Gordon Welchman

[WTFH]

It was a reasonably interesting programme, since I didn't fall asleep watching it.

Unlike 90% of modern Horizon progs.

Yes, I enjoyed it - thanks for pointing it out!

[d000hg]

On a similar vein, what was the film (or possibly Channel 4 mini-series) about the chap telling the story of the other chap who dedicated his life to creating an accurate clock, ending up with a watch used for maritime navigation?

[SueEllen]

Ooooo, that's interesting.

He tried to get rid of Tommy Flowers.

Just as well he didn't succeed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Flowers

Love that Flowers did a course in computing in his 80's.

[Martin Scroatman]

Assuming we're not all Bletchleyed out, there's a documentary at 21:00 this evening about Gordon Welchman, another of the Bletchley boys, who wrote "The Hut Six Story" back in the early 80s.

BBC Two - Bletchley Park: Code-breaking's Forgotten Genius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Welchman

The stuff in "The Hut Six Story" about code breaking is beyond my comprehension these days, but it was enough to get Welchman's security clearance revoked by the NSA.

Yep, that sounds interesting...

[zeitghost]

Assuming we're not all Bletchleyed out, there's a documentary at 21:00 this evening about Gordon Welchman, another of the Bletchley boys, who wrote "The Hut Six Story" back in the early 80s.

BBC Two - Bletchley Park: Code-breaking's Forgotten Genius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Welchman

The stuff in "The Hut Six Story" about code breaking is beyond my comprehension these days, but it was enough to get Welchman's security clearance revoked by the NSA.

Ooooo, that's interesting.

He tried to get rid of Tommy Flowers.

Just as well he didn't succeed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Flowers

Flowers had first met (and got on with) Turing in 1939, but was treated with disdain by Gordon Welchman, because of his advocacy of valves rather than relays.

Welchman preferred the views of Wynn-Williams and Keene of BTM (who had designed and constructed the Bombe), and wanted Radley and “Mr Flowers of Dollis Hill” removed from work on Colossus for “squandering good valves”.

On a similar vein, what was the film (or possibly Channel 4 mini-series) about the chap telling the story of the other chap who dedicated his life to creating an accurate clock, ending up with a watch used for maritime navigation?

The Harrison H4?

John Harrrison and his Timekeepers at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, tells the story of Longitiude and the most important clocks ever made : Press release archive : Press office & news : About us : RMG

There was a drama doc about Harrison IIRC.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/longitude