1986 in the United Kingdom

1986 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1986 in the United Kingdom. It is particularly noted for the "Big Bang" deregulation of the financial markets.
Incumbents
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
Parliament – 49th
Events
January
January – The Vauxhall Belmont compact saloon goes on sale, giving buyers a traditional saloon alternative to the Astra hatchback and estate models. The car would remain in production until September 1991.
9 January – Michael Heseltine resigns as Defence Secretary over the Westland affair.
12 January – The game show Catchphrase begins on ITV hosted by Roy Walker along with the computer generated character Mr. Chips. It concludes in 2002, but is revived in 2013.
14 January – The Salafi jihadist group al-Muhajiroun begins to operate in the UK.
20 January – The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel, which they hope to open by the early-1990s.
24 January – Leon Brittan resigns as Trade and Industry Secretary over the Westland affair.
31 January – Unemployment for this month has increased to 3,204,900 – a postwar high which accounts for 14.4% of the workforce.
February
February
Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures affect most of Britain during the month.
The British-built Peugeot 309 goes on sale in Britain, four months after its continental launch. It is built at the former Rootes/Chrysler factory at Ryton, near Coventry which is also set to produce a larger Peugeot saloon model from next year.
6 February – The UK Government scraps plans to sell Austin Rover to Ford.
12 February – The Franco-British Channel Fixed Link Treaty is signed at Canterbury as the Channel Tunnel plans move forward.
15 February – In the Wapping dispute, fifty-eight people are arrested by police at a demonstration.
17 February – The UK signs the Single European Act.
March
March – Ford launches a new generation of its big-selling Escort and Orion ranges.
4 March – The national tabloid newspaper Today launches from Wapping. It pioneers the use of computer photo typesetting and full-colour offset printing at a time when British national newspapers are still using Linotype machines and letterpress.
5 March – The High Court disqualifies and fines 81 Labour councillors for failing to set a rate.
13 March – The Sun newspaper alleges that comedian Freddie Starr ate a live hamster.
18 March – Inheritance tax replaces Capital Transfer Tax.
19 March – Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson; they will be married later this year.
23 March – Chelsea F.C. are the first winners of the Football League's new Full Members Cup, beating Manchester City 5–4 in the final at Wembley, although Manchester City clawed the deficit to a single goal in the last five minutes after being 5–1 down.
29 March – The first high-speed catamaran ferry is introduced into service in the British Isles, HSC Our Lady Patricia on Sealink British Ferries' Portsmouth–Ryde passage.
31 March
The Greater London Council is abolished, as are the metropolitan county councils of West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.
A fire causes extensive damage at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey.
The Haig Pit, Whitehaven, Cumbria closes.
April
April – Hanson Trust concludes its takeover of the Imperial Group for £2.5 billion.
1 April
The extension of London Underground's Piccadilly line to Heathrow Terminal 4 is opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana). Trains do not stop at the station until 12 April.
Establishment of National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside group of institutions, funded through national government.
7 April – Clive Sinclair sells rights to ZX Spectrum and other inventions to Amstrad.
15 April – The Shops Bill 1986, which would have liberalised Sunday shopping, is defeated in the House of Commons on its second reading, the last time that a government bill will fall at this stage, one of only four defeats in the Commons for Mrs Thatcher and the only time an entire government bill is defeated during her tenure.
17 April
Journalist John McCarthy is kidnapped in Beirut, where three other hostages are found dead. The Revolutionary Cells (RZ) claims responsibility as revenge for the recent American bombing of Libya. McCarthy will be held for more than 5 years.
A treaty is signed to end the supposed Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly.
20 April – Oxford United F.C., who joined the Football League only in 1962 and are in the First Division for the first time, win the Football League Cup with a 3–0 win over Queens Park Rangers at Wembley.
24 April – Wallis, Duchess of Windsor dies in her home in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, aged 89, outliving her husband (the former King Edward VIII) by fourteen years.
28 April – The first phase of the MetroCentre, Europe's largest indoor shopping centre, in Gateshead, is opened. The remainder of the centre is set to open this autumn.
29 April – The Duchess of Windsor is buried at Frogmore.
30 April – Rioting erupts overnight in prisons across Britain. Dozens of prisoners escape, while prisoners at Stafford Prison set the prison canteen alight by smashing windows and dumping a burning mattress onto the roof. The worst disturbances come at Northeye Prison in Sussex, where a 70-strong mob of prisoners takes over the jail and sets fire to the canteen, hospital wing and sports hall.
May
May – The last Talbot badged passenger cars are built in Britain and France by Peugeot who will continue making their own cars at the former Rootes Group plant near Coventry and the former Simca production facilities in France. Peugeot is to continue the Talbot brand for commercial vehicles and production of the Horizon range will continue in Spain and Finland until next year.
5 May – Liverpool win the Football League First Division title for a record 16th time after winning 1–0 at Chelsea. Kenny Dalglish, in his first season as the club's player-manager, scores the goal which gives Liverpool the title.
8 May
Labour makes large gains in local council elections, collecting 37% of the votes nationally compared to the Conservatives on 34% and the Alliance on 26%. These are the first national elections to be held since the recent abolition of the metropolitan councils.
Former Labour MP and life peer Manny Shinwell, Baron Shinwell dies at the age of 101, making him the second longest-lived British MP until 2008.
10 May – The first all-Merseyside FA Cup final ends in a 3–1 win for Liverpool over Everton, who become only the third team this century to win the double, having already secured the Football League First Division title.
20 May – The Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act revises the prohibited degree of kinship for marriage.
21 May – The Harrison Birtwistle opera The Mask of Orpheus premieres in London.
June
10 June – Patrick Joseph Magee is found guilty of the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment.
12 June
Derek Hatton, leader of Liverpool council, is expelled from the Labour Party for belonging to the entryist Militant group.
Austin Rover is renamed the Rover Group four years after the name change from British Leyland.
14 June – The Queen rides to Trooping the Colour on horseback for the last time.
23 June – Patrick Magee is jailed for life for the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing as well as other IRA bombings.
24 June – Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party stage protest at dissolution of Northern Ireland Assembly.
29 June
Richard Branson beats the speed record for a transatlantic crossing by boat in Virgin Atlantic Challenger II but is denied the Blue Riband award.
The Association football World Cup ends in Mexico with Argentina as winners and West Germany runners-up, but England's Gary Lineker wins the Golden Boot, having finished as the competition's leading scorer with six goals. Lineker, who has been at Everton for the last year and is the First Division's top scorer, is reported to be on the verge of a transfer to FC Barcelona of Spain.
July
July – Nissan begins production of the Bluebird at its landmark factory near Sunderland.
1 July – Gary Lineker becomes the most expensive British footballer ever in a £2.75 million move from Everton to FC Barcelona.
2 July – 24 hours after Gary Lineker's transfer, Ian Rush sets a new transfer record for a British footballer when he agrees a £3.2 million move from Liverpool to Juventus of Italy, but is loaned back to Liverpool for a season and will not play his first game for Juventus until at least August 1987.
4 July – A policeman is cleared of the manslaughter of five-year-old John Shorthouse, who was killed in an armed raid on a house in Birmingham in August last year.
10 July – Austin Rover launches its new Honda-based Rover 800 executive car, which replaces the decade-old Rover SD1 and is part of a joint venture with Japanese carmaker Honda. The car will also be sold in the United States under the Sterling marque. The Honda version will be badged as the Honda Legend.
12 July – Rioting breaks out at Portadown in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics.
17 July – It is announced that unemployment rose to 3,220,400 in June. It has now exceeded 3 million for nearly five years.
23 July – Prince Andrew, Duke of York, marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.
24 July–2 August – The Commonwealth Games are held in Edinburgh.
25 July
Building Societies Act allows building societies to offer the same personal finance services as banks. The Bank of England withdraws its guidance on mortgage loans.
Social Security Act introduces Family Credit, a tax credit for low-paid workers with children.
28 July – Estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanishes after a meeting in London. She is declared legally dead in 1994, but as of 2021, her body will still not have been found and no-one will have been formally charged with her murder.
30 July – A MORI poll shows that Labour are now nine points ahead of the Conservatives with 41% of the vote, with Liberal/SDP Alliance support now at 25%.
August
4 August – Mathematician Simon Donaldson is awarded a Fields Medal.
8 August – Rival gangs of Manchester United and West Ham United fans clash on a Sealink ferry bound for Amsterdam where the two clubs are playing pre-season friendlies. The UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions is continuing for a second season, and there are now fears that English clubs may not even be able to play friendlies overseas.
13 August – The Eurotunnel Group is formed to operate the Channel Tunnel.
15 August – The latest MORI poll shows that the Conservatives have eliminated Labour's nine-point lead and drawn level with them by gaining 37% in the latest opinion poll, in the space of just over two weeks.
16 August – Figures released by the government reveal that a record of nearly 3,100,000 people claimed Unemployment Benefit last month, although the official total of unemployed people in Britain is still short of the record of nearly 3,300,000 which was set two years ago.
19 August – The privatisation of the National Bus Company begins with the first sale of a bus operating subsidiary, Devon General, in a management buyout.
22 August – John Stalker, deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester police, is cleared of misconduct over allegations of associating with criminals.
25 August – Economists warn that a global recession is imminent, barely five years after the previous recession.
29 August
Britain's oldest twins, May and Marjorie Chavasse, celebrate their one-hundredth birthday.
Highest national average 24-hour total rainfall until 2020.
c. August – The one-millionth council house in the United Kingdom is sold to its tenants in Scotland, seven years after the Right To Buy scheme was launched.
September
September – GCSE examination courses replace both GCE 'O' Level and CSE courses for 14-year-olds.
6 September – First episode of medical drama serial Casualty airs on BBC One. It will still be running on television more than thirty years later.
8 September – Margaret Thatcher officially opens the first phase of the Nissan car factory at Sunderland, which has been in use for two months. It is the first car factory to be built in Europe by a Japanese carmaker.
13 September – Motorcyclist Neil Robinson, 24, dies after his motorcycle crashes on the Oliver's Mount racing circuit in Scarborough during a practice session.
14 September – Fears of another recession in Britain are eased by economists at Liverpool University predicting 3.1% economic growth next year.
18 September – It is announced that unemployment rose to 3,280,106 in July.
19 September – A man is killed in the Colwich rail crash.
24 September – The flotation of the Trustee Savings Banks attracts a record of more than 4 million applications for shares.
October
7 October – The first edition of The Independent national morning newspaper is published in London.
9 October
"Babes in the Wood" murders: two girls, Nicola Fellows (aged nine) and Karen Hadaway (aged 10), are reported missing in Moulsecoomb, Brighton.
Musical The Phantom of the Opera opens at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
10 October – "Babes in the Wood" murders: two bodies found in Wild Park, Brighton, are identified as those of the two girls reported missing yesterday and a murder investigation is launched.
12 October – Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China, the first ever visit to the country by a British monarch.
14 October – The MetroCentre, a shopping complex built on the Tyneside Enterprise Zone, is opened. It is similar in concept to the Merry Hill Shopping Centre that is being developed near Dudley in the West Midlands. The MetroCentre is officially the largest shopping complex in Europe. Among the MetroCentre's tenants is Marks & Spencer, whose department store there is its first out of town outlet.
24 October – The UK breaks off diplomatic relations with Syria over links to the Hindawi affair.
26 October
Bus deregulation begins in the United Kingdom, except Greater London and Northern Ireland.
Jeffrey Archer resigns as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party over allegations concerning prostitutes.
27 October
"Big Bang Day": London Stock Exchange is computerised, and opens to foreign companies.
The Australian TV soap Neighbours is launched on BBC One, more than a year after debuting in its native country.
28 October – Jeremy Bamber is found guilty of the 1985 "White House Farm murders" of his parents, sister and twin nephews in Essex, and is sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 25 years and as of 2021 will still be in prison.
29 October – Margaret Thatcher opens the completed M25 London Orbital Motorway, the first section of which opened in 1975. It covers a distance of 122 miles and features 31 junctions, although there are no service stations yet.
30 October – Children and young people's telephone counselling charity Childline begins taking calls.
November
November
First UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the U.K. designated: Giant's Causeway and the Causeway Coast (Northern Ireland); Durham Castle and Cathedral; Ironbridge Gorge; Studley Royal Park (including the ruins of Fountains Abbey); Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; and Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (Wales).
Launch of the second generation Vauxhall Carlton, largest model in the Vauxhall range. It will be sold as the Opel Omega on the continent, and all European versions of the car will be built in West Germany.
3 November – The Conservatives top a MORI poll for the first time this year, coming one point ahead of Labour with 40% of the vote. Liberal/SDP Alliance support has slumped to 18%.
6 November
45 oil platform workers and flight crew are killed in the 1986 British International Helicopters Chinook crash on the approach to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland, with just 2 survivors.
Chancellor Nigel Lawson announces a £4.6 billion rise in public spending.
Alex Ferguson is appointed manager of Manchester United football club following the dismissal of Ron Atkinson after more than five years in charge. United won two FA Cups under the management of Atkinson but have not won the league title since 1967 and are now second from bottom in the Football League First Division. Ferguson will hold the post for 26 years.
7 November
Sir James Goldsmith's £5 billion bid for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is rejected.
Education (No. 2) Act 1986 requires increased representation of parents in the governance of schools, abolishes school corporal punishment in the state sector, and gives universities a duty to protect freedom of speech.
13 November – It is announced that unemployment fell by 96,000 in October.
18 November – Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who are both still in prison 20 years after their Moors Murders convictions, confess to the murders of two missing children – Pauline Reade, who vanished in July 1963 at the age of 16, and Keith Bennett, who was last seen in June 1964 at the age of 12.
20 November – Greater Manchester Police begin their search for the two newly identified Moors Murders victims.
21 November – The Government launches a £20 million campaign to warn members of the public about the dangers of AIDS.
December
December – The first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is diagnosed in British cattle.
1 December – The government launches an inquiry into financial irregularities at Guinness.
3 December – 4 million people apply for shares in British Gas in anticipation of flotation next week.
4 December – 20-year-old roofer Russell Bishop is charged with the "Babes in the Wood" murders in Brighton two months ago but will not be convicted until a second trial in 2018.
8 December – British Gas shares are floated on the Stock Exchange. The initial public offering of 135p per share values the company at £9 billion, the highest equity offering ever at this time.
17 December – The world's first heart, lung and liver transplant is carried out at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire.
18 December – It is announced that unemployment fell to a four-year low of less than 3,100,000 in November. On 15 January 1987 it is announced that unemployment has fallen in December 1986 for the fifth month in succession.
22 December – David Penhaligon, a leading Liberal Party MP, dies in a car crash near Truro in his Cornwall constituency at the age of 42.
25 December – The highest audience of all time for a British television drama is attracted by the Christmas Day episode of EastEnders, the BBC 1 soap opera, in which Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) serves the divorce papers on his wife Angie (Anita Dobson) after discovering that she had feigned a terminal illness to try to stop him from leaving her in an episode aired in October this year. More than 30 million viewers tune in for the episode of the TV series which first went on air in February 1985.
29 December – Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton and former Prime Minister, dies at his home, Birch Grove in East Sussex, aged 92, the oldest former Prime Minister until 2005.
Undated
Inflation reaches a 19-year low of 3.4%.
Publications
Janet and Allan Ahlberg's children's book The Jolly Postman.
Kingsley Amis's novel The Old Devils.
Jeffrey Archer's novel A Matter of Honour.
Iain Banks' novel The Bridge.
John le Carré's novel A Perfect Spy.
Richard Dawkins' book The Blind Watchmaker.
Brian Jacques' children's fantasy novel Redwall, first in the eponymous series.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel The Light Fantastic.
Births
January
1 January
Anna Brewster, actress and model
James Cottriall, English-born Austrian singer and musician
Colin Morgan, actor
2 January – Rob Beckett, comedian, narrator, and presenter
3 January – Liam Treadwell, National Hunt jockey (died 2020)
4 January – James Milner, footballer
6 January – Alex Turner, musician
7 January – Liam Fontaine, footballer
8 January – Emika, electronic musician
9 January – Craig Davies, footballer
10 January – Abbey Clancy, model and television personality
11 January
Kamara Bacchus, actress and radio personality
Kelly Chambers, footballer
Liam Coleman, footballer
Terry Etim, mixed martial artist
Rachel Riley, television presenter
12 January
Edward Drake, Olympic skier
Chris Evangelou, actor and boxer
Kieron Richardson, actor
13 January – Rosalind Canter, equestrian
17 January
Nicholas D. Cooper, actor
Lucy Evangelista, model and pageant winner
18 January – John Farnworth, football freestyler, entertainer, actor, and World Record holder
20 January – Hannah Daniel, actress
22 January – Ella Edmondson, singer/songwriter
23 January – Anne Foy, children's television presenter
24 January
Mischa Barton, British-born American actress
Oliver Brennand, rugby player
Montell Douglas, Olympic sprinter and bobsleigher
26 January
Luke Bowen, speedway rider
Danny Crow, footballer
28 January
Jessica Ennis-Hill, Olympic heptathlete
Ashley Lilley, actress and singer
29 January – Mark Howard, footballer
February
1 February
Kerry Blewett, lifeguard and canoe sprinter
Joe Connor, footballer
Tom Deacon, comedian
2 February – Gemma Arterton, actress
3 February
Donald Barrell, rugby player
James DeGale, boxer
David Edwards, footballer
4 February – Lewis Chalmers, footballer
5 February – Billy Sharp, footballer
6 February – Jon-Allan Butterworth, Paralympic cyclist
7 February – Ben Batt, actor
8 February – James Collins, rugby player
11 February
Bim Afolami, politician
Tom Bartram, cricketer
Mark Coulson, footballer
19 February
Duncan Bradshaw, cricketer
Ophelia Lovibond, actress
21 February – Charlotte Church, singer/songwriter
23 February
Darren Cheesman, hockey player
Laura Coleman, model, social media influencer, and actress
25 February
Andrew Dick, footballer
James and Oliver Phelps, identical twin actors
27 February – Adam Bartlett, footballer
28 February – Kingsley Ben-Adir, actor
March
1 March
Joanna Blair, javelin thrower
Aaron Bramwell, rugby player
Alec Utgoff, Ukrainian-born actor
2 March
James Ashmore, footballer
Jay Conroy, footballer
3 March
Iwan Brown, rugby player
Tom Curle, footballer
5 March – Matty Fryatt, footballer and coach
6 March
Danny Jones, rugby league footballer (died 2015)
Charlie Mulgrew, footballer
7 March – Geraint Davies, rugby player
8 March – Emma Cousin, artist
11 March
Peter Bissell, cyclist
Tom Clarke, musician and frontman for The Enemy
Will Dobson, cricketer
12 March
Mat Bailey, footballer
Danny Jones, musician, singer/songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for McFly
13 March
Hannah Claydon, model
Kat Driscoll, Olympic trampoline gymnast
14 March – Jamie Bell, actor
16 March
Dave Coupland, golfer
Joe Denly, cricketer
19 March – Kane Ashcroft, footballer (died 2015)
20 March – Kirsty Blackman, politician
21 March
Samantha Bowen, Iraqi War veteran and Paralympic sitting volleyball player
Sam Nixon, singer and TV presenter
22 March
Tom Cheeseman, footballer
Eddie Dennis, wrestler
24 March
Tom Davies, rugby player
25 March
Ashleigh Ball, hockey player
Bob Davidson, footballer
26 March – Luc Bernard, video game designer and artist
28 March
Jay Curtis, television & radio broadcaster and actor
Bolu Fagborun, Nigerian-born rugby player
29 March – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, footballer
31 March
Scott Baker, darts player
Matty Collins, footballer
April
1 April – Fardad Farahzad, Iranian-born journalist
3 April – Coleen Rooney, media personality
6 April – David Avery, actor
7 April – Andi Fraggs, singer/songwriter and music producer
8 April – Liam Scarlett, choreographer (died 2021)
9 April
Doctor P, dubstep producer and DJ
Leilani Franco, contortionist
10 April
Sam Attwater, actor
Adam Connolly, footballer
Martin Drury, footballer and coach
12 April – Nick Crumpton, zoologist and children's author
13 April – Michael Bingham, Olympic track-and-field athlete
14 April – Matt Derbyshire, footballer
15 April
Chris Dagnall, footballer
Tom Heaton, footballer
16 April
Darren Campbell, footballer
Paul Di Resta, racing driver
17 April – Brett Ferres, rugby player
18 April
Jordan Brookes, comedian
Gavin Cadwallader, footballer
James Dabill, motorcycle trials rider
Gareth Evans, Olympic weightlifter
21 April – Blair Cowan, rugby player
22 April – Stuart Anderson, footballer
23 April – Stuart Fleetwood, footballer
25 April – Daniel Sharman, actor
27 April – Jenna Coleman, actress
29 April – Donna Etiebet, rower
30 April – Michael Collins, footballer
May
3 May
Kell Brook, boxer
Poppy Delevingne, model
Jon-Lewis Dickinson, boxer
5 May – Brett Domino, musician and comedian
6 May – David Buchanan, footballer
7 May – Jamie Day, footballer
10 May – Liam Davies, rugby player
11 May – Marc Fitzpatrick, footballer
12 May – Luke Douglas, Australian-born rugby player
13 May
Mark Bott, cricketer
Robert Pattinson, actor
14 May – Richard Huckle, convicted sex offender (died 2019)
15 May – Tom Champion, footballer
16 May – Charlie Fink, songwriter, producer and filmmaker
17 May – Jodie Taylor, footballer
19 May – Christian Begg, cricketer
20 May
Dexter Blackstock, footballer
Robert Emms, actor
23 May – Matthew Crampton, cyclist
24 May – Charlie Casely-Hayford, fashion designer
25 May – Lauren Crace, actress and radio presenter
26 May
Fern Brady, comedian and writer
James Cockle, speedway rider
Martin Paul Eve, academic, writer, and disability rights campaigner
27 May – Conor Cummins, motorcycle racer
28 May – Laura Dockrill, author and performance poet
29 May
Anthony Barry, footballer
Danny Fox, footballer
31 May – Chris Brooker, rugby player
June
1 June – Skream, DJ and producer
3 June
Jordan Crane, rugby player
Mike Dodds, football coach
4 June
Scott Boyd, footballer
Oona Chaplin, Spanish-born actress and dancer
Nicole Emmanuel, footballer
Shelly Woods, Paralympic wheelchair racer
5 June – Charlotte Dobson, Olympic sailor
8 June – Michelle Cooper, bowler
9 June – Luis Felber, British-born Peruvian musician
10 June – Zara Dampney, Olympic beach volleyball player
12 June
Gary Buckland, boxer
Scott Flinders, footballer
Luke Youngblood, actor
13 June – Mark D. Ferguson, film director, screenwriter and camera operator
14 June – Jonathan Clare, cricketer
15 June
Jordan Andrews, composer, musician and producer
Dean Bowditch, footballer
17 June
Steven Davies, cricketer
Helen Glover, rower
18 June
Kevin Bradley, footballer
Gareth Duke, Paralympic swimmer
Ian Field, cyclo-cross cyclist
Richard Madden, actor
20 June – Alex Davies, rugby player
21 June – Stuart Abbot, footballer
23 June – Colin Ryan, actor
24 June – Stuart Broad, cricketer
25 June
Megan Burns, musician and actress
Sean Crombie, rugby player
26 June – Paddy Coupar, rugby player
27 June – Sam Claflin, actor
July
1 July – Sonoya Mizuno, Japanese-born actress, model, and ballerina
3 July – Chris Bush, playwright and artistic director
4 July
Marvin Bartley, footballer
Julia Beckett, Olympic swimmer
10 July
Tom Richards, squash player
Scott Westgarth, boxer (died 2018)
11 July
Derek Carcary, footballer
Ian Cathro, football coach
14 July – Dan Smith, singer
16 July – James Drury, English-born Virgin Islands footballer
17 July – William Easton, footballer
21 July
Michael Collins, rugby player
Rebecca Ferguson, soul singer/songwriter
22 July – Robert Campbell, footballer
24 July – Alissa Firsova, Russian-born classical composer, pianist, and conductor
25 July
Kate Butters, basketball player
Alan Clyne, squash player
26 July – Mathew Birley, footballer
29 July – FuntCase, DJ and dubstep producer
31 July – Charlie Clemmow, actress
August
1 August
Damien Allen, footballer
Daisy May Cooper, actress and writer
3 August – Rebekah Cook, motorcycle trials rider
4 August – Leon Camier, motorcycle racer
5 August – Jamie Baker, tennis player
6 August – Nick Brodie, coxswain
9 August
Robert Adcock, badminton player
Aled Brew, rugby player
10 August – Ross Burkinshaw, boxer
15 August
Teddy Sinclair, singer/songwriter
16 August
Danny Ayres, speedway racer (died 2020)
Niki Birrell, Paralympic sailor
19 August
Rachael Burford, rugby player
Zuby, rapper
20 August
Grant Anderson, footballer
Kerry Barr, curler
Steven Campbell, footballer
Andrew Surman, footballer
22 August
James Frost, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist for The Automatic
Bobby Cole Norris, television personality
Benjamin Satterley, wrestler
24 August
Jonny Cocker, racing driver
Jamie Cox, boxer
27 August – Laura Bates, feminist writer
28 August
Stuart Bithell, Olympic sailor
Paul Crook, rugby player
Florence Welch, English singer/songwriter
30 August – Theo Hutchcraft, pop musician
September
6 September
Daniel Dillon, footballer
Phil Doughty, footballer
7 September
Charlie Daniels, footballer
Jodie Turner-Smith, actress and model
11 September – Adam Dixon, hockey player
12 September
Alfie Allen, actor
Akwasi Fobi-Edusei, footballer
Dawn Foster, journalist, broadcaster, and author (died 2021)
13 September – Darren Daniel, rugby player
14 September
Paul Brannigan, actor
Joel Byrom, footballer
15 September – Jenna McCorkell, figure skater
16 September – Hasib Hussain, Islamic terrorist, murders 13 people during 7 July 2005 London bombings (suicide 2005)
17 September
Jack Adams, rugby union player (died 2021)
Rob Elvins, footballer
Ashley Foyle, footballer
Sophie, Scottish songwriter and record producer (died 2021)
18 September
Cammy Bell, footballer and coach
Keeley Hazell, model
22 September
CASisDEAD, rapper and MC
Ryan Dicker, footballer
Steven Findlay, rugby player
23 September – Lisa Farnell, Canadian-born curler
25 September – Josh Bateman, rugby player
26 September – Martin Cranie, footballer
27 September
Efe Echanomi, Nigerian-born footballer
Greg Fleming, footballer
29 September – Cerith Flinn, actor
October
1 October
Paul Edwards, boxer
Carl Finnigan, footballer
Danny Francis, footballer
2 October – Tom Hudson, actor
3 October
Alex Ball, cricketer
Calum Forrester, rugby player
4 October – Gary Boyd, golfer
6 October – Michael Eilberg, dressage rider
8 October
Louis Dodds, footballer
George Flanagan, rugby player
9 October – Sam Ashton, footballer
10 October
Jamie Conlan, boxer
Matty Dale, rugby player
Lucy Griffiths, actress
13 October
Gabby Agbonlahor, footballer
Beth Croft, Christian musician
14 October
Matt Bulman, footballer
Tom Craddock, footballer
15 October – Tommy Forecast, footballer
16 October – Craig Pickering, sprinter
17 October – Sam Foley, footballer
18 October – Aidan Collins, footballer
19 October – Anthony England, rugby player
20 October
Charlie Brown, singer/songwriter
Charlie Duffell, cricketer
Ryan Esders, rugby player
21 October – Keith Barker, cricketer
22 October
John Boyle, footballer
Phil Burleigh, rugby player
Dale Roberts, footballer (died 2010)
23 October
Emilia Clarke, actress
Lee Costello, motorcycle racer
24 October
Will Bragg, cricketer
John Ruddy, footballer
November
2 November – Cherrelle Fennell, Olympic gymnast
3 November – Scott Armstrong, rugby player
4 November – Seve Benson, golfer
6 November
Nick Aldis, wrestler
Craig Bryson, footballer
8 November
Draft, electronic music producer, DJ and songwriter
Jamie Roberts, rugby player
10 November – Travis Binnion, English-born Irish footballer and cricketer
13 November
Kevin Bridges, stand-up comedian
Adam Cox, gymnast
14 November
Richard Buck, sprinter
Matt Cook, rugby player
Ashley Fuller, footballer
15 November
Jamie Chestney, bowler
Jared Hodgkiss, footballer
16 November
Anthony Crolla, boxer
Ayden Duffy, footballer
17 November
Matt Barron, rugby player
Greg Rutherford, Olympic track-and-field athlete
18 November – Richard Strachan, personal trainer and sprinter
19 November – Sam Betty, rugby player
20 November – Oliver Sykes, vocalist and frontman for Bring Me the Horizon
21 November
Tom Cahill, footballer
Sam Palladio, actor and musician
22 November
Jack Blumenau, actor
Paul Dixon, footballer
23 November – Liam Davis, footballer
25 November – Louise Alder, lyric soprano
26 November – Nathan Craze, hockey player
27 November
Sammy Dobson, actress
George Eaton, journalist
28 November
Dan Carden, politician
Helen Wood, TV personality
29 November – Joe Colbeck, footballer
December
1 December
Michael Bakare, footballer
Natasha O'Keeffe, actress
Andrew Tate, internet personality
2 December – Adam Le Fondre, footballer
5 December – Leigh Alderson, ballet dancer
6 December – Sean Edwards, racing driver (died 2013)
8 December
Lara Carroll, English-born Australian Olympic swimmer
Amir Khan, boxer
9 December – Dale Appleby, cyclist
10 December – Matthew Bates, footballer
11 December
Gary Carr, actor, dancer, and musician
Kris Doolan, footballer
Lee Peltier, footballer
12 December
Sean Clohessy, footballer
Ayden Faal, rugby player
Jo Fraser, painter
13 December – Ben Evans, golfer
14 December
Phil Boulton, rugby player
Ryan Dickson, footballer
18 December
Eku Edewor, actress, television presenter, and model
Harry Fry, racehorse trainer
19 December – Calvin Andrew, footballer
20 December
Ian Bibby, cyclist
Benjamin Brierley, English-born German rugby player
Chris Cornes, footballer
23 December – Tom Birchall, motorcycle-with-sidecar racer
26 December
Josh Beech, English-born American singer/songwriter
Nichola Burley, actress
Emily Fleeshman, actress
Kit Harington, actor
27 December – Liam Craig, footballer
28 December – Hannah Elsy, rower
30 December
Nikki Brammeier, cyclist
Ellie Goulding, singer
Faye Marsay, actress
Date Unknown
Alice Birch, playwright and screenwriter
Caroline Bird, poet, playwright, and author
Brian Blackwell, convicted murderer
Joe Borg, screenwriter
Millie Brown, performance artist
Hugh Brunt, music conductor
Jen Calleja, writer and literary translator
Poppy Corbett, playwright
Thomas Crowther, professor of ecology at ETH Zurich and co-chair of the advisory board for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Deckscar, DJ and music producer
Ryan Edgar, footballer
Laura Evans, snooker player
Martin Paul Eve, academic, writer, and disability rights campaigner
Floating Points, electronic music producer, DJ, and musician
Katrina Forrester, political theorist and historian
Danny Fox, artist
Deaths
January
1 January
Lord David Cecil, historian and biographer (born 1902)
Kenneth de Burgh Codrington, archaeologist (born 1899)
2 January
Sir John Howard, civil engineer (born 1901)
Patrick Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone, 4th Baron Derwent, peer (born 1901)
3 January
John Cronin, Labour politician (born 1916)
Dustin Gee, comedian (born 1942)
4 January
Christopher Isherwood, novelist (born 1904)
Phil Lynott, Irish singer, Thin Lizzy frontman (born 1949)
5 January
Sir John Barlow, 2nd Baronet, politician (born 1898)
Thomas Heathcote, actor (born 1917)
8 January
Basil Fitzherbert, 14th Baron Stafford, peer (born 1926)
Sidney Harrison, composer and pianist (born 1903)
Mansel Thomas, Welsh composer (born 1909)
9 January – W. S. Graham, Scottish poet (born 1918)
10 January – Martin Stevens, Conservative politician (born 1929)
11 January – Sid Chaplin, author and screenwriter (born 1916)
16 January
Bill Richardson, journalist (born 1909)
Peter Waterman, boxer (born 1934)
20 January
Sidney Barton, Labour politician (born 1909)
Stanley George Browne, medical missionary (born 1907)
Alex Munro, Scottish comedian (born 1911)
Elizabeth Nickell-Lean, opera singer (born 1908)
21 January
Sir Gordon MacMillan, Scottish Army general (born 1897)
Gilbert Roberts, Royal Navy captain (born 1900)
22 January
Scott Dobson, art critic and writer (born 1918)
Thomas Baden Morris, author (born 1900)
24 January – John Vaughan Wilkes, educationalist (born 1902)
26 January – Nicholas Moore, poet (born 1918)
27 January
Arthur Llewellyn Basham, historian and Indologist (born 1914)
Robert Fraser, art dealer (born 1937)
George Wade, potter (born 1891)
February
1 February – Dick James, singer and record producer (born 1920)
4 February – Herbert Smith, film producer (born 1901)
6 February – Frederick Coutts, Salvation Army officer (born 1899)
7 February – Dick Southwood, Olympic rower (born 1906)
10 February – Brian Aherne, actor (born 1902)
14 February – Edmund Rubbra, composer (born 1901)
15 February – Harry Hall, botanist (born 1906)
17 February – Nesta Wells, first woman police surgeon in the United Kingdom (born 1892)
21 February – Margaret Hunter, Scottish communist (born 1922)
22 February
Tom Bradshaw, Scottish footballer (born 1904)
Anthony Rawlinson, civil servant (born 1926)
23 February – Beatrix Thomson, actress (born 1900)
26 February – Charles Gibson Connell, Scottish ornithologist (born 1899)
27 February – Nancy Brysson Morrison, author (born 1903)
28 February – Sir Thomas Williams, Labour politician (born 1915)
March
1 March – Tommy Farr, Welsh boxer (born 1913)
4 March
Edward MacLysaght, British-born Irish geneaologist (born 1887)
John Spence, Conservative politician (born 1920)
5 March – Basil McFarland, Northern Irish politician and businessman (born 1898)
6 March – Robert Bateson, RAF air marshal (born 1912)
10 March
E. Gwyndaf Evans, Welsh poet (born 1913)
Ray Milland, actor (born 1907)
Elizabeth Monroe, historian (born 1905)
12 March – James Maurice Scott, explorer and writer (born 1906)
14 March
John Fulton, Baron Fulton, civil servant (born 1902)
Audrey Williamson, theatre critic (born 1913)
15 March – Martin Cooper, musicologist (born 1910)
16 March
George Jackson, film animator (born 1921)
Sir John Nicholson, 3rd Baronet, surgeon (born 1904)
Sir Ouvry Lindfield Roberts, Army general (born 1898)
17 March – Sir John Bagot Glubb, general and author, leader of the Arab Legion (1939–1956) (born 1897)
19 March
Elisabeth Barker, journalist and civil servant (born 1910)
Phil Rees, greyhound trainer (born 1914)
22 March – Jimmy Jones, tennis player (born 1912)
21 March – Derek Farr, actor (born 1912)
23 March – Sir Walter Merton, RAF air marshal (born 1905)
26 March – Andrew Freeth, artist (born 1912)
29 March – Elizabeth Williams, educationist (born 1895)
30 March – Beatrice White, scholar (born 1902)
31 March – Christopher Lloyd, naval historian (born 1906)
April
1 April – Margaret Masterman, linguist (born 1910)
3 April – Peter Pears, tenor (born 1910)
7 April – William Homan Thorpe, zoologist (born 1902)
11 April
Lady Penelope Betjeman, travel writer and wife of Sir John Betjeman (born 1910)
Sir Ronald Gould, trade unionist (born 1904)
Ethel Haythornthwaite, environmental campaigner (born 1894)
15 April – Sir Edmund Hakewill-Smith, Army major-general (born 1896)
17 April – George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington, peer (born 1894)
19 April – James Carne, Army colonel (born 1906)
23 April
Sir Charles Johnston, diplomat and translator (born 1912)
Jim Laker, cricketer (born 1922)
24 April – Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born 1896)
25 April – Sir Michael Creswell, diplomat (born 1929)
26 April
Bessie Love, actress (born 1898, United States)
Richard Ernest Wycherley, archaeologist (born 1909)
28 April – Denis Arnold, musicologist (born 1926)
29 April – Glen Byam Shaw, actor and theatre director (born 1904)
30 April – Robert Stevenson, filmmaker (born 1905)
May
1 May
Hylda Baker, actress (born 1905)
Alastair McIntyre, film editor (born 1927)
4 May – C. H. V. Sutherland, numismatist (born 1908)
8 May
Ernle Bradford, historian (born 1922)
Manny Shinwell, Baron Shinwell, trade union official and Labour MP (born 1884)
Sir Arthur Peterson, civil servant (born 1916)
14 May – William Lindsay, actor (born 1945)
18 May
Robert Page Arnot, Communist journalist and politician (born 1890)
James Phemister, geologist (born 1893)
21 May – Kenny Carter, motorcycle racer (born 1961; suicide)
23 May – Edward Hart, paediatrician (born 1911)
24 May – Robert Holmes, television scriptwriter (born 1926)
25 May
Owen Hood Phillips, lawyer (born 1907)
John Verney, 20th Baron Willoughby de Broke, peer (born 1896)
26 May
Peggy Ann Clifford, actress (born 1921)
Harold W. Fisher, philatelist (born 1903)
31 May – Dora Russell, author and campaigner, second wife of Bertrand Russell (born 1894)
June
2 June – Jimmy Grafton, radio and television producer (born 1916)
3 June
Dame Anna Neagle, actress (born 1904)
John Gilmour, botanist (born 1906)
4 June – Helen Gardner, literary critic (born 1908)
6 June
Dick Rowe, record producer (born 1921)
Tony Wright, actor (born 1925)
8 June – Thomas Burrow, Indologist (born 1909)
10 June – Reginald Lawson Waterfield, astronomer (born 1900)
11 June – Frank Cousins, Labour politician (born 1904)
12 June – John Steven Watson, historian (born 1916)
16 June – Lady Diana Cooper, aristocrat and actress (born 1892)
17 June – Joseph Stone, Baron Stone, physician (born 1903)
19 June – John Buxton Hilton, crime writer (born 1921)
23 June
Sir Moses Finley, classical scholar (born 1912 in the United States)
Charles Ritchie Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, judge (born 1908)
Nigel Stock, actor (born 1919)
24 June – George Howe, actor (born 1900)
25 June
Laurie Fishlock, cricketer and footballer (born 1907)
Dame Mary Welsh, airwoman (born 1896)
26 June – William Lovelock, composer (born 1899)
29 June
Sir Desmond Pond, psychiatrist (born 1919)
Kenyon Taylor, inventor (born 1908)
Cliff Townshend, jazz musician (born 1916)
July
1 July
E. E. Y. Hales, historian (born 1908)
Iain Sutherland, diplomat (born 1925)
Roger Cuthbert Wakefield, surveyor (born 1906)
5 July – Sir John Toothill, industrialist (born 1908)
9 July – Sir Percy Edward Kent, geologist (born 1913)
12 July – Dermod MacCarthy, paediatrician (born 1911)
16 July
Robert Boothby, Baron Boothby, Conservative politician (born 1900)
Stephen Coulter, novelist (born 1914)
Dick Crawshaw, Baron Crawshaw of Aintree, politician (born 1917)
18 July – Sir Stanley Rous, president of FIFA and former secretary of the Football Association (born 1894)
23 July – Bryan Matthews, physiologist (born 1906)
25 July – John Coldham, cricketer and coach (born 1901)
27 July – Sir Osbert Lancaster, cartoonist (born 1908)
28 July – Sir Frank Simpson, Army general (born 1899)
29 July
Richard David Barnett, archaeologist (born 1909)
Gordon Mills, musician and songwriter (born 1935)
30 July – Sir Clarence Bird, Army lieutenant-general, oldest British general of World War II (born 1885)
31 July
Diana King, actress (born 1918)
Harold Woolley, Baron Woolley, farmer (born 1905)
August
1 August – Susan Jellicoe, gardener and garden designer (born 1907)
3 August – Beryl Markham, British-born Kenyan pilot and author (born 1902)
9 August – Cyril Plant, trade unionist (born 1910)
12 August – Dame Adelaide Doughty, civil servant (born 1908, Australia)
15 August – John Trevelyan, film censor (born 1903)
16 August – Sonia Rosemary Keppel, socialite and grandmother of Queen Camilla (born 1900)
17 August – Sir Charles Loewen, Army general (born 1900, Canada)
18 August – Vivian Stuart, author (born 1914)
19 August
Hermione Baddeley, actress (born 1906)
Wilfred Beaver, World War I air ace (born 1897)
James Broom Millar, media executive (born 1909)
21 August – Samuel Crooks, Northern Irish Anglican prelate (born 1920)
25 August
Walter John Christie, civil servant in India (born 1905)
Henry Neville Southern, ornithologist (born 1908)
26 August – Elsie M. Burrows, botanist and phycologist (born 1913)
29 August – Stuart Young, accountant (born 1934)
31 August – Henry Moore, sculptor (born 1898)
September
1 September
Tina Cooper, paediatrician (born 1918)
R. B. Freeman, zoologist (born 1915)
2 September
Philip Herries Gregory, mycologist (born 1907)
Philip Radcliffe, composer (born 1905)
3 September – Horace King, Baron Maybray-King, Labour politician (born 1901)
6 September – Fred Taggart, golfer (born 1906)
9 September – Robert Shackleton, philologist and librarian (born 1919)
10 September – Ronnie Shade, Scottish golfer (born 1938)
11 September – Noel Streatfeild, children's author (born 1895)
12 September
Philip Ingress Bell, judge and Conservative politician (born 1900)
Terence MacDonagh, oboist (born 1908)
Harold Moody, athlete (born 1913)
13 September – Neil Robinson, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (born 1962; accident while training)
15 September – William Goode, colonial administrator (born 1907)
17 September – Pat Phoenix, actress (born 1923)
18 September – Elwyn Davies, Welsh civil servant (born 1908)
20 September – Dennis Spooner, television scriptwriter (born 1932)
22 September – Janet Davies, actress (born 1927)
23 September – Vincent Lloyd-Jones, Welsh judge (born 1901)
24 September – Prudence Glynn, fashion designer (born 1935)
28 September – Denis Carey, actor (born 1909)
29 September – Sir Reg Goodwin, Labour politician (born 1902)
October
3 October – Terry Pitt, political advisor (born 1937)
5 October
Timothy Creasey, Army general (born 1922)
Mairin Mitchell, journalist, author and translator (born 1895)
James H. Wilkinson, mathematician (born 1919)
10 October – Mary Cholmondeley, Lady Delamere, socialite (born 1906)
11 October – John Crockett, television director (born 1918)
13 October
Maidie Andrews, actress (born 1893)
Eunice Crowther, singer, dancer and choreographer (born 1916)
15 October – Marcus Samuel, 3rd Viscount Bearsted, peer and executive (born 1909)
16 October
Jeanne MacKenzie, author (born 1922)
Hugh Austin Windle Pilkington, philanthropist (born 1942)
Ted Sagar, footballer (born 1910)
18 October
Billy Bennington, dulcimer player (born 1900)
Alan Little, sociologist (born 1934)
23 October
Ronald Long, actor (born 1911)
Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, Secret Intelligence officer (born 1893)
27 October – Alan Branscombe, jazz musician (born 1936)
28 October
John Braine, novelist (born 1922)
Sir Richard Elton Goodwin, Army officer (born 1908)
Ian Marter, actor and writer (born 1944)
November
3 November – Sir William Lawrence, 4th Baronet, businessman (born 1913)
4 November – John Kelsall, composer (born 1947)
6 November – Howard Thomas, Welsh radio producer (born 1909)
7 November – Sir Dugald Baird, physician (born 1899)
8 November – Harry W. Holmes, Esperantist (born 1896)
10 November
Alan Kennington, novelist (born 1906)
Mark Lubbock, composer (born 1898)
11 November – Reginald Brettauer Fisher, biochemist (born 1907)
14 November – Arthur Duckworth, Conservative politician (born 1901)
17 November – Billy McLean, Scottish Conservative politician (born 1918)
19 November – Billy Dainty, actor, comedian and dancer (born 1927)
22 November – Malcolm Nokes, Olympic athlete (born 1897)
23 November
Crawford Fairbrother, Scottish athlete (born 1936)
Derek Hart, actor and radio presenter (born 1925)
27 November
L. Harrison Matthews, zoologist (born 1901)
Sir Hugh Stockwell, Army general in the Suez Crisis (born 1903)
29 November
Ronald Baddiley, actor (born 1922)
Cary Grant, actor (born 1904)
December
1 December – Robert Lee, actor (born 1913, China)
4 December – H. de C. Hastings, architect (born 1902)
7 December – Sir Terence Garvey, diplomat (born 1915)
8 December – John Melville, artist (born 1902)
10 December – Kenneth Hyde, historian (born 1930)
11 December – Geoffrey S. S. Ludford, mathematician (born 1928)
13 December
Heather Angel, actress (born 1909)
Glyn Daniel, Welsh archaeologist (born 1914)
15 December – David James, Conservative politician (born 1919)
17 December – Leonard Rochford, World War I air ace (born 1896)
18 December – James Smith, anaesthetist (born 1917)
19 December
Verona Conway, botanist (born 1910)
Archibald Gordon MacGregor, geologist (born 1894, Canada)
20 December
Alexander Isserlis, civil servant (born 1922)
Sir Harry Platt, surgeon (born 1886)
21 December
Gilbert Laithwaite, diplomat (born 1894)
Bill Simpson, actor (born 1931)
22 December – David Penhaligon, Liberal MP (car accident) (born 1944)
24 December
Guy Barnett, Labour politician (born 1928)
Sir Eric Malcolm Jones, intelligence officer (born 1907)
Arnold Kettle, literary critic (born 1916)
26 December – Elsa Lanchester, actress (born 1902)
27 December – George Dangerfield, historian (born 1904)
29 December – Harold Macmillan, former Prime Minister (born 1894)
31 December – Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles, senior Royal Navy admiral and veteran of both world wars (born 1890)
See also
1986 in British music
1986 in British television
List of British films of 1986
References
Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom