<![CDATA[On the 8th day of December Royal Central gives to you, another door to open on our very special Royal countdown to Christmas.
The year we are heading back to today saw the outbreak of the Second World War, 1939.
What did The King have to say?
1939 saw the outbreak of the Second World War and consequently this firmly established the tradition of the Royal Christmas message. King George VI spoke from Sandringham House offering his people some reassurance. Hear that message below:
And just what happened in that year?
- 2nd January- All time highest attendance for a UK Association football league game as 118,730 people watch Rangers vs Celtic at Ibrox Park.
- 25th February- The first Anderson shelter is built in London.
- 31st March- Britain pledges its support to Poland in the event of invasion.
- 11th April- The Women’s Royal Naval Service is re-established.
- 6th May- The film Goodbye, Mr Chips is released.
- 28th June- The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force is established.
- 1st July- The Women’s Land Army is re-formed to work in agriculture.
- 25th August- IRA bomb explodes in Coventry, killing 25 people.
- 3rd September- Declaration of war by the United Kingdom on Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Poland on 1st September.
- 17th October- First bomb lands on UK soil at Hoy in the Orkney Islands.
- 4th November- Stewart Menzies is appointed head of the Secret Intelligence Service.
- 12th December- Destroyer HMS Duchess sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the Mull of Kintyre in heavy fog.
But just what happened Royally?
- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth took part in a Royal tour of Canada. It was the first visit of a reigning Monarch to Canada.
- Following their Canada trip, the King and Queen visited the United States of America. It was the first time a British Monarch had ever set foot in the USA.
- A 13 year old Princess Elizabeth met with her future husband, Prince Philip, for the first time at Dartmouth College.
- King George VI delivers his most famous speech at the outbreak of the Second World War.
- The Duke of Windsor is appointed a major-general attached to the British Military Mission to France.
- Prince George, Duke of Kent is elected as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.
- Queen Mary made a visit to Birmingham.
- At the outbreak of World War 2, Mary, Princess Royal was made chief controller and later controller commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
- On the 3rd December, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll died aged 91. She was the sixth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
As mentioned one of the most famous speeches in history was delivered by King George VI on the outbreak of the Second World War. See part of that speech below:
In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself.For the second time in the lives of most of us we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict. For we are called, with our allies, to meet the challenge of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilised order in the world.
Anything that you can add about 1939, then please comment below.
Featured Photo Credit: ogoco
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