald Payne and C. Reginald Dalby. The book contains four stories; Thomas and Gordon, Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks and
Thomas and the Breakdown Train. Thomas the Tank Engine is a small tank engine who works at a big station fetching coaches for the big engines, but who longs for greater things. Unfortunately, his efforts go wrong. But after showing that he can be a useful engine following an accident, he is rewarded with his own branch line.

R. G. Collingwood's collected philosophical lectures, The Idea of History, were posthumously published this year. Robin George Collingwood was an English philosopher and historian born at Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands, in Lancashire, the son of the academic W. G. Collingwood. Collingwood was a fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, for some 15 years until becoming the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford. The Idea of History, has been collated from various sources soon after his death by his pupil, T. M. Knox. Not just a philosopher of history, Collingwood was also a practicing historian and archaeologist, being during his time a leading authority on Roman Britain. Collingwood held history as "recollection" of the "thinking" of a historical personage. Collingwood considered whether two different people can have the same thought and not just the same content, concluding that "there is no tenable theory of personal identity" preventing such a doctrine.

Thomas Wilfred Sharp, an English urban planner and writer has published The Anatomy of the Village on the subject of village design. Sharp believes the man-made landscape of England is the most beautiful in the world and the English village is the perfection of the village idea. His thoughts in this area were first expressed in English Panorama published in 1936. He also edited the Shell Guide to Northumberland and Durham in 1937 and produced his celebrated Town Planning in 1940, a Pelican Book that has sold 250,000 copies.
J. M. Richards has published his anatomy of England's suburbia, The Castles on the Ground, which is illustrated by John Piper.

This year has also seen the launch of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V. Rieu, whose translation of the Odyssey is the first published in the series.

Poetry
Lilian Bowes Lyon, A Rough Walk Home
Rupert Brooke, The Poetical Works of Rupert Brooke, comprising the contents of Collected Poems of 1928 and 26 additional poems; published posthumously
Walter De la Mare, The Traveller
Lawrence Durrell Cities, Plains and People[
Robert Graves, Poems 1938–1945
Maurice Lindsay, editor, Modern Scottish Poetry: An Anthology of the Scottish Renaissance 1920-1945 (Faber and Faber)
Norman MacCaig, The Inward Eye
Hugh MacDiarmid, pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve, Poems of the East-West Synthesis
John Clark Milne, The Orra Loon and Other Poems.
Kathleen Raine, Living in Time
Herbert Read, Collected Poems
Henry Reed, A Map of Verona, including "Naming of Parts"
Vita Sackville-West, The Garden
Sydney Goodsir Smith, The Devil's Waltz
Bernard Spencer, Aegean Islands and Other Poems
Dylan Thomas, Deaths and Entrances, including "Fern Hill" and "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London"
R. S. Thomas, The Stones of the Fields

Plays
The Winslow Boy is a play by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. The play's London premiere in May features Emlyn Williams, Mona Washbourne, Angela Baddeley, Kathleen Harrison, Frank Cellier, Jack Watling and Clive Morton. It was performed under the direction of Glen Byam Shaw. Set against the strict codes of conduct and manners of the age, The Winslow Boy is based on a father's fight to clear his son's name after the boy is expelled from Osborne Naval College for stealing a five-shilling postal order. To clear the boy's name was imperative for the family's honour; had they not done so, they would have been shunned by their peers and society. Similarly, the boy's life would have been wrecked by an indelible stain on his character which would have followed him throughout adulthood. The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent: the case of Stonyhurst College alumnus George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet. His elder brother, Major Martin Archer-Shee, was convinced of his innocence and persuaded his father to engage lawyers. The most respected barrister of the day, Sir Edward Carson, was also persuaded of his innocence and insisted on the case coming to court. On the fourth day of the trial, the Solicitor General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, accepted that Archer-Shee was innocent, and ultimately the family was paid compensation. At the age of 19, George Archer-Shee was killed at the First Battle of Ypres.

8 March
Today the Burma Motion Picture Organization, the official non-profit organization for the Cinema of Burma, has been officially founded. U Tin Ngwe has been elected as the first chairman. Burma has an illustrious film production history dating back to 1910. Burmese-owned film companies include, Parrot Film Company, A1, New Burma, British Burma, The Imperial, Bandula and Yan Gyi Aung.

9 March
A serious disaster has occurred at Bolton Wanderers stadium at Burnden Park, Bolton during the FA Cup quarter-final second leg tie between Bolton and Stoke City. Thirty-three Bolton Wanderers fans were crushed to death, and another four hundred injured. There was an estimated 67,000-strong crowd at the game, though other estimates vary widely, with a further 15,000 locked out as it became clear the stadium was full.

18 March
Lieutenant Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown approached the aircraft with a mixed sense of intense excitement and nervousness. On the tarmac sat an aircraft that looked like no other, a silvery tube with stubby wings and a tiny glazed cockpit which doubled as the nose shock cone. This was to be his first flight, he’d flown numerous high speed sorties in jets and had flown the modified Miles Falcon with the thin razor wings. Even so, he knew anything could go wrong and successfully bailing out would be a problem. But he knew this first flight of this radical aircraft might be the first step to break the magical ‘sound barrier’.


There are no photos of course of the real thing other than mock-ups so this painting will have to stand in!

22 March
The Treaty of London has been signed between the United Kingdom and Transjordan. The treaty concerns the sovereignty and independence of the Arab state of Transjordan, which from 17 June will become the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan with Emir Abdullah I as its King. However, Britain will still maintain military bases within the country and continue to subsidise and support the Arab Legion. The Treaty of London supersedes the Anglo-Transjordan mandate known as the Organic Law of 1928 which liberalised some restrictions but still denied Transjordan control of its financial matters and most foreign policy issues.

The Alice Holt Research Station has been officially formed by the Forestry Commission today as a specialist Forestry Research Station. The forest estate in Wrecclesham, north-east Hampshire, has 1,225,000 acres. The station will carry out research into tree species, tree husbandry and tree diseases.

24 March
Respected broadcaster Alistair Cooke's broadcasts his first American Letter programme for the BBC Home Service.

26 March
The Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act 1946 given Royal Assent today sets up rent tribunals to control rents in the private sector and regulate renting prices The Act is intended to stop the high prices in furnished properties being rented out; as they were furnished, they were not covered by previous Rent Acts. The tribunals, to be given to districts after a consultation with the Minister of Health or his representative will set a fixed maximum of rent for furnished dwellings, making it illegal for the landlord to charge more.

Late February

The old Captain was rowing his little boat along the Medway Estuary until he came to a small inn just by the waters edge.
The old man had been the Skipper of a Thames sailing barge all his since his father had died in harness. This fiery old man now lived alone in an old barge hulk on the mudflats and everybody only knew him as the 'Captain'. He had sailed all his life, probably before he even walk. He lost his only son at sea aboard HMS Queen Mary in Jutland.

Once inside the inn he ordered his regular ale and sat down beside a much younger man in a dour raincoat.
"Well what's the news Captain?"
"There's bin a foreigner around these parts acting suspiciously."
"In what way?"
"A Jerry. Took a room at the King’s Arms in Upper Upnor. The first time I noticed 'im was the other day, strolling around the riverbank not far from the Royal Docks."
"So, he took a walk?"
"Then I sees 'im in another of the pubs asking questions about the docks. Listening in to the worker's chat. The next day, he's there again strolling around the river with some fancy binoculars. I carried on and blow me I'd not gone more than half a mile and the new Revolution came down on a trial run."
"I see."
"So I follows this Jerry to the King's Arms. The landlord, a proper gullible twit he is, tells me the Jerry is a Cloggy researching the raid of 1667." The younger man not being an historian had no idea what the old man was talking about. "But he weren't no Dutchman, I've been in enough ports across Northern Europe to know he's a Hun. A downright lowly spy Hun at that."
"Well I don't know how much there is to go on here. Some old Jerry likes walking and spotting ships."
"Just the cover he would use. Why he was in the crowd down the docks the other day when they commissioned 'er. I'm sure I saw him, he 'ad a big lens on his camera, what are they called? Anyway, by the time I went back to the King's Arms he'd gone. I got the address he gave."
He pushed the scruff piece of paper over the table. The younger man knew he'd have to include it in his monthly report. He had little enough to enter so he felt it might fill a few gaps. Running a network of agents cobbled together from matelots of a dozen nations of London docks was hard enough, but he hoped his monthly visit to the old man would be worth it for a change.
For the Captain, he hoped for first time in a long time, he would be worth his retainer.

Some people can be so suspicious of others... :P

By-Elections

The Preston by-election was held on 31 January. The seat had become vacant when the Labour MP John Sunderland had died on 24 November 1945. Sunderland had held the seat since the 1945 general election. The Labour candidate, Edward Shackleton, held the seat for his party.

The South Ayrshire by-election was held on 7 February 1946. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Alexander Sloan. It was won by the Labour candidate Emrys Hughes.

The Glasgow Cathcart by-election was held on 12 February. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Francis Beattie. It was won by the Conservative candidate John Henderson.

The Heywood and Radcliffe by-election was held on 21 February. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP John Edmondson Whittaker. It was won by the Labour candidate Anthony Greenwood with 50.5% share of the vote.

The Hemsworth by-election was held on 22 February 1946. The seat had become vacant on the death of the Labour MP George Griffiths, who had held the seat since a 1934 by-election. The Labour candidate, Horace Holmes, was returned unopposed.

The Combined English Universities by-election was held on 18 March for the British House of Commons constituency of Combined English Universities. The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Independent MP Eleanor Rathbone died. She had been the constituency's MP since the 1929 general election. There was no Labour Party candidate and the Conservative candidate Henry Strauss won with 5,483 votes. He beat two Independent candidates, Mary Stocks and Sir Ernest Simon, the Independent Labour Stanley Wormald and the British People's Party’s candidate Gerard Oddie, who lost his deposit.

The Ogmore by-election was held on 4 June for the constituency of Ogmore in Wales. The seat had become vacant on when the constituency's Labour MP Edward Williams had been appointed as High Commissioner to Australia. He had been the constituency's MP since the 1945 general election. Labour held the seat, their candidate John Evans beating Plaid Cymru’s candidate T. R. Morgan with a majority of 7,947 votes.

The Down by-election was held on 6 June 1946, following the death of James Little, the independent Unionist Member of Parliament for Down. The Down constituency elects two members. Since its re-creation in 1922, it had consistently elected unionists, with all other candidates polling less than 15% of the votes cast. Until the 1945, every MP for the seat had been a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Little was elected unopposed for the UUP at a 1939 by-election. The other Down MP, Viscount Castlereagh, decided to retire at the 1945 general election, and the UUP decided to also make Little's seat subject to reselection. Little resigned from the party in protest and easily held his seat as an Independent Ulster Unionist. At the by-election, the Ulster Unionist Party hoped to regain the second seat. They stood Charles Heron Mullan, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, who had unsuccessfully contested South Down at the 1945 Northern Ireland general election. The Northern Ireland Labour Party stood Desmond Donnelly, a British politician with Irish ancestry. Two independent unionist candidates were J. Hastings-Little, son of James Little, and James Brown, the unsuccessful candidate from the previous year. The by-election was won by Mullan, who took more than half the votes cast. Donnelly took 29% and a clear second place, while Hastings-Little managed 17%. Brown's share of the vote collapsed to only 2%.

The Bexley by-election was held on 22 July. The by-election was held due to the promotion of the incumbent Labour MP, Jennie Adamson, to deputy chairman of the assistance board. The seat was held by the Labour candidate Ashley Bramall.

The Pontypool by-election was held on 23 July. The by-election was held due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, Arthur Jenkins. It was won by the Labour candidate Daniel West.

The Battersea North by-election was held on 25 July. The seat had become vacant on the resignation from the House of Commons of the constituency's Labour MP Francis Douglas, who had been appointed as Governor of Malta and ennobled as Baron Douglas of Barloch. He had held the seat since a by-election in 1940. The Labour Party selected as its candidate Douglas Jay, a 39-year-old economist who had been a financial journalist and a Fellow of All Souls. The Conservative Party candidate was B.A. Shattock, the Liberal Party did not field a candidate. The third candidate was Hugo Dewar of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), a Trotskyite and adult education tutor. He had joined the ILP in 1928 and two years co-founded the Marxist League, followed in 1932 by becoming one of the founders of the Communist League, Britain's first Trotskyist group. On a turnout reduced to 55% from the 71% at the 1945 general election, Jay held the seat for Labour with 69% of votes, Shattock's 29.6% share was a small increase on the Conservative vote the previous year, while Dewar won only 240 votes (1.5%) of the total, and lost his deposit.

The Glasgow Bridgeton by-election was held on 29 August 1946, following the death of Independent Labour Party (ILP) MP James Maxton. The constituency had been held by Maxton since the 1922 general election. Until 1931, he had contested the seat as a member of the Labour Party, and although the two parties had then split, Maxton had not had to contest his seat against a Labour candidate. The ILP has been in a gradual decline since leaving the Labour Party, and the death of Maxton opened the potential of a rupture in the ILP, many members of which were keen to rejoin Labour. The ILP had only two other Members of Parliament, so it attached a high importance to holding the seat. The party nominated their Scottish Organising Secretary James Carmichael, a member of Glasgow City Council, for the seat. Labour hoped to gain the seat and stood John Wheatley, a local lawyer. The Unionist Party had little chance of taking the seat, a strongly working class area, but hoped a split left vote would improve their hopes. The Scottish National Party stood Guy Aldred, a well-known local anarcho-communist standing on an abstentionist platform. The ILP narrowly held the seat, but suffered a collapse in their majority. They won with only 34.3% of the vote, the lowest winning percentage share since the 1930 Bromley by-election. Much of the ILP vote transferred to the Labour candidate, who came a close second.

The Rotherhithe by-election was held on 19 November. The by-election was held due to the appointment of the incumbent Labour MP, Sir Benjamin Smith as chairman of the West Midlands Coal Board. The seat was held by the Labour candidate Robert Mellish.

The Paddington North by-election was held on 20 November. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Labour MP, Sir Noel Mason-Macfarlane. It was won by the Labour candidate William J. Field.

The Combined Scottish Universities by-election was held from 22 November to 27 November for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons. The seat had become vacant on 16 October when the independent MP Sir John Boyd Orr had resigned by the procedural device of accepting the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, a notional 'office of profit under the crown' which is used as a procedural device to enable MPs to resign from the Commons. He had held the seat since being first elected at a by-election in 1945. Five candidates contested the by-election, none of whom had stood in 1945. The Unionist candidate was Walter Elliot, who had been MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove for more than 20 years and Secretary of State for Scotland from 1936 to 1938. The Labour Party candidate was the philosopher and broadcaster C. E. M. Joad. The Liberal Party fielded J. M. Bannerman, who had contested Argyll in 1945, and the National Liberals nominated Dr R. S. Stevenson, who had stood in West Fife in 1945. The fifth candidate was J. G. Jameson, a member of the Federal Union who stood as an advocate of the policies of the Federal Union, although the union did not endorse his candidacy. The result was a clear victory for the Unionist candidate, Walter Elliot, who won over 68% of the votes, and a majority of more than 50% over the second-placed Labour candidate.

The Aberdeen South by-election was held on 26 November. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Sir Douglas Thomson. The seat was held for the Conservative party by their candidate Lady Tweedsmuir.

The Aberdare by-election was held on 5 December. The seat had become vacant when the Labour MP George Hall had been created Viscount Hall on 28 October. Hall had held the seat since the 1922 general election. The Labour candidate, David Thomas held the seat for the party with a majority of 17,125 votes. This by-election is the best performance so far by Plaid Cymru in the industrial valleys of South Wales, their candidate Wynne Samuel winning 7,090 votes (20%).

The Kilmarnock by-election was held on 5 December. The seat had become vacant on 2 October when the Labour MP Clarice Shaw had resigned her seat. She died on 27 October at the age of 63. Shaw had held the seat since the 1945 general election, but ill-health had prevented her from ever attending the House of Commons. The Labour Party candidate was 35 year-old schoolteacher Willie Ross, who had unsuccessfully contested the Ayr Burghs constituency in the 1945 general election. The Unionist candidate was Lieutenant-Colonel George E. O. Walker, who had also stood at the general election. The Scottish National Party fielded George Dott. The result was a victory for Ross with a fractionally increased share of the vote.


Antigua and Barbuda
The general election of 1946 was the first general election in Antigua and Barbuda, which is a colony, part of the British West Indies. Though this event marks the creation of an Antiguan and Barbudan polity, only those who own property were permitted to stand for election to the legislature. The Antigua Trades and Labour Union chose five of its members who satisfied the property criteria to stand as labour representatives. One of the five was union leader Vere Bird, who has first entered the legislature at a by-election in 1945. Bird won his seat and was also chosen by the Governor of Antigua to sit on the Executive Council.

Barbados
General elections were held in Barbados in November 1946. The Barbados Labour Party emerged as the largest party, winning nine of the 24 seats. The West Indian National Congress Party won seven seats, the Barbados Electors Association six and the remaining two seats were won by Independent candidates. Following the election, ministerial portfolios were introduced for the first time.

Chad
A General Election was held in Chad during December 1946 and January 1947.
The electoral system in Chad consists of a 30-seat General Council with 10 seats elected by the First College in two constituencies and 20 seats elected by the Second College in six constituencies. In the Second College conservative candidates won 7 of the 20 seats, all by the Chadian Democratic Union. The Chadian Progressive Party won seven seats, and the remaining six seats were won by independent candidates.

Hong Kong
During May 1946 the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, first outlined his proposals for constitutional reform, dubbed the Young Plan.
The demand and attempts for constitutional reform in Hong Kong had occurred in the past, but it had been an intractable problem for the Colonial Government due to the overwhelmingly majority of the Chinese population. Through the Young Plan, the Colonial Government meant to create a sense of belonging and loyalty to Hong Kong among all its inhabitants regardless of race. The new Labour Government was also keen to begin the process of greater democratic powers throughout the Empire and to counteract tensions with China. One possible method of achieving this would be by handing over certain functions of internal administration to a Municipal Council constituted on a fully representative basis. The establishment of such a Council, and the transference to it of important functions of government might, it is believed, be an appropriate and acceptable means of affording to all communities in Hong Kong an opportunity of more active participation, through their responsible representatives, in the administration of the Territory.
On 28 August 1946, Young gave a radio speech which outlined further details of the preliminary reform proposal. The main idea of the Young Plan was to set up a super municipal council with greater powers than its counterpart in England. The Municipal Council based on a fairly wide franchise would be given powers and autonomy over all urban services, education, social welfare, town planning and other functions. It even Young’s proposed municipal council would be in effect an alternative to the Colonial Government, which would give Hong Kong a kind of representative government through the back door. Young also recommended several changes for the Legislative Council by giving some representative element to the Unofficials and increasing the portion of the Unofficial compared to Official Members, including allowing indirect election of two Unofficial Members from the new council. To prevent undue mainland Chinese influence on the Municipal Council to be use it for their own ends, Young suggested that the revision of the constitution should be framed to preclude the possibility of the Council concerning itself with political matters, particularly in relation to the future status of the Colony.

Palestine
A new political party was founded in the Mandate this year, the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine. A Marxist-Zionist political party connected to the Hashomer Hatzair movement with around 10,000 members, two-thirds of who are from the Kibbutz Artzi movement. The remainder come from the urban-based Socialist League of Palestine, which was dissolved into the party.
The Hashomer Hatzair movement had positioned itself politically between the moderate mainstream Mapai and the radical communists since the 1920s. The movement had however been reluctant to form a political party, since its leaders had felt that entering into party politics could push the movement into ideological deviations. In contrast with Mapai, the main Labour Zionist party in Palestine, the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party put heavier emphasis on class struggle. The Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party is the sole Zionist political organization in Palestine that recognises the national rights of the Palestinian Arabs. The party advocates a bi-national state and opposes partitioning Palestine, instead preferring converting the British Mandate into an international trusteeship. The party maintains links with Ihud, a small circle of Jewish intellectuals who shared the bi-national vision of the party.

Cinemagoing reaches an all-time peak, with 1,635 million admissions during the year.


Great Expectations was one of the box-office hits of the year. Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, the film was directed by David Lean and stars John Mills, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt, Alec Guinness and Valerie Hobson. The script is a slimmed-down version of Dickens' novel inspired by an abridged stage version of the novel, in which Guinness (responsible for the adaptation) played, which was written by David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Cecil McGivern, Ronald Neame and Kay Walsh. Guinness and Hunt reprised their roles in the film, but the film was not a strict adaptation of the stage version. The film was produced by Ronald Neame and photographed by Guy Green. The film won critical praise upon release, with many commentators hailing it as the finest film yet made from a Dickens novel. It was also the third most popular film at the British box office in 1947 and most popular movie at the Canadian box office in 1948. Great Expectations won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (John Bryan, Wilfred Shingleton) and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, and was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay.

Appointment is a crime thriller directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Raymond Lovell, Robert Beatty, Joyce Howard and Herbert Lom.
In the film, Leo Martin (Hartnell) works for a criminal gang run by Gus Loman (Lovell) that primarily uses a smash and grab tactic. During one particular risky robbery, Leo has his wrists broken and is soon caught and sentenced to prison. Throughout his stay, Leo does not reveal who he is working for but serves his time angered by Gus for running out on him during the robbery. When Leo is released he returns to Gus to obtain a job but is rebuffed, Gus points out how Leo’s injured wrists would prevent him from working as a thief. This leads to Leo to seek complete vengeance against Gus. He decides to frame Gus for murder by stealing his gun and murdering a taxi driver. He manages to provide himself with an alibi to avoid any prosecution. During this scheme he meets Carol Dane (Howard) who is unaware of his true nature and they begin a romance. Later, Leo blackmails Gus with the gun. After Gus pays Leo he contacts Gregory Lang (Lom) who he is actually working for. Meanwhile, Leo learns that Detective Inspector Rogers is investigating the murder case. He attempts to assure Rogers that he is attempting to live a life away from crime but Rogers continues to question Leo’s character and whereabouts during the night of the murder. Then Leo and Gregory learn that it was actually Gregory’s gun that was used for the murder and Gregory becomes upset plans to murder Gus. Leo’s wrists are crushed again but he and Gus reach a deal for Leo to bring back the gun and steal a jewel. All the while, Rogers uncovers more and more clues. When Leo steals the jewel and brings back the gun to Gregory, a gunfight ensues leaving Gregory dead. As Leo jumps on the train to run away with Carol, she confronts him about his lies. Soon after, Rogers arrives after finally learning that Leo murdered the taxi driver. He prepares to apprehend Leo but Leo tries to jump out of the train window only to have the window slam shut on his wrists.

Bad Company is a drama directed by Paul Barrelet and written by R. Wakeley. It stars Mabel Constanduros and Diana Dawson. Its plot involves a dancer whose career was ruined in an accident, but has her mobility restored by a surgeon. Things are complicated when her boyfriend gives her a stolen diamond.

Bedelia is an adaptation of the novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It moves the events of the book from the United States to England and Monaco.

Beware of Pity is a romantic drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven and Cedric Hardwicke. It is based on the novel of the same name by Stefan Zweig. A paraplegic young baroness mistakes compassion for love. The film's costumes were designed by Cecil Beaton. It was made by Two Cities Films at Islington Studios.


The Captive Heart is a drama directed by Basil Dearden. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. The plot concerns a Czech nationalist fugitive Karel Hasek (Michael Redgrave) who assumes the identity of a dead British officer, Captain Geoffrey Mitchell during 1916 after escaping from a German prison. When he is caught, becomes a British prisoner of war. He is suspected of being a spy by his fellow soldiers because of a few small errors and his fluency in the German language. Captain Grayson (Guy Middleton) wants to lynch him forthwith, but Major Dalrymple (Basil Radford), the senior British officer, believes Hasek’s story when he is questioned. To avoid suspicion, he has to maintain the fiction that Mitchell is still alive by corresponding with Mitchell's widow Celia (Rachel Kempson). Prior to the war, Mitchell had abandoned his wife and their two children, but the letters rekindle Celia's love. After their escape tunnel is discovered, the prisoners resign themselves to a long stay. When Herr Forster (Karel Stepanek), who in reality is member of German military intelligence who knows Hasek, visits the camp, Hasek fears he may be unmasked. The official seems to recognise him, but cannot quite place him. Hasek is sure time is running out; it is announced that some prisoners are to be repatriated, but when he goes for his medical examination he is turned away. A plan is devised to save him (without his knowledge). Private Mathews (Jimmy Hanley), a burglar in civilian life, breaks into the Kommandant's office late at night with two other men. They find the list of those to be repatriated and replace Mathews' own name with Mitchell's. On the way back to the barracks, Mathews is attacked by a guard dog and rescued by Hasek. The plan works, and Hasek is "returned" to England. He goes to see Celia. He breaks the news of her husband's death and that he has grown to love her. She is devastated, and Hasek leaves. After she recovers, she begins rereading his letters and realises that she has come to love the writer. When Hasek calls her on the telephone on 11 November 1917, Armistice Day, she is eager to speak with him.

Caravan is a drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It is another of the Gainsborough melodrama series and is based on the novel Caravan by Eleanor Smith. It stars Stewart Granger and Jean Kent. In the film, late 19th century writer Richard Darrell (Stewart Granger), saves Don Carlos (Gerard Heinz) from two robbers. Don Carlos gives Richard the task of taking a valuable necklace to Iberia. Bidding farewell to his fiancée Oriana (Anne Crawford), Richard sets out. On the way he meets Wycroft (Robert Helpmann), who assaults, robs and nearly kills Richard on behalf of his dastardly master Sir Francis Castteldow (Dennis Price), an aristocrat who plans to steal Oriana from Richard. Oriana thinks Richard is dead and marries Francis, whilst Richard loses his memory as a result of the assault and marries a gypsy girl, Rosal (Jean Kent). However, everyone will meet again...

Men of Two Worlds is a Technicolor drama directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Robert Adams, Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert. The film sees an African music student return home to battle a witch doctor for control over his tribe.

Piccadilly Incident is drama directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Coral Browne, Edward Rigby and Leslie Dwyer. In the film, a married woman is believed dead in a shipwreck, but returns home to find her husband remarried.

They Knew Mr. Knight is a drama directed by Norman Walker and made by Norman Walker's G.H.W. Productions, funded by the Rank Organisation, at Denham Studios. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Nora Swinburne and Joyce Howard. It is based on a 1934 novel of the same title by Dorothy Whipple. The plot sees a man is sentenced to twelve months in Lincoln jail following his involvement in a share scam, plunging himself and his family into despair. However, by the time of his release he is able to face his uncertain future with fortitude.

Woman to Woman is a drama directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Douglass Montgomery, Joyce Howard and Adele Dixon. It is based on the play of the same title by Michael Morton. The plot sees a British gentleman and a French dancer engage in a doomed romance.

The Years Between is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. It was directed by Compton Bennett and stars Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson and Flora Robson. The film charts the homecoming of a British intelligence officer, who had been working in Germany during the Great War and was presumed dead. His wife is about to marry again, and to become an MP, and all must now readjust to the new situation.

The Curse of the Wraydons is a thriller directed by Victor M. Gover and starring Tod Slaughter, Bruce Seton and Henry Caine. It is based on the play Spring-Heeled Jack by Maurice Sandoz and was made at Bushey Studios. The film is set during the Napoleonic Wars and revolves around an English exile who agrees to become a spy for France.


Green for Danger is thriller film, based on the popular 1944 detective novel of the same name by Christianna Brand. The film was directed by Sidney Gilliat and stars Alastair Sim, Trevor Howard, Sally Gray and Rosamund John. The film was made at Pinewood Studios in England. The title is a reference to the colour-coding used on anaesthetists' gas bottles. It is set in a fictional rural British hospital somewhere in the Southeast of England. A patient dies on the operating table. The anaesthetist, Barney Barnes (Howard), has had a patient die in similar circumstances previously. Inspector Cockrill (Sim) is asked to investigate when Sister Bates (Campbell) is killed after revealing that the death of Higgins was not an accident. Cockrill's investigation is hampered by the conflict between Barnes and Eden because of their competition over the affections of nurse Freddi (Gray). After another murder attempt is directed at Freddi, the inspector restages the operation in order to unmask the murderer.


Night Boat to Dublin is a thriller directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Robert Newton, Raymond Lovell, Guy Middleton, Muriel Pavlow and Herbert Lom. The film’s plot concerns an immigrant scientist passing information to a European power through the Republic of Ireland. British intelligence attempts to break this link.

School for Secrets is a humours thriller written and directed by Peter Ustinov and starring David Tomlinson, Ralph Richardson, Raymond Huntley, Richard Attenborough, John Laurie and Michael Hordern. The films tells the story of a group of five different 'Boffins', research scientists, who discover and develop radio location, being brought together to work in secrecy and under pressure. Their dedication disrupts their family lives as they are forced to sacrifice everything to make a breakthrough. The film was made in co-operation with the Air Ministry.

Send for Paul Temple is a crime thriller directed by John Argyle and starring Anthony Hulme, Joy Shelton and Tamara Desni. This is the first of four film planned adaptations of the Paul Temple stories. In the film, Paul Temple is called in after a major diamond theft.

Tehran is a joint British-Italian thriller co-directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and William Freshman. It was also released under the alternative titles Appointment in Persia and The Plot to Kill Roosevelt. It stars Derek Farr as Pemberton Grant, a British intelligence officer who discovers a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister during a state visit to Tehran. It also stars Marta Labarr, Manning Whiley and Pamela Stirling.

Wanted for Murder is a crime thriller directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Eric Portman and Dulcie Gray. In the film, Anne Fielding is delayed on the London Underground making her late for a meeting with her friend, Victor James Colebrooke. There, she meets Jack Williams who is also delayed. The two take an immediate liking to each other. Victor is the grandson of a notorious hangman and is gradually becoming insane, he finds himself unable to resist the urge to strangle women to death. Although he is in love with Anne, he does not know how much longer he can prevent himself from killing her. Inspector Conway investigates Victor's murders and pieces together all of the evidence he finds that Victor appears to be purposely leaving behind.

The Grand Escapade is an adventure film directed by John Baxter and starring James Harcourt, Patric Curwen and Peter Bull. The plot sees three boys join an old traveller on his journey through Southern England, eventually helping to expose and capture some smugglers.

A Girl in a Million is a comedy directed by Francis Searle and starring Hugh Williams and Joan Greenwood.

Here Comes the Sun is a comedy directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Elsa Tee. The film follows a sports reporter, on the run from the police, as he tries to clear his name.

Quiet Weekend is a comedy directed by Harold French and starring Derek Farr, Frank Cellier and Marjorie Fielding. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Quiet Wedding with several of the actors reprising their roles and is based on the 1941 play Quiet Weekend. A family try to relax during a weekend holiday in the country but are constantly irritated by the unpleasant friend of their eldest son.

Under New Management is a comedy directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Nat Jackley, Norman Evans and Dan Young. A chimney sweep inherits a hotel and calls on a number of friends to staff it with mixed results!

I'll Turn to You is a musical directed by Geoffrey Faithfull and starring Terry Randall and Don Stannard.

The Laughing Lady is a musical drama directed by Paul L. Stein based on a play by Ingram D'Abbes. It stars Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and Francis L. Sullivan. During the French Revolution, a young aristocrat makes a deal with Robespierre that he will locate and steal some diamonds from Britain in order to save his mother from the guillotine.

Lisbon Story is another musical thriller directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Burke, David Farrar, Walter Rilla and Austin Trevor. The plot sees a cabaret singer and a British intelligence officer travel to a European capital to rescue a scientist being held there.

London Town is the biggest musical production of 1946 being a Technicolor film produced by the Rank Organisation. Rank recruited American songwriters Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, Ted Heath and his orchestra and the costumes were designed by the legendary designer Orry-Kelly, The screenplay by Sig Herzig, Val Guest, and Elliot Paul, is based on a story by director Wesley Ruggles, revolving around comedian Jerry Sanford (Sid Field), who arrives in London believing he has been hired as the star of a major stage production, when in fact he's merely an understudy. Thanks to his daughter Peggy (Petula Clark), who sabotages the revue's star Charlie de Haven (Sonnie Hale), he finally gets his big break. The premise allows for a variety of musical numbers and comedy sketches performed by, among others, Kay Kendall and Tessie O'Shea.

The Magic Bow is a musical based on the life of the Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. It was directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Stewart Granger, Phyllis Calvert, Jean Kent, Dennis Price and Cecil Parker. It was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.


A Matter of Life and Death is a romantic fantasy film created by the writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was produced by D&P Studios and Denham Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire and was shot in Three-Strip Technicolor and black and white for the heaven scenes. For these the colour was not fully developed, giving a pearly hue to the black and white shots, a process called Colour and Dye-Monochrome Processed in Technicolor. Production took place from 2 September to 2 December 1945, used twenty-nine sets, and cost an estimated £320,000.
The film was chosen for the first ever Royal Film Performance on 1 November 1946 at the Empire Theatre, London. It then went into general release on 15 December 1946. The film subsequently had its US release in New York on 25 December 1946 under the name Stairway to Heaven.
The plot sees a British Royal Air Force pilot Squadron Leader Peter Carter (David Niven) trying to fly a badly damaged aircraft home. He manages to contact June (Kim Hunter), a radio operator and talks with her for a few minutes before jumping without a parachute. Peter should have died at that point, but Conductor 71 (Marius Goring), the guide sent to escort him to the "Other World", misses him in the thick fog over the English Channel. The airman wakes up the next day on a beach near June's base. At first, he assumes he is in the afterlife, but then, after a de Havilland Mosquito flies low overhead, discovers to his bewilderment that he is still alive. Peter meets June and they fall in love. Conductor 71 (an aristocrat executed in the French Revolution) stops time to explain the situation to Peter and urge him to accept his death and accompany him to the Other World, but Peter demands that the matter be appealed. Conductor 71 informs him he can appeal and has three days to prepare his case. He may choose a defending counsel from among all the people who have died, but has great difficulty picking one. Peter's visions are diagnosed by June's fascinated friend Doctor Reeves (Roger Livesey) as a symptom of a brain injury and he is scheduled for surgery. Reeves is killed in a motorcycle accident while trying to find the ambulance that is to take Peter to the hospital, which allows him to act as Peter's counsel. Reeves argues Peter’s case and that his new earthly commitment should take precedence over the afterlife's claim on him. The matter comes to a head, in parallel with Peter's brain surgery, before a celestial court. In the end, Reeves has June take the stand (she is made to fall asleep in the "real" world by Conductor 71 so she can testify) and proves that she genuinely loves Peter by telling her that the only way to save his life is to take his place. She steps onto the stairway to the Other World without hesitation and is carried away, leaving Peter behind. Then the stairway comes to an abrupt halt and June rushes back to Peter's open arms. The jury rules in Peter's favour. The scene then shifts to the operating room, where the surgery is declared a success by the surgeon.

At first as it seemed as though there was little of importance in the regular report. Suddenly a single sentence stood out and picking up his blue pencil he ringed the words. "German Embassy official Pork Nine identified visually disembarking Hook of Holland ferry at Parkeston."
His mind began to go over the reasons why an embassy official would be using the Hook of Holland ferry. It seemed unlikely to be an official visit, perhaps a personal trip home? But then why wouldn't he use the transport perks available to him rather than going via circuitous routes on a rough ferry at this time of year? It smelt like potential cover and he knew enough to know this figure seemed to travel widely across Britain.
He picked up the telephone "Hullo, could you connect me with the German Desk please."

"There is no doubt about it Control. Our man at the Embassy has confirmed that Major de Uljak has been recalled to Budapest."
Control let out a 'humph', "We must assume that Homlok has had his suspicions raised. Perhaps the Germans have been too industrious."
"Should we terminate the operation?"
"Is the Girl still at the War Office?"
"Yes, Hargreaves has confirmed that she is still in post. It's possible she intends to follow him later. de Uljak may not have had time to complete a Visa application."
Control was unmoved, "I doubt he would want to have her as a millstone around his neck, especially if he thinks there is already a noose around his neck. The main point is now to ascertain whether the operation is blown and how we might clear it up. We need to deal with her."
"You mean arrest her?"
"Certainly, she will be under psychological pressure, get Hargreaves to crack her. Perhaps she'll confess. Either way a trial might be bloody for us in the press but it might convince the Germans the leak is genuine. Anyway she is a spy, just an unwitting double-agent for us." Control sensed his companion was uneasy with callously sending her to the hangman, "No-one need ever know about that and the Courts are unlikely to send a woman to the gallows."


Nadya Gardner had been under pressure. Lorand had left without much notice other than a brief farewell telephone call. He had promised her that he would arrange for her to follow him within a fortnight, but time had passed and still no word from him. He had told her to destroy all the evidence and she had dutifully burned any incriminating documents at her flat, but she had kept the camera.
Major Ernest Hargreaves, her boss, had noticed her nervousness over the past days and having built up a friendly relationship with her had been able to build up a rapport with her. A relationship that she had been eager to cultivate too in case she could glean more information from him. Late on afternoon before leaving he asked her if everything was all right.
"No, I'm in a fix and I don't know what to do."
"What's wrong Nadya? You can tell me, perhaps I can help?"
"I need advice. You know I was seeing a boyfriend? Well he was an embassy official and he has been called home at short notice."
"I see."
"He said he would arrange for me to go with him, we had talked of marriage but now he has gone silent. I don't know whether he meant to abandon me, now I fear he already has a wife or something." She sobbed.
Ernest was unsure if the tears were real or not, but he put his arm around her shoulder. "Now, now. It's probably not that bad. Perhaps he's just trying to get things ready. Where did he go?"
"Hungary. Budapest."
"So he worked at the Hungarian Embassy?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, I have friends who know some of the staff. Perhaps I can find out something for you? What did he do there?"
Alarm bells rang in Nadya's head, she daren't let the truth emerge, "oh, he was just a junior clerk. Nobody special, though he was rather wonderful to me. At least I thought so."
"Well if he has abandoned you then you'll need to forget him as hard as it may be. What you need is a drink. Let's go, I know somewhere just around the corner..."

War Office, Whitehall, London, Monday 15 April 1946

It was just nearing ten past five and the darkness was descending outside and it was drizzling again. The office was empty. Nadya finished off the letter she was typing and placed the cover over her typewriter. She placed the letter into Major Hargreaves’ in-tray for his signature tomorrow. She calmly walked over to the safe, picking up the key from her desk on the way, and inserted it. She turned the handle and it groaned a little as the bolts swung and the heavy door swung open. She reached in and picked up a small grey tin box from the top shelf. She opened the tin and took out a small camera. She would throw it into the river tonight. Her back was to the door, but she heard it click open and she spun round, trying to stuff the camera into her handbag behind her back. She thought it might have been the janitor, but instead there were two men in raincoats and behind them, she caught a glimpse of two uniformed police officers.

“What do you want? You cannot barge in here.” She blustered, somewhat taken aback.
The older of the two men smiled, “Detective Inspector Bryers and Detective Sergeant Casey, Special Branch, Scotland Yard.” He flashed his ID. “Now then what do we have here?”
Nadya remained cool on the outside and unperturbed, but inside her heart was pounding and her mind churning. “Are you looking for Major Hargreaves Inspector? If so, I’m afraid you’ve missed him, he’s already gone home.”
“No, it’s you we want a word with Miss Gardner. I believe that’s a camera you’re hiding with your left hand?” He moved closer.
“No...” She protested but already he held his hand out and without anywhere to hide it, she handed the small silver box over. He knew her name and it was obvious she had been watched.
“Thank you Miss. Well what do we have here? Working a bit of overtime are we?”
Nadya rubbed her hands nervously and smiled apologetically, “Yes Inspector.”
“With a camera?” His sceptical look froze her smile. “A spy camera I believe they are called in popular fiction?” At these words her smile vanished.
Bryers instructed Casey to secure the still open safe. Nadya gave him the key. Then Bryers motioned forwards one of the uniformed officers. “Miss Nadya Gardner, I’m arresting you for suspected espionage and theft of state secrets in breach of the Official Secrets Act. You have the right to remain silent, although you are warned that anything you do say may be used in evidence against you.”
For Nadya the game was up. She did not know whether she had been seen previously and reported or if her recent stress had aroused suspicion. Perhaps Lorand had been watched and their meetings had been observed and that was why had fled?

The cell had been cold and the glare of the light against the pale walls had given her a headache. Nadya had been brought into the interrogation room by a female police officer. On the other side of the table sat Bryers and Casey. They stood as she was brought in and Bryers offered her a chair and a cigarette and generally seemed quite jovial and concerned about her welfare. Lorand had once impressed on her what to say and do in just such a situation. Even so, she felt very nervous facing these two experienced detectives of the Special Branch.

Bryers stubbed out his cigarette and Casey began noting what was said in his thick notebook. “Miss Gardner, it would be fair at the beginning to warn you that we’ve had our eye on your activities at the War Office for some time and we have evidence of your copying of vital confidential information and assisting in its transmission out of the country. It will be easier all round if you admit these crimes now and make a full statement.”
He had hoped this would dissuade any attempts by Nadya to deny her activities. She didn’t know what evidence, but felt sure they were not bluffing. He continued by outlining her career thus far and her current duties. She nodded at the appropriate places to confirm information, of which Bryers seemed to have copious amounts of.
“Now. Let us turn to the events of yesterday evening. What time did Major Hargreaves leave the office?”
“About ten to five.”
“What time did the typist Mrs Witherstock leave the office?”
“She left at five, as normal.” Nadya finished her cigarette with a final large drag. Wendy had been her escape clause, but it seemed hard to figure how to invoke this security blanket.
“And you remained behind?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I had a letter to finish and it was fairly urgent so I wanted to make sure it was ready for the Major’s signature in the morning.”
Bryers’ face betrayed his familiar sceptical look at this excuse. “Yes we found that on the Major’s desk. Did you stay late at work regularly?”
“Not regularly, perhaps a couple of times a week at most. Whenever something needs finishing off. Wendy stayed a couple of times too.”
“How long do these stints of overtime last on average?”
“About ten, twenty minutes I suppose.” Her voice betrayed her lie.
“The porter on the main door seems to indicate a slightly longer stint of overtime. More like forty or fifty minutes some days.” Bryers was recalling from memory. Obviously her actions had aroused some suspicion.
She shrugged. “Maybe. I can’t remember exactly. Anyway, it’s not a crime to work ovetime. Many people do it.”
“Indeed. My poor wife often complains at my long hours. However, the criminality of your actions depends on what you do during those times. So, returning to our narrative. You finished the letter, put in on the Major’s desk and then you decided to open the safe and do some photography of its contents?”
For once this was not her intention and Nadya could deny it. “It may look like that.”
“Tell me, how often did you open the safe when you were alone in that office and photograph the contents? As often as you so diligently stayed behind to finish your work?”
“No. I never had before.”
“So this was the first time you opened the safe and photographed the contents with an ingenious miniature camera?”
“It may look like that but I wasn’t.” Nadya knew the lie was thin, but it was the best she could hope for.
“I’m no expert on espionage Miss Gardner. But it would seem to me that a novice safebreaker does not possess a full bag of tools. Why would you have such a camera unless those reports were valuable and if you were frequently opening the safe and copying large amounts of paper? Too much to copy by hand and papers too sensitive to copy by Photostat, especially as the machine is easily accessible and you could be observed using it.” Bryers had turned on some of his more forceful manner, and Nadya shifted in her seat. He changed tack. “That camera is a nifty piece of work. Small and easily concealable. Who gave it to you?”
“It was Major Hargreaves’ camera I was going to send it for repairs.”
Bryers wasn’t impressed. “Was it the same man who develops the film for you?”
“I told you, it belongs to Major Hargreaves.”
“It’s a pity then that he says it’s not his and that he has never seen it before. It’s not the sort of camera you can simply pick up in Woolworth’s either. Miss, please don’t take us for fools. We’ve searched your flat and found no trace of photographic chemicals or dark room equipment. To work with film like this would require special equipment not easily bought over the counter. I put it to you than someone supplied you with this camera specifically to copy the documents in your charge and to pass that information back to them for transmission outside the country to, as the cliché goes, a foreign power.”
Nadya sighed and dropped her head. “Allright. I’ll tell the truth. It was Wendy who gave me the camera. She told me to photograph the documents…”
“When she types the reports herself and could easily slip in some carbon paper?” Bryers scoffed. “It’s not as though there is motive there either.”
“She was blackmailing me.”
Bryers broke into a grin and almost started to laugh. “Miss Gardner, with all respect you are a compulsive liar. You haven’t told us one shred of truth; your entire testimony is a tissue of lies from start to finish. We already have more than enough evidence to charge you with unlawful copying of official information. That’s bad enough. But if you try to conceal the fact that you are working for an agent of another country, an agent we know you were personally involved with then you’ll only make things worse for yourself. Do you know the penalty for treason?” He was icily cool; he hoped the thought of the gallows might make her bargain for clemency.
Nadya remained silent. “Anyway, we know that it could not have been Mrs Witherstock who ordered you to take those photographs. Unless your associate, Major Lorand Utassy de Uljak, has taken to wearing a wig.” From underneath some of the papers on the desk, Casey revealed a photograph of Nadya and Lorand together in St. James Park. “Do you know this man?”
“Yes. That is Lorand.”
“Just for the record Casey, you’d better note that Lorand is Major de Uljak, former Military Attaché of the Hungarian Government and ex-member of the diplomatic corps at the Hungarian Embassy.”
Nadya let out a sob.

28 Whitely Court Road, Birmingham, Thursday 18th April

It was a comfortable but spartan front room. Three chairs, a small table, a sideboard, radio, mementos and photographs on the mantelpiece and the usual rustic scene hanging above. The fire was lit and provided some warmth on this dark and grey autumn day. Mrs Gardner had just brought through the tea and had closed the door as Casey took out his trusty notebook.
“How can I help you Inspector?” Thomas Gardner stirred his tea. “Sugar?”
“No thank you Mr Gardner. I’m afraid I have a rather bad piece of news for you.”
Thomas was taken aback. He had assumed they were here on business connected with his work. “It concerns your sister, Nadya.”
“Is she all right? Has something happened to her?” He had visions of seeing his elder sister knocked down by a London cabbie or succumbing to some aliment.
“Yes. Something has happened to her. She has been arrested for espionage.” Bryers sipped his tea.
Thomas was shocked. He knew she worked at the War Office but never thought she would be mixed up in anything like this. “Neddie, arrested for spying? Are you sure?”
“Positive Mr Gardner. There is conclusive evidence of her crimes and less evidence of somewhat greater crimes. That is why we are here.”
“Do mother and father know about this?” Thomas nearly split his tea.
“Not yet. They will be informed in due course. We’ll have to make enquiries with them in due course.” Bryers knew that would be his next port of call on returning to London.
“You said greater crimes? What greater crimes?”
“Mr Gardner. We’ve suspected for some time that your sister has been involved with a group of operatives working for the military intelligence of a foreign nation. You work at BSA do you not as a draughtsman?”
“Yes. But what has that got to do with Neddie?”
“We have to make sure that there are no additional leaks of information. Your sister dealt with important documents at the War Office and was passing them onto other agents. You work in the armaments industry. Therefore you understand we have to be sure that we can eliminate you from our enquiries.”
“You think I would spy with my sister?” Thomas was shocked at the suggestion and somewhat put out by it.
“It’s a possibility. Mr Gardner, in my job I have to look at all the possibilities. You must understand the charges against her are the most serious and that coupled with your employment and your mother’s membership of the Pan Slavic League that we must be diligent in our enquires. Did your sister ever approach you directly or enquire indirectly about your work?”
“No. She was never into that sort of thing, engineering drawings and such. She never showed any interest beyond making sure I was getting on ok and happy.”
“So you’ve never supplied information to her.”
“No, she has never asked for anything and I’ve never given her anything.” Bryers knew that he had been thoroughly investigated the previous summer and that he had been declared clean, but he had to make sure. Blood was often thicker than water in his experience.
“When did you last see her?”
“About four months ago at our wedding.”
“Did you notice any changes in her, or did she mention any problems at work or in her personal life.”
“No. She seemed happy enough, why wouldn’t she? A good job and city living. It suited her. I noticed nothing out of the ordinary, she was just her normal self.”
“What do you know of her boyfriends etc.?” Bryers again took a sip of tea.
“Nothing. Neddie never talked much about such things with me. I know she made a few poor choices, that’s just her. She can’t seem to avoid rogues.”
“Rogues?” Bryers’ right eyebrow raised slightly.
“Well you know, smooth talking chaps with all the chat and who know how to dress. Not unwilling to take a punt, even if it’s illegal. Conmen, that sort of rogue. It’s her failing I suppose, but as long as she’s happy I saw no great danger in it. She seems to have her heard screwed on most of the time.” Bryers nearly betrayed a wry smile at this description of her.
“So you’ve never heard her speak of a Lorand Utassy de Uljak?”
Thomas shook his head. “No. Never. Is he the foreign chap you suspect?” Thomas at that moment felt like going to London and giving this ‘rogue’ a good thumping.
“He forms part of our enquires. Did she have money troubles?” Bryers knew her account was flush, but played dumb.
“I don’t think so. She never asked me for money if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Was she a member of the Pan Slavic League?”
“Lord no. Neddie would never join something like that. She was never much into politics and she couldn’t even name more than two eastern nations. Even so, she wouldn’t join any club mother was a member of. She likes going out and having a good time. The League is a glorified bingo hall for geriatric types who dream about the old days."
“Well you’ve been most helpful Mr Gardner and I don’t think we need take up more of your time. I must ask you not to discuss any of this with your parents or anybody else. We’ll be speaking to them in due course. I’ll try and arrange an opportunity for you to see her if I can. Bail is most unlikely to be granted.”

Monday 22 April

Byers’ investigations soon concluded. The parents were devastated that their daughter had betrayed the nation, her mother more so having emigrated here. It was clear they knew nothing of their daughter’s real life during the past year. They did not suspect all the intense checks that had been made the previous summer and periodically thereafter on them.
Nadya refused to confess who she was working for, it was clear her and Lorand were lovers and that was as much as she admitted. She hoped the circumstantial evidence would protect him and prevent any conclusive proof that she was guilty of treason.

It was about then that Nadya was brought into a small room inside Holloway prison. She expected to see Bryers, but instead another man was standing behind the desk. A small, slim official looking man in tweeds. The female prison guard stepped outside.
“Please Miss Gardner, have a seat.” The mysterious man had a smooth and gentle voice. He took the spectacles off his face and began rubbing them on his tie. “My name is Mr Standfast. I am not a police officer, but an employee of a government department interested in your case.”
“You are from the secret service?” Nadya asked in a suspicious tone.
“I believe that is the common name applied in popular fiction and boy’s comics. I prefer government department. However, I won’t deny it.”
Nadya let out a sharp sigh. “How nice of you. What do you want?”
“Do you know that you are an official member of Hungarian Military Intelligence?” He stopped rubbing his glasses and his eyes bore into Nadya’s. He put the spectacles back on. “You don’t believe me? Well it’s true. In the basement of the military intelligence headquarters in Budapest there is a filing cabinet and in it is an index card bearing your name and particulars. All agents are recorded and we know the card exists.”
He paced around the room as Nadya watched him, silent. “You see we know all about you. Where you went to school, your friends, membership of bridge clubs, your affair with de Uljak and your activities at the War Office and precisely what reports you leaked. We know about the Midland Bank account into which you deposit the money he gives you in return for your copied secret documents. As to the man who you are trying to protect, he has probably been put against the wall and shot by his own people. We even know about the reports you made on the Pan-Slavic League. So you see, you may as well cooperate with us.”
Nadya closed her eyes, partly to stop herself from crying and partly to release her anguish. “Tell me what you want.”
“Information. Everything you can tell us about de Uljak and his other networks and operations.”
Nadya could see the gallows receding. “And in return?”
“Perhaps the charge would only be espionage rather than treason? If you don’t cooperate it can do only harm. Public disgrace for your family and at the worst the long walk for you.” His eyes bored into hers again, but she could see pity on his face. She had a choice, betray her family and country or betray her lover. A man who may have already betrayed her. Finally she spoke. “I accept your offer. I have no other choice.” The man nodded and got up to call the guard.

"Well. What did Miss Gardner's interview reveal?" Control seemed grumpier than usual. The various men around the table shuffled papers or flicked their cigarettes in the ashtrays.
"She provided very cooperative. She told us about her involvement with de Uljak and some useful information regarding his operations from the embassy."
Control began flicking the pages of the transcript in front of him; "Is there anything in here we didn't know before?"
"She mentioned another of his network. It seems one day last January Uljak got her to post a parcel to another agent. The parcel was addressed to a Mr. Stanley Fitchett of Sevastopol Terrace, Southampton. She got curious and asked Uljak some roundabout questions and he told her Fitchett was the workname of Horace Bracken, a shipping agent who he had recruited some time earlier. She did not know what intelligence he provided, but we assume it was naval and shipping information."
Control let out a brief snort, "We should let our colleagues in MI5 deal with him. He might lead us to others perhaps. We need to have him brought in as soon as possible, he's probably already gone to ground."
George Smiley had been wiping his glasses while Control spoke, now he took up the thread again; "It seems there is no connection that she is aware of between Uljak's information and Germany."
"Are you sure of that?"
"I didn't press the topic but she seemed not to know what the ultimate destination of Uljak's reports were."
Control thought a moment before speaking; "So he didn't brag about it to her? Perhaps he didn't know either? In which case Homlok must of got wind something was wrong and recalled him. It's doubtful they spotted inaccuracies themselves as they relied on Uljak's reports and he would not send contradictory information which undermined his own source, Miss Gardner. Therefore someone else made the connection, someone who has oversight of the fuller picture." Control's eyes shifted along the table towards someone else; "What of the German we have our eyes on? Has he attempted to make contact with Uljak's successor, Esterhazy?"
"No Control, as far as we know he has made no direct overtures or visits to the Hungarian Embassy that we are aware of."
A faint smile crossed Control's face, "Then we must assume he has been warned off of doing so by his superiors. Therefore they must have already known about our ploy and tipped off Homlok. Schellenburg is no ordinary agent, he is their best. I want both men continually watched for the time being. In the meantime have Mr. Fitchett collected and then we can continue our smokescreen."

14 April
The first new residents of Hemel Hempstead New Town have moved into their new houses in the first housing areas of the town to be built, Longlands and Adeyfield. This comes just over two years after planning began.


21 April
The world-renowned economist John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, has died following the latest of a series of heart attacks. He leaves behind a personal estate of investments worth around £500,000, despite lavish support for various good causes and his personal ethic which made him reluctant to sell on a falling market in cases where he saw such behaviour as likely to deepen a slump. Keynes also built up a substantial collection of fine art, including works, not all of them minor, by Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Amedeo Modigliani, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, and Georges Seurat. He enjoyed collecting books and he collected and protected many of Isaac Newton's papers.

25 April
Members of the Stern Gang have killed seven British soldiers guarding a military car park in Tel Aviv during an attack. Two members were killed in the ensuing firefight.

27 April
The FA Cup final is won by Derby County, beating Charlton Athletic 4-1 at Wembley Stadium.

13 May
The National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS) has been established to advise the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

20 May
The House of Commons votes on a Bill to nationalise coal industry. After much heated debate, the Bill is passed by a majority of just five votes.