Some Historical Information

The origins of the IEE Cambridge Branch Committee stretch back to World War II, when the IEE set up a Wireless Section in Cambridge.

The evolution of this group first into the Cambridge Area Committee of the IEE, and, most recently, into the IEE Cambridge Branch, is described below.

During World War II (1939-1945) both Cambridge University and local industry (primarily Pye and Cambridge Instruments) were researching into radio and radar, in particular devices, signal processing and displays.

To assist this effort, the IEE set up a Wireless Section in Cambridge following the request of Sir Laurence Bragg (Nobel Prize 1915), Head of the Cavendish Laboratory.

Among the first Committee were Sir Willis Jackson later Rector of Imperial College, Randall (who together with Boot had developed the Magnetron at Birmingham University), Puckle, Moullin and Ratcliffe. Also included were several members from local companies Pye, Cambridge Instruments and the Cambridge Technical College (later Anglia Polytechnic University).

Since then there have been many committee members who later achieved distinction.

• Prof Coales who led the development of Elliott Computers ( part of ICL)
• Prof Sir Charles Oatley who developed the Electron Scanning Microscope
• Prof Sir Maurice Wilkes who developed the time sharing Atlas Computer in Cambridge.

They also included many future professors in the University Engineering Department at Cambridge.

• A H W Beck
• J E Carroll
• F Fallside
• P S Brandon
• Hooper and others.

Several others went on to become leaders of industry:

• Peter Mothersole became head of the Philips Mullard Laboratory
• Dick Ellis later became Chief Engineer of Granada
• Robin Smith-Saville who founded Cambridge Signal Processors
• and a number of others.

Eventually in 1975 the Wireless section evolved into the Cambridge Area of the East Anglian Centre, which it had helped to set up.

In 2000 this Centre dissolved and the Area Committed reverted to an independent IEE Cambridge Branch with approximately 2000 members.

Some of the early lectures presented by the Wireless Section were far ahead of their time:

• 1944
  • Radio Problems with Cyclotrons - Sir Laurence Bragg
  • Polythene - Sir Willis Jackson
• 1945
  • Post-War TV
  • Enemy Radar
  • Colour TV
• 1947
  • Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) - Dennis Gabor
  • The Computer - Sir Maurice Wilkes
• 1948
  • Radio Telescopes - Sir Bernard Lovell
• 1949
  • The Transistor
• 1957
  • The Mullard Radio Telescope - Sir Martin Ryle
• 1960
  • Satellites for Communication - Bray
• 1967
  • The Scanning Electron Microscope - Sir Charles Oatley (view a brief illustrated biography)

Links to Local History Sites

As well as the information presented here, there are many other sites of equally interesting content. We present links to these sites for your convenience:

• Prof. David Wheeler's Events in the early history of the Computer Laboratory
• The History of the Cambridge University Computer Lab
• Manchester University Department Of Computer Science (has ties to Cambridge University)
• Prof. J. E. Carroll
• Professor Frank Fallside

Information kindly supplied by Peter di Mambro, Hon Secretary, IEE Cambridge Branch.