Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The coalition wartime prime minister was Liberal Party leader Lloyd George, who
was put in charge of the war effort and given much of the credit for the Allies' military
success. Lloyd George said he wanted to create “a land fit for heroes,” but recession
following the war delivered only unemployment—particularly in the industrial heart-
lands, which had produced coal, iron, steel, and ships for the war.
In 1926 the coal miners walked off the job because pit owners wanted to increase
hours and reduce wages. It led to a General Strike, but there was significant opposi-
tion owing to a fear of Communisim after the 1918 Russian Revolution. It was a time
of social unrest, particularly in Ireland. In 1916 the Easter Week Rebellion in Dublin
by republicans started a civil war, which ended in 1922 with an Irish Free State
breaking away from Northern Ireland and the U.K. after Prime Minister Lloyd
George signed the Irish Agreement in 1921.
Work started in 1922 on the Stadium of the British Empire Exhibition, which was
to take place in 1924, but the first event at what was to be called simply
Wembley
Stadium
was the 1923 Football Association Cup—or FA Cup—between West Ham
and Bolton. It was dubbed the White Horse Cup Final when police on horses had to
control the 200,000-plus spectators who had forced their way into the stadium, which
had a capacity of 127,000. Bolton won 2-0 and the FA Cup was held there every year
until 2000, when the stadium was demolished and a new one built.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in an even more chaotic decade, with the
Great Depression causing massive unemployment in the old industrial areas, although
the Midlands and the Southeast were less affected. There were high points, though,
despite the Depression. Sir Malcolm Campbell beat his own world land speed record
at Daytona Beach in Florida in 1932, driving his distinctive Bluebird car at
241.773mph. You can see the Bluebird at the
National Motor Museum
in Beaulieu,
Hampshire (p. 303), as well as other famous exhibits including several James Bond
vehicles and the flying Ford Anglia from
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
.
King George V died in 1936, and was succeeded by Edward VIII. But Edward's
plan to marry divorced American Wallace Simpson caused a constitutional crisis. As
head of the Church of England he could not marry a divorcée, so he abdicated after
327 days and the crown passed to his brother George VI.
By September 1939, Britain was at war again, and Oscar-winning film
The King's
Speech
tells the story of how George VI announced the start of World War II. How-
ever, the emerging national hero was Winston Churchill (knighted by the present
Queen Elizabeth in 1953). As prime minister Churchill became the symbol of Brit-
ain's fighting spirit during World War II. In May and June 1940, during the Dunkirk
evacuation, 338,000 British and allied troops were rescued against all odds from the
beaches of Normandy in northern France and brought safely back to England. They
were saved by hundreds of little boats as well as Royal Navy ships as the nation
famously “pulled together.” It prompted one of Churchill's most famous Parliamen-
tary speeches: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never
surrender.” The
Churchill War Rooms
(p. 97) in London's King Charles Street
brings the conflict to life for visitors of all ages.
In June 1940 Churchill announced: “… the Battle of France is over. I expect that
the Battle of Britain is about to begin.” France surrendered 4 days later and by July
German fighter planes were attacking shipping in the English Channel and coastal
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