1917 in The United Kingdom - Events

Events

• 19 January - Silvertown explosion: a blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2M-worth of damage.
• 26 January - The sea defences at the village of Hallsands, Devon are breached, leading to all but one of the houses becoming uninhabitable.
• 2 February - Bread rationing introduced.
• 21 February - Elder Dempster Line troopship SS Mendi is rammed by SS Darro off the Isle of Wight, killing 646.
• February - Formation of the Women's Land Army, superseding the Women's National Land Service Corps.
• March - Establishment of the Imperial War Cabinet, a body composed of the chief British ministers and the prime ministers of the Dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa) to set policy.
• 11 March - World War I: British forces led by Sir Stanley Maude capture Baghdad, the southern capital of the Ottoman Empire.
• 26 March - World War I: First Battle of Gaza - British cavalry troops retreat after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
• 28 March - The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps founded.
• 6/7 May - First bomb dropped on London by a fixed-wing aircraft (one death).
• 25 May - First daylight bombing raid on the UK by fixed-wing aircraft: 95 killed in Folkestone area.
• 4 June - The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is established as an order of chivalry by George V under letters patent.
• 13 June - First daylight bombing raid on London by fixed-wing aircraft: 162 killed.
• 9 July - HMS Vanguard is blown apart by an internal explosion at her moorings in Scapa Flow, Orkney, killing an estimated 843 crew with no survivors.
• 17 July - King George V issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname Windsor.
• 2 August - Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning becomes the first pilot to land his aircraft on a ship when he lands his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow but is killed five days later during another landing on the ship.
• 17 August - One of English literature's most important and famous meetings takes place when Wilfred Owen introduces himself to Siegfried Sassoon at Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh.
• 21 August - Most provisions of Corn Production Act come into force. This guarantees minimum prices for wheat and oats and specifies a minimum wage for agricultural workers.
• 5 October - Sir Arthur Lee donates the country house Chequers to the nation.
• November - Women's Royal Naval Service established.
• 2 November - The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for Jewish settlement in Palestine.
• 7 November - World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends — British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.
• 16 November - British troops occupy Tel Aviv and Jaffa in Palestine.
• 17 November - People's Dispensary for Sick Animals established by Maria Dickin.
• 20 November - World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins — British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are soon beaten back.
• 11 December - British troops take Jerusalem from the troops of the Ottoman Empire.