A Cambridge Undergraduate

Abstract

In October 1924, Hal entered Trinity College, Cambridge, as an undergraduate to study physics. He had won an Exhibition (a college bursary, as a result of a competitive examination held the previous December). It covered all living and tutorial expenses. Then, Cambridge was rightly believed to be the best university in Britain for physics studies (especially experimental nuclear physics) and Trinity one of its most prestigious colleges. Hal’s university work in his first year was so good that he was given a Scholarship by the college in his second year, to replace the Exhibition. Hal lived in college, with both a study and separate bedroom, but had to use a communal bathroom. Each morning, a college servant (a “bedder”) woke him, brought him hot water and later tidied the room. There was an additional outer door to his rooms, called “the oak” which was normally open. If the student did not wish to be disturbed, because he was studying or entertaining someone, he could close (or in the university slang, “sport”) the oak. The main meals were served in the College Dining Hall, but he could take tea in his rooms and entertain visitors then and at other times. There was much freedom for undergraduates and he had few obligations. He had a weekly hour-long tutorial session and was obliged to do the work set by the tutor and attend laboratory study sessions. However, attendance at lectures was optional. He was required to be inside the college at, or before, midnight and was not allowed to be absent at night, without prior permission, which was rarely granted. The academic year consisted of three 8 week terms, with a long summer vacation. Some students spent part of it in Cambridge and science postgraduate students were normally obliged to work there for most of the summer. In the words of Neville Mott, a Cambridge contemporary physicist and friend of Hal, “it was an idyllic time, the town was not crowded, the weather often good and a favourite activity was punting on the river and interminable conversations with friends about God, the universe, politics, Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell and less serious matters.” Mott later received a knighthood and a Nobel Prize for physics. For students, there was much social life at all times of the year and Hal often invited fellow students to tea. Also, Hal and Geoffrey Jennings often shared other meals in their college rooms and explored the surrounding countryside during weekends with long walks. Canoeing was another activity they both enjoyed. Geoffrey described Hal’s appearance then as “very tidy and a very standard undergraduate, usually wearing gray flannel bags [trousers], sports jacket, college tie and a Trinity scarf.” Hal retained these conservative dress characteristics for all his adult life, almost always wearing a striped Trinity College tie and often a suit, for his work.