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Early Computing in Britain pp 345–366Cite as

Appendix D. Naming Names

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Part of the book series: History of Computing ((HC))

Abstract

This book has focussed on the computer-manufacturing fortunes of one company. It would not be complete without a mention of all those Ferranti employees who were involved in the design, implementation, use and marketing of the hardware and software of the Mark I/Mark I* family from 1948 to 1958. With the paucity of surviving company records, this is an almost impossible task. We do our best, however, mainly via the memories, anecdotes and photographs of former Ferranti staff. Their collaborative colleagues at Manchester University are also listed, though in the case of the academics there are staff records, theses and published papers that make the task of naming names comparatively easy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some surviving log books from the Manchester University’s Ferranti Mark I computer, 1951–58, are preserved in the National Archive for the History of Computing, catalogued as NAHC/MUC/2/C6.

  2. 2.

    Olaf Chedzoy, e-mail dated 6th November 2015 to Simon Lavington.

  3. 3.

    Mary Lee Berners-Lee: An Interview Conducted by Janet Abbate for the IEEE History Center, 12 September 2001. Interview #578 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. See: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee#About_Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee.

  4. 4.

    Pollard, B.W., and K. Lonsdale. 1953. The Construction and Operation of the Manchester University Computer. Proceedings of IEE 100 (Part 2): 501–512.

  5. 5.

    Owen Ephraim, letter dated October 1999 to Simon Lavington.

  6. 6.

    Wilson, J.F. 2001. Ferranti: A History. Building a Family Business, 1882–1975. Carnegie Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85936-080-7.

  7. 7.

    Len Hewitt, e-mail of 22nd September 2915 to Simon Lavington.

  8. 8.

    Pollard, B.W. 1957. The Rise of the Computer Department. Ferranti Journal 15 (3): 20–23.

  9. 9.

    Hendry, John. 1989. Innovating for Failure: Government Policy and the Early British Computer Industry. Published by the MIT Press.

  10. 10.

    Ellson, Allan. 2015. Ferranti MkI* Commissioning and Installation: Some Recollections. Two typed pages, prepared at Simon Lavington’s request.

  11. 11.

    Martin Wingstedt, ‘phone conversations with Simon Lavington on 18th and 19th September 2015 and 22nd March 2017.

  12. 12.

    Mary Lee Berners-Lee: An Interview Conducted by Janet Abbate for the IEEE History Center, 12 September 2001. Interview #578 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. See: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee#About_Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee.

  13. 13.

    Olaf Chedzoy organised a reunion of Ferranti’s Tin Hut programmers (and two or three engineers) at Curdon Mill, Williton, Somerset, on 21st April 1993. 20 ex-Ferranti people attended with their partners and a further six people sent informative letters. Each participant provided some biographical notes of their life after Ferranti. This material, together with some Mark I technical information, was put together by Olaf in a 40-page A5 typed booklet, specially produced for the reunion.

  14. 14.

    Chedzoy, Olaf. 2015. Ferranti Memories. Five typed pages. This document contains additional information on Ferranti programmers, not included in the above Reunion booklet. It was produced by Olaf in response to questions asked by Simon Lavington in 2015.

  15. 15.

    Joan Travis (neé Kaye): two long e-mails to Simon Lavington, dated 25th October and 11th November 2015 and spanning about five A4 pages in total (including a long extract from a Meteorological Office report—see Footnote 23). Joan’s memories were detailed and vivid. She was, she said, “a mere minnow. However because it was my first job that might have made it a bit easier for me to remember some things”.

  16. 16.

    Audrey Clayton (neé Bates), e-mail exchanges with Simon Lavington in the spring of 2010.

  17. 17.

    Joan Travis (neé Kaye): two long e-mails to Simon Lavington, dated 25th October and 11th November 2015 and spanning about five A4 pages in total (including a long extract from a Meteorological Office report). Joan’s memories were detailed and vivid. She was, she said, “a mere minnow. However because it was my first job that might have made it a bit easier for me to remember some things”.

  18. 18.

    Chedzoy, Olaf., Ferranti Memories.

  19. 19.

    Chedzoy, Olaf., Ferranti Memories.

  20. 20.

    Chedzoy, Olaf., Ferranti Memories.

  21. 21.

    Mary Lee Berners-Lee: An Interview Conducted by Janet Abbate for the IEEE History Center, 12 September 2001. Interview #578 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. See: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee#About_Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee.

  22. 22.

    Joan Travis (neé Kaye): two long e-mails to Simon Lavington, dated 25th October and 11th November 2015 and spanning about five A4 pages in total (including a long extract from a Meteorological Office report). Joan’s memories were detailed and vivid. She was, she said, “a mere minnow. However because it was my first job that might have made it a bit easier for me to remember some things”.

  23. 23.

    (a) X1V: Theoretical study of ring and cap spinning balloon curves (with and without air drag). C. Mack. A publication of the British Cotton Industry Research Association Shirley Institute, Didsbury, Manchester.; (b) Gradwell, Cyril and Joan Kaye. 1955. Electronic Calculation of Critical Whirling Speeds. The Engineer, 4th March 1955. The British Thomson-Houston Company Ltd. provided data for this paper.

  24. 24.

    Joan Travis (neé Kaye): two long e-mails to Simon Lavington, dated 25th October and 11th November 2015 and spanning about five A4 pages in total (including a long extract from a Meteorological Office report). Joan’s memories were detailed and vivid. She was, she said, “a mere minnow. However because it was my first job that might have made it a bit easier for me to remember some things”.

  25. 25.

    Margaret Lewin, ‘phone conversation with Simon Lavington, 2nd November 2015.

  26. 26.

    Chedzoy, Olaf., Ferranti Memories.

  27. 27.

    Chedzoy, Olaf., Ferranti Memories.

  28. 28.

    Mary Lee Berners-Lee: An Interview Conducted by Janet Abbate for the IEEE History Center, 12 September 2001. Interview #578 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. See: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee#About_Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee.

  29. 29.

    Letter written on 27th August 2018 by Sheila Hall to the team of volunteers running the SSEM (Baby computer) exhibit at the Science & Industry Museum, Manchester. Sheila Hall (neé Bamblin) joined Ferranti at Hollinwood in about 1944 and moved to the Moston factory in about 1947. She worked in the Drawing Office and remembers being involved in producing engineering drawings for Ferranti’s Computer Department.

  30. 30.

    Sheila Cooper’s memories of working with a Ferranti Mark I* computer at Avro Chadderton. Transcript produced by Simon Lavington in April 2017, based on an audio interview of Sheila by Buxton’s local historian Vivienne Doyle recorded on 14th April 2016 and supplemented by telephone conversations and e-mails with Sheila in the spring of 2017 and with her daughter Judie Adnett.

  31. 31.

    Bowden, B.V. 1970. The Language of Computers. American Scientist 58 (1): 43–53. Paper originally delivered at the Brighton College of Technology as the first Richard Goodman lecture, 2nd May 1969.

  32. 32.

    Frank Land, e-mail dated 19th September 2016 to Simon Lavington.

  33. 33.

    Hersom, S.E. 2002. Nicholas, The Forgotten Elliott Project. Resurrection the Bulletin of the Computer Conservation Society (27): 10–14.

  34. 34.

    Lavington, Simon. 2011. Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947–67. Springer. ISBN 978-1-84882-932-9.

  35. 35.

    Recollections of Manchester University (1945–1955). G. E. (Tommy) Thomas. Illustrated web page dated 18th June 1998, and written for the University’s Anniversary celebrations for the Baby computer. See: http://curation.cs.manchester.ac.uk/computer50/www.computer50.org/mark1/gethomas/index.html.

  36. 36.

    Alan Turing’s Manchester: Jonathan Swinton to be published in the spring of 2019 by Deodands. ISBN 9780993178924.

References

  • Bowden, B.V. 1970. The Language of Computers. American Scientist 58 (1): 43–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chedzoy, Olaf. 2015. Ferranti Memories.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellson, Allan. 2015. Ferranti MkI* Commissioning and Installation: Some Recollections.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gradwell, Cyril and Joan Kaye. 1955. Electronic Calculation of Critical Whirling Speeds.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendry, John. 1989. Innovating for Failure: Government Policy and the Early British Computer Industry. Published by the MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hersom, S.E. 2002. Nicholas, The Forgotten Elliott Project. Resurrection the Bulletin of the Computer Conservation Society 27: 10–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavington, Simon. 2011. Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947–67. Springer. ISBN 978-1-84882-932-9.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pollard, B.W. 1957. The Rise of the Computer Department. Ferranti Journal 15 (3): 20–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard, B.W., and K. Lonsdale. 1953. The Construction and Operation of the Manchester University Computer. Proceedings of IEE 100 (Part 2): 501–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ralston, Anthony. 1980. Random Number Generation on the Ferranti Mark I. Annals of the History of Computing 2: 270–271.

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  • Swinton, Jonathan. 2019. Alan Turing’s Manchester. Deodands. ISBN 978-0-9931789-2-4.

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  • Wilson, J.F. 2001. Ferranti: A History. Building a Family Business, 1882–1975. Carnegie Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85936-080-7.

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  1. School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Simon Lavington

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Lavington, S. (2019). Appendix D. Naming Names. In: Early Computing in Britain. History of Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15103-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15103-4_17

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