| 3rd September 1939 | WW2 in Europe began when the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. |
| 3rd September 1939 | The National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939 was enacted by Parliament. It enforced full conscription on all males between 18 and 41 who were residents in the UK. |
| 5th September 1939 | The National Registration Act received Royal Assent and Registrar General, Sir Sylvanus Vivian, announced that National Registration Day would be September 29th. |
| 6th September 1939 | Local Land Army organised. |
| 26th September 1939 | German Naval Cruisers joined the war. |
| 1939 | Petrol rationing was introduced (ended May 1950). |
| 30th November 1939 | War between Finland and Russia, known as The Winter War (ended 13th March 1940). |
| Christmas 1939 | First Christmas during the war. |
| January 1940 | The Start of food rationing. |
| 21st January 1940 | British army begins attack on Tobruk and after its surrender advances to Bengazi. Where the Italians surrender on the 7th Febuary. |
| 7th April 1940 | Germany begins invasion of Norway. |
| 10th May 1940 | Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister |
| 10th May 1940 | German bombing of Belgium and Holland begins. |
| 14th May 1940 | Anthony Eden made an urgent appeal on the radio to all men aged between 17 and 65. They wanted all men not already serving in the armed forces to become part-time soldiers helping to deal with parachutists. These became the Local Defence Volunteers but from the 31st July 1940 the title was changed in favour of the 'Home Guard'. |
| 15th May 1940 | An open air meeting, at 8.30am., was held at St. Edmund's Hall in Hoxne where fifty men signed on. Many of the men were those who could not join the regular army because their day time jobs were necessary to keep the country running. They included farm workers, bakers, teachers, grocers, bank staff and railway workers. Other men who joined were either too young or too old to join the regular army. |
| 28th - 30th May 1940 | Operation Dynamo - evacuation of Dunkirk. |
| 7th September 1940 | The start of the Blitz which continued until 12th May 1941. |
| 28th October 1940 | Italian forces in Albania cross the border into Greece. |
| Christmas 1940 | Second Christmas during the war. |
| 1940 - 1942 | Malaya and Singapore. |
| 1940 - 1946 | The Special Operations Executive. |
| May 1941 | The Balkans. |
| 1st June 1941 | Clothes rationing started (ended 15th March 1949) |
| June to September 1941 | Germans move into Russia. |
| 1941 - 1942 | The Siege of Tobruk. |
| 1941 - 1945 | Dutch East Indies. |
| 1941 - 1945 | Mainland Greece. |
| 1941 - 1945 | Crete. |
| 1941 - 1945 | Burma. |
| December 1941 | Burma Refugees after the bombing of Rangoon. |
| 1942 | Bruneval Raid. |
| 1942 | Dieppe. |
| 1942 - 1943 | North Africa. |
| 1942 - 1945 | Allied Bombing. |
| 1942 - 1945 | The Southern and Eastern Pacific. |
| 1942 - 1945 | Russia and the Eastern Front. |
| February 1942 | Soap was rationed so that oils and fats could be saved for food. |
| April 1942 | Indian Ocean. |
| 8th November 1942 to 1944 | Operation Dragoon. |
| 23rd October 1942 | El Alamein. |
| October 1942 | The Ministry of Food announced that there would be an orange ration for all children up to aged 18. |
| November 1942 | The Ministry of Labour and National Service announced that men of 17 years and 8 months were to register for National Service. |
| Christmas 1942 | Christmas 1942. |
| June 1943 | US 95th Bomber Group based in Horham until the end of the war. |
| 1943 | The Dodecanese. |
| 1943 - 1944 | Sicily and Italy. |
| 1943 - 1944 | The Battle for Rome. |
| 22nd January 1944 | The Battle of Anzio. |
| 6th June 1944 - 1945 | D Day. |
| 1944 - 1945 | The Liberation of Europe - US First Army. |
| Christmas 1944 | Christmas 1944. |
| 1945 | The Prague Uprising. |
| 16th April - 2nd November 1945 | The Battle for Berlin. |
| 8th May 1945 | VE Day. |