| 1903 |
Edward Falaise Upward born on 9th September in Romford, Essex |
| 1914 |
WWI begins |
| 1917 |
Starts at Repton school in Derbyshire |
| 1917 |
Russian Revolution |
| 1918 |
WWI ends |
| 1920 |
Foundation of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) |
| 1922 |
Lives in Rouen |
| 1922 |
Starts at Cambridge (Corpus Christi College) |
| 1922 |
Publication of Joyce’s Ulysses in Paris (Upward travels there to buy it in 1924) |
| 1926 |
Starts a series of teaching jobs |
| 1926 |
General Strike |
| 1927 |
Publication of final part of Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu |
| 1931 |
Canvasses in Bethnal Green for Communist Party candidate in October’s general election |
| 1932 |
Visits USSR, but doesn’t see famine and repression |
| 1932 |
Visits Isherwood in Berlin |
| 1932 |
Joins the Communist Party – membership initially on a probationary basis, partly self-imposed, until 1934 |
| 1932 |
Begins teaching at Alleyn’s School, Dulwich |
| 1933 |
Short stories ‘The Colleagues’ and ‘Sunday’ published in the anthology New Country |
| 1933 |
Hitler takes power in Germany |
| 1936 |
Spanish Civil War begins |
| 1936 |
Marriage to Hilda Percival |
| 1936 |
Battle of Cable Street |
| 1936 |
Joins editorial board of The Ploughshare (Teachers’ Anti-War Movement) for which he also writes
articles |
| 1937 |
Isherwood’s Lions and Shadows published |
| 1938 |
Son Christopher born |
| 1938 |
Journey to the Border published |
| 1939 |
Isherwood and Auden emigrate to the United States |
| 1939 |
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between USSR and Germany |
| 1939 |
WWII begins – school and family evacuated |
| 1941 |
Daughter Katherine born |
| 1941 |
Germany invades USSR |
| 1945 |
WWII ends |
| 1948 |
Hilda and Edward leave CPGB |
| 1957 |
Foundation of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) |
| 1961 |
Retires with Hilda to his parents’ old house in Sandown, Isle of Wight |
| 1962 |
In the Thirties published |
| 1969 |
The Rotten Elements published |
| 1973 |
Auden dies |
| 1977 |
No Home But the Struggle published (as part of The Spiral Ascent) |
| 1986 |
Isherwood dies |
| 1987 |
Publication of The Night Walk and Other Stories – first volume of post-war stories |
| 1991 |
Dissolution of USSR |
| 1994 |
Enitharmon Press begins publishing Upward’s writing |
| 1995 |
Hilda dies |
| 2002 |
Son Christopher dies |
| 2003 |
Publication of A Renegade in Springtime, a career-spanning collection of his stories |
| 2003 |
Celebrates centenary with a large party in Sandown |
| 2003 |
His last story, ‘Cromelin-Brown’, is broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s The Verb together with an interview by Ian McMillan |
| 2004 |
Moves to Pontefract, where his daughter and son-in-law live |
| 2005 |
Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and awarded its Benson Medal |
| 2009 |
Dies on 13th February in Pontefract, West Yorkshire |