The Preston Science School
These extracts are specific to the Preston Science School
December 1936
HEADMASTER'S APPEAL
School House,
Malvern College,
December 1936.
Dear Sir,
To meet the claims of a modern education, and in view of the growing needs of the School, it has been decided to erect a new building devoted entirely to the teaching and study of Science.
At the present time Malvern's needs are provided by the original laboratories erected forty years ago, and by accommodation improvised in two other buildings adapted at the end of the War, avowedly as a temporary expedient only. While it cannot be denied that sound teaching is being given under these conditions, it will be readily appreciated that this is unsatisfactory and not worthy of the school. Every State secondary school of any size is provided with the latest modern requirements for science teaching and several Public Schools of the same status as Malvern have recently reconstructed their Science accommodation. It is hard to over-estimate the inspiration both to the teacher and the taught that would be derived from a building that approximated more closely to modern standards and was really up to date in structure and equipment.
A site has been selected behind the Memorial Library and plans have been submitted by the College Architect, Mr. P. W. Hubbard, F.R.I.B.A., acting in consultation with Mr. Munby, [author of Laboratories: their Planning and Fittings] the well-known expert in work of this kind, and the foundations of the building are already completed. A sketch of the approved design, giving the elevation of the building, accompanies this appeal. The total cost of the building and equipment will not exceed £21,000.
The efforts of the Council to reduce the burden of past debts have been so successful in recent years that it was felt it would be unwise to vary its policy at this juncture. In the past the accumulated funds of the Malvernian Society have often been used to cover the cost of improvements at the School, but if any large portion of the income of the Society was pledged for this major purpose over a spell of years, it would prevent it from continuing to give its help in many other directions. The laboratories in many Public Schools have been erected through the generosity of individual benefactors and this appeared a real opportunity for those who have come to value the work done at Malvern to show their appreciation in a very special and definite way.
As the matter from the point of view of the School was one of urgency and no appeal for a specific educational improvement had been made for over thirty years, the Council gave me permission in April to approach a few supporters of the School who might give substantial assistance in the project. As you will see from the accompanying list, the response to this limited appeal has been most gratifying, and it is now possible to say that with the help of one especially generous benefaction more than two-thirds of the total cost has been promised. This only leaves about £6,300 to be found, and we are hopeful that other parents and Old Boys will be willing to give us such a measure of support as may ensure the balance. Any contribution, however small, will be most welcome. Perhaps I may be allowed to add that it would be a particular source of gratification to myself if the whole sum required could be forthcoming early in 1937 before I leave Malvern.
May I appeal for your sympathetic interest and help?
F. S. PRESTON,
Headmaster.
School House,
Malvern College,
December 1936.
Dear Sir,
To meet the claims of a modern education, and in view of the growing needs of the School, it has been decided to erect a new building devoted entirely to the teaching and study of Science.
At the present time Malvern's needs are provided by the original laboratories erected forty years ago, and by accommodation improvised in two other buildings adapted at the end of the War, avowedly as a temporary expedient only. While it cannot be denied that sound teaching is being given under these conditions, it will be readily appreciated that this is unsatisfactory and not worthy of the school. Every State secondary school of any size is provided with the latest modern requirements for science teaching and several Public Schools of the same status as Malvern have recently reconstructed their Science accommodation. It is hard to over-estimate the inspiration both to the teacher and the taught that would be derived from a building that approximated more closely to modern standards and was really up to date in structure and equipment.
A site has been selected behind the Memorial Library and plans have been submitted by the College Architect, Mr. P. W. Hubbard, F.R.I.B.A., acting in consultation with Mr. Munby, [author of Laboratories: their Planning and Fittings] the well-known expert in work of this kind, and the foundations of the building are already completed. A sketch of the approved design, giving the elevation of the building, accompanies this appeal. The total cost of the building and equipment will not exceed £21,000.
The efforts of the Council to reduce the burden of past debts have been so successful in recent years that it was felt it would be unwise to vary its policy at this juncture. In the past the accumulated funds of the Malvernian Society have often been used to cover the cost of improvements at the School, but if any large portion of the income of the Society was pledged for this major purpose over a spell of years, it would prevent it from continuing to give its help in many other directions. The laboratories in many Public Schools have been erected through the generosity of individual benefactors and this appeared a real opportunity for those who have come to value the work done at Malvern to show their appreciation in a very special and definite way.
As the matter from the point of view of the School was one of urgency and no appeal for a specific educational improvement had been made for over thirty years, the Council gave me permission in April to approach a few supporters of the School who might give substantial assistance in the project. As you will see from the accompanying list, the response to this limited appeal has been most gratifying, and it is now possible to say that with the help of one especially generous benefaction more than two-thirds of the total cost has been promised. This only leaves about £6,300 to be found, and we are hopeful that other parents and Old Boys will be willing to give us such a measure of support as may ensure the balance. Any contribution, however small, will be most welcome. Perhaps I may be allowed to add that it would be a particular source of gratification to myself if the whole sum required could be forthcoming early in 1937 before I leave Malvern.
May I appeal for your sympathetic interest and help?
F. S. PRESTON,
Headmaster.
March 1938
THE PRESTON SCIENCE SCHOOL details
I have been unable to discover the exact date when Science was first introduced as a recognised subject at Malvern. There are legends extant which tell of a classroom "up Coll." which was provided with a sink and a glass fronted cupboard for the storage of apparatus. Old Malvernians tell of dangerous experiments performed with an electrical machine.
The first real laboratories were, I imagine, those which are now known as the Nort Laboratories and which form part of the Pavilion block. The site of these North Chemical Laboratories and the Armoury was formerly occupied by a gymnasium. When the present Gymnasium was built, the old gymnasium was given over to scientific and military uses, and the floors of these rooms still exhibit the metal slots which were used to secure gymnastic apparatus. A former Senior Science Master, D. J. P. Berridge, to whom the school owes much for his untiring efforts to introduce Science into its proper sphere in the scheme of work at Malvern, has told how lie "fagged" a now distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society with the scientific apparatus, which was moved from the class-room " up Coll." To the North Laboratories in 1893. No further changes were made until 1920, when a room at the Monastery was given over to elementary science for the Shells.
At this time the Science Staff had four Masters, who taught the Shells, the Modern Forms in the middle of the School and an Upper School Form which was known as the Science and Engineering Form. This Form consisted of some dozen fellows ranging in ages and abilities over about three years, who were reading for a variety of professions and examinations. It must have been a difficult Form to supervise. To meet the growing needs ot Science, the Science staff was presently increased to six masters, and the room at the Monastery was converted into a biological laboratory to afford facilities to boys reading for the 1st Medical examination and kindred examinations. With the increase in the number of boys reading Science, the Stables and Coach house at the bottom of No. 8 Garden were converted into additional laboratories in 1923. The Science laboratories were thus housed in three separate buildings, which were widely dispersed. All the rooms which were in use had been converted; they were sometimes too small, and they suffered from the disadvantages which are inherent on rooms of a "makeshift " character. Administration of these laboratories became increasingly difficult. To equip Malvern with adequate Science Buildings, which would be centrally situated, was therefore the aim of Mr. Preston when he put forward a scheme for new Science Laboratories. Thanks to his initiative and energy, and to the generous support of Old Malvernians, Parents and Friends of the School, the Preston Science School has now been built.
It is thought that some description of the Preston Science School may be of Interest to those Old Boys who have not been able to visit the School recently. The architect is P. W. Hubbard (O.M., No. 4), and the internal fittings have been designed by Alan K. Munby, who has been for some years the acknowledged authority on laboratory furniture. These architects have worked in close co-operation with the Science Staff. The building, which is situated between Houses No 8 and No. 3, and to the South of the Memorial Library, is constructed of a reddish brick which is relieved by courses of stonework. Large windows ensure adequate lighting. In general, the ground floor is given over to Chemistry, the first floor to Physics, and the top floor to Biology. All branches of Science are thus housed under one roof.
In greater detail, the ground floor comprises:
(a) An advanced Chemical Laboratory for sixteen boys, with a separate storeroom and balance room. Special consideration has been given to facilities for combustion experiments and glass working. The South side of this room is entirely composed of fume cupboards
(b) Two Laboratories for elementary chemical work, each capable of taking 25 boys.
(c) A lecture demonstration room which will accommodate some 60 boys. This is provided with an epidiascope for lantern work. There is also an attendant's preparation room, and a storage room on this floor.
On the first floor there are:
(a) A Laboratory for advanced Physics, with a separate dark room for optical work.
(b) Two large Laboratories for elementary Physics, each capable of taking 25 boys
(c) A lecture room, containing an epidiascope, for some 30 boys.
(d) A photographic dark room for the Natural History Society.
(e) A workshop which is furnished with a woodwork bench, a small lathe, a bench for metal work, and a rectifier for accumulator charging.
A storage room for physical apparatus is provided.
The second floor comprises:
(a) A Laboratory for advanced biological work for about 16 boys. Here special consideration has been given to ensure adequate lighting for microscope work, each bench being provided with lighting plugs.
(b) A Laboratory for elementary Biology, a subject which is being introduced to Lower School Forms.
(c) A special room for the Natural History Society, which will now have a real home of its own. It contains one large and three small aquaria lor the cultivation of aquatic specimens. Members of this Society, which has always been a very important one in the life of the School, will be able to watch the development—or otherwise—of those animals and plants which they bring in from their country rambles (d) A Science Library which will house the 600 volumes on Science, which are now inadequately centred in the South Laboratories This is one of the most attractive rooms in this building, and it is hoped that it will be used freely by boys who are reading advanced Science.
Throughout the Building special attention has been given to the provision of proper facilities for the storage of apparatus, both in the actual laboratories and in the special storerooms. The proper ventilation of the chemical laboratories has been ensured by the provision of fans which are operated by electric motors on the roof.
Malvern is now equipped with adequate laboratories for the proper study of the subjects Chemistry, Physics and Biology. With few exceptions, all members of the Middle School and the Shells read a general Science course. In the Hundred the majority of boys offer Science as a subject lor the School Certificate. In the post-certificate forms —the Science, Mathematical and Army Sixths and Fifths—about 80 boys are reading Science with a view to University Entrance Scholarships, the Higher Certificate, the Army Entrance Examination, and various professional examinations in medicine, engineering, and agriculture. Thus few boys should pass through the School without acquiring at least some general knowledge of Science, and adequate facilities are given for specialist work of a post-certificate character.
F. HARE, Senior Science master
I have been unable to discover the exact date when Science was first introduced as a recognised subject at Malvern. There are legends extant which tell of a classroom "up Coll." which was provided with a sink and a glass fronted cupboard for the storage of apparatus. Old Malvernians tell of dangerous experiments performed with an electrical machine.
The first real laboratories were, I imagine, those which are now known as the Nort Laboratories and which form part of the Pavilion block. The site of these North Chemical Laboratories and the Armoury was formerly occupied by a gymnasium. When the present Gymnasium was built, the old gymnasium was given over to scientific and military uses, and the floors of these rooms still exhibit the metal slots which were used to secure gymnastic apparatus. A former Senior Science Master, D. J. P. Berridge, to whom the school owes much for his untiring efforts to introduce Science into its proper sphere in the scheme of work at Malvern, has told how lie "fagged" a now distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society with the scientific apparatus, which was moved from the class-room " up Coll." To the North Laboratories in 1893. No further changes were made until 1920, when a room at the Monastery was given over to elementary science for the Shells.
At this time the Science Staff had four Masters, who taught the Shells, the Modern Forms in the middle of the School and an Upper School Form which was known as the Science and Engineering Form. This Form consisted of some dozen fellows ranging in ages and abilities over about three years, who were reading for a variety of professions and examinations. It must have been a difficult Form to supervise. To meet the growing needs ot Science, the Science staff was presently increased to six masters, and the room at the Monastery was converted into a biological laboratory to afford facilities to boys reading for the 1st Medical examination and kindred examinations. With the increase in the number of boys reading Science, the Stables and Coach house at the bottom of No. 8 Garden were converted into additional laboratories in 1923. The Science laboratories were thus housed in three separate buildings, which were widely dispersed. All the rooms which were in use had been converted; they were sometimes too small, and they suffered from the disadvantages which are inherent on rooms of a "makeshift " character. Administration of these laboratories became increasingly difficult. To equip Malvern with adequate Science Buildings, which would be centrally situated, was therefore the aim of Mr. Preston when he put forward a scheme for new Science Laboratories. Thanks to his initiative and energy, and to the generous support of Old Malvernians, Parents and Friends of the School, the Preston Science School has now been built.
It is thought that some description of the Preston Science School may be of Interest to those Old Boys who have not been able to visit the School recently. The architect is P. W. Hubbard (O.M., No. 4), and the internal fittings have been designed by Alan K. Munby, who has been for some years the acknowledged authority on laboratory furniture. These architects have worked in close co-operation with the Science Staff. The building, which is situated between Houses No 8 and No. 3, and to the South of the Memorial Library, is constructed of a reddish brick which is relieved by courses of stonework. Large windows ensure adequate lighting. In general, the ground floor is given over to Chemistry, the first floor to Physics, and the top floor to Biology. All branches of Science are thus housed under one roof.
In greater detail, the ground floor comprises:
(a) An advanced Chemical Laboratory for sixteen boys, with a separate storeroom and balance room. Special consideration has been given to facilities for combustion experiments and glass working. The South side of this room is entirely composed of fume cupboards
(b) Two Laboratories for elementary chemical work, each capable of taking 25 boys.
(c) A lecture demonstration room which will accommodate some 60 boys. This is provided with an epidiascope for lantern work. There is also an attendant's preparation room, and a storage room on this floor.
On the first floor there are:
(a) A Laboratory for advanced Physics, with a separate dark room for optical work.
(b) Two large Laboratories for elementary Physics, each capable of taking 25 boys
(c) A lecture room, containing an epidiascope, for some 30 boys.
(d) A photographic dark room for the Natural History Society.
(e) A workshop which is furnished with a woodwork bench, a small lathe, a bench for metal work, and a rectifier for accumulator charging.
A storage room for physical apparatus is provided.
The second floor comprises:
(a) A Laboratory for advanced biological work for about 16 boys. Here special consideration has been given to ensure adequate lighting for microscope work, each bench being provided with lighting plugs.
(b) A Laboratory for elementary Biology, a subject which is being introduced to Lower School Forms.
(c) A special room for the Natural History Society, which will now have a real home of its own. It contains one large and three small aquaria lor the cultivation of aquatic specimens. Members of this Society, which has always been a very important one in the life of the School, will be able to watch the development—or otherwise—of those animals and plants which they bring in from their country rambles (d) A Science Library which will house the 600 volumes on Science, which are now inadequately centred in the South Laboratories This is one of the most attractive rooms in this building, and it is hoped that it will be used freely by boys who are reading advanced Science.
Throughout the Building special attention has been given to the provision of proper facilities for the storage of apparatus, both in the actual laboratories and in the special storerooms. The proper ventilation of the chemical laboratories has been ensured by the provision of fans which are operated by electric motors on the roof.
Malvern is now equipped with adequate laboratories for the proper study of the subjects Chemistry, Physics and Biology. With few exceptions, all members of the Middle School and the Shells read a general Science course. In the Hundred the majority of boys offer Science as a subject lor the School Certificate. In the post-certificate forms —the Science, Mathematical and Army Sixths and Fifths—about 80 boys are reading Science with a view to University Entrance Scholarships, the Higher Certificate, the Army Entrance Examination, and various professional examinations in medicine, engineering, and agriculture. Thus few boys should pass through the School without acquiring at least some general knowledge of Science, and adequate facilities are given for specialist work of a post-certificate character.
F. HARE, Senior Science master
March 1938
Speech Day
Saturday, June 18th
OPENING CEREMONY OF THE PRESTON SCIENCE SCHOOL.
The Preston Science School was opened by Earl Baldwin on the morning of Speech Day.
"We have met here this morning for a most interesting ceremony in the History of the College," said Earl Baldwin, "and in the performance of it I take the keenest personal delight. " Time moves quickly," he went on, "and I daresay it will puzzle many Oxford men to know who Radcliffe and Bodley were. Sometime in the future an inquiring youth will ask, ' Who is Preston? ' "
Alluding to Mr. Preston's early days as Headmaster, he observed that it was impossible for the young and the " young middle-aged " to realise what life was during the war. Nor, therefore, could they realise what a super-human task was laid on the shoulders of any man entrusted with the headship of a great public school just before the war begun.
"That was Mr. Preston's lot, and it was fortunate for Malvern that the lot fell on him. Remember he came from Marlborough as a stranger. When war broke out, he was faced with many problems. There left as usual, something like 70 boys at the end of the summer term, and before the holidays were over, he knew that 70 more had left to seek commissions in the Army. He had to immediately face the difficult problem of conducting the business of the school, feeding of boys, and all that work of which you know nothing, but on which you often feel yourselves qualified to express an opinion."
Earl Baldwin mentioned the effect of the war years on school life, the state of nervous tension among the boys, the older ones straining to get away to join the Army, and the unsettling influence on the younger ones. Then there was the effect on the man himself as the war went on of learning day by day of pupils with whom he had worked and in whom he may have had high hopes, one after another being killed. It was something inconceivable in peace time. Looking at photographs of games elevens or rowing eights, he would find gaps, sometimes a whole crew wiped out and five or six in a team killed at 18, 19 and 20 years of age.
To anyone who had been a schoolmaster or a parent then such memories were ineffaceable. Today we hardly knew the debt we owed to the men who carried on and tried to do their duty by the boys of the rising generation.
Such was the start Mr. Preston made, and by his strength of character he fought through. Most of his younger masters had left. He had to improvise a team of older men, some of them retired teachers who came back loyally to answer the call; others, women who had lent a hand in the great work. Then at the cessation of hostilities he had to do what the universities did — readjust the school to the new age into which the world was advancing, and of which most people knew so little.
But it was a great time for men of vision. Mr. Preston saw what was wanted in education for the years to come. He made many alterations, and under his skilful guidance the number of scholars increased steadily. More important, the whole tone of the College showed that it felt the great personality presiding over its destinies.
"And so we come to but a few years ago," Earl Baldwin went on, "when shortly before he left us he conceived the idea of this School and started that most difficult task of trying to raise money. He was successful, very successful. He secured an architect who has given us, I think, a building that will add both to the beauty and the usefulness of this great College. It seemed fitting to all who had the interests of Malvern at heart that when this building was completed it should bear the name of Mr. Preston, and should remain for all time as a record of the work he did here " So I have the greatest pleasure in performing this ceremony, first because of what the building may mean to Malvern, but chiefly, I must say, because I am opening it, and, as it were, dedicating it to the memory of a man who I hope will always.be remembered in the history of Malvern College—a man who is at the same time a great Head Master and a great English gentleman."
Mr. Preston had an enthusiastic reception on rising to reply. He said he accepted gladly a suggestion to speak at that ceremony, because it gave him an opportunity that might never recur of being able to mention one or two things. He went on to say that Earl Baldwin was one of the only three members of the College Council still living who was responsible for electing him to the headship, and he interpreted his visit not only as evidence of his interest in Malvern, but as a personal compliment of which he was proud. " I have always known and valued the interest and goodwill he has shown towards Malvern," observed Mr. Preston.
Touching upon the new School, Mr. Preston confessed that he was astounded at the way money was given when the appeal was sent out. To all of them he desired to say what he had already written to many individually, simply, " We thank you." Some of the donations were very striking, especially in one particular case with which they were familiar, and he suggested that the building should be associated with the names of that donor and others who had given so liberally. Generosity, however, was only surpassed by modest)', and so the School came to be named after him. Alluding to the building, Mr. Preston remarked: "To those of us who taught such pedestrian subjects as languages, literature and history, it has seemed rather strange how our science colleagues appear entitle d to claim more attractive surroundings for their teaching. Certainly in this building my former science colleagues have not only something worthy of their teaching, but, I hope, an added inspiration.
"Finally, you and I know the University which we proudly regard as the greatest home of Science in the world, and where countless Science buildings have arisen in recent years. Some of them fit in well with their surroundings, but some of them are almost aesthetic monstrosities.
"We are fortunate here in having a building which fits so splendidly in its surroundings and is so well equipped technically. We owe it to our Malvernian architect, Mr George Hubbard.[No, you mean Mr Philip Hubbard.]
Amid applause, Earl Baldwin afterwards unlocked the door with the golden key banded to him by the Architect, and was conducted over the building, accompanied by members of the College Council and Staff.
Saturday, June 18th
OPENING CEREMONY OF THE PRESTON SCIENCE SCHOOL.
The Preston Science School was opened by Earl Baldwin on the morning of Speech Day.
"We have met here this morning for a most interesting ceremony in the History of the College," said Earl Baldwin, "and in the performance of it I take the keenest personal delight. " Time moves quickly," he went on, "and I daresay it will puzzle many Oxford men to know who Radcliffe and Bodley were. Sometime in the future an inquiring youth will ask, ' Who is Preston? ' "
Alluding to Mr. Preston's early days as Headmaster, he observed that it was impossible for the young and the " young middle-aged " to realise what life was during the war. Nor, therefore, could they realise what a super-human task was laid on the shoulders of any man entrusted with the headship of a great public school just before the war begun.
"That was Mr. Preston's lot, and it was fortunate for Malvern that the lot fell on him. Remember he came from Marlborough as a stranger. When war broke out, he was faced with many problems. There left as usual, something like 70 boys at the end of the summer term, and before the holidays were over, he knew that 70 more had left to seek commissions in the Army. He had to immediately face the difficult problem of conducting the business of the school, feeding of boys, and all that work of which you know nothing, but on which you often feel yourselves qualified to express an opinion."
Earl Baldwin mentioned the effect of the war years on school life, the state of nervous tension among the boys, the older ones straining to get away to join the Army, and the unsettling influence on the younger ones. Then there was the effect on the man himself as the war went on of learning day by day of pupils with whom he had worked and in whom he may have had high hopes, one after another being killed. It was something inconceivable in peace time. Looking at photographs of games elevens or rowing eights, he would find gaps, sometimes a whole crew wiped out and five or six in a team killed at 18, 19 and 20 years of age.
To anyone who had been a schoolmaster or a parent then such memories were ineffaceable. Today we hardly knew the debt we owed to the men who carried on and tried to do their duty by the boys of the rising generation.
Such was the start Mr. Preston made, and by his strength of character he fought through. Most of his younger masters had left. He had to improvise a team of older men, some of them retired teachers who came back loyally to answer the call; others, women who had lent a hand in the great work. Then at the cessation of hostilities he had to do what the universities did — readjust the school to the new age into which the world was advancing, and of which most people knew so little.
But it was a great time for men of vision. Mr. Preston saw what was wanted in education for the years to come. He made many alterations, and under his skilful guidance the number of scholars increased steadily. More important, the whole tone of the College showed that it felt the great personality presiding over its destinies.
"And so we come to but a few years ago," Earl Baldwin went on, "when shortly before he left us he conceived the idea of this School and started that most difficult task of trying to raise money. He was successful, very successful. He secured an architect who has given us, I think, a building that will add both to the beauty and the usefulness of this great College. It seemed fitting to all who had the interests of Malvern at heart that when this building was completed it should bear the name of Mr. Preston, and should remain for all time as a record of the work he did here " So I have the greatest pleasure in performing this ceremony, first because of what the building may mean to Malvern, but chiefly, I must say, because I am opening it, and, as it were, dedicating it to the memory of a man who I hope will always.be remembered in the history of Malvern College—a man who is at the same time a great Head Master and a great English gentleman."
Mr. Preston had an enthusiastic reception on rising to reply. He said he accepted gladly a suggestion to speak at that ceremony, because it gave him an opportunity that might never recur of being able to mention one or two things. He went on to say that Earl Baldwin was one of the only three members of the College Council still living who was responsible for electing him to the headship, and he interpreted his visit not only as evidence of his interest in Malvern, but as a personal compliment of which he was proud. " I have always known and valued the interest and goodwill he has shown towards Malvern," observed Mr. Preston.
Touching upon the new School, Mr. Preston confessed that he was astounded at the way money was given when the appeal was sent out. To all of them he desired to say what he had already written to many individually, simply, " We thank you." Some of the donations were very striking, especially in one particular case with which they were familiar, and he suggested that the building should be associated with the names of that donor and others who had given so liberally. Generosity, however, was only surpassed by modest)', and so the School came to be named after him. Alluding to the building, Mr. Preston remarked: "To those of us who taught such pedestrian subjects as languages, literature and history, it has seemed rather strange how our science colleagues appear entitle d to claim more attractive surroundings for their teaching. Certainly in this building my former science colleagues have not only something worthy of their teaching, but, I hope, an added inspiration.
"Finally, you and I know the University which we proudly regard as the greatest home of Science in the world, and where countless Science buildings have arisen in recent years. Some of them fit in well with their surroundings, but some of them are almost aesthetic monstrosities.
"We are fortunate here in having a building which fits so splendidly in its surroundings and is so well equipped technically. We owe it to our Malvernian architect, Mr George Hubbard.[No, you mean Mr Philip Hubbard.]
Amid applause, Earl Baldwin afterwards unlocked the door with the golden key banded to him by the Architect, and was conducted over the building, accompanied by members of the College Council and Staff.
November 1938
July 1942
March 1965
A Hundred Years On
Centenary Day — January 25th, 1965
The celebrations of the actual Centenary Day at Malvern passed without mishap. After lunch the various people who had been invited, together with the staff, many of the College Prefects and the Press, assembled in the Salter Room in the new Science Block, and listened to speeches, of which the first was by the Chairman of the College Council, Sir John Wheeler-Bennett:
"Sir Bernard Lovell, Headmaster, Ladies and Gentlemen:To-day is our centenary. One hundred years ago, on January 25th, 1865, Malvern College opened its doors and twenty-four boys trudged through the snow to enter their new school. Thus a new venture was born, a new public school in the great English tradition took its first faltering steps along the road to achievement. To-day we know what that achievement has been and to-day we encompass for a fleeting moment past, present and future.
We commemorate the past in the publication by Messrs. Macmillan of "The History of Malvern College," written at the request of the College Council by Ralph Blumenau, our Senior history master. It is in my opinion, if I may say so at the risk of making its author blush, a model of what such a work should be — accurate and readable. Author and publisher are to be warmly congratulated and we are very glad to have with us to-day, Mr. Alastair Maclean, who is representing Messrs. Macmillan.
The present and the future may be viewed together. If you will read Mr. Blumenau's book — and I hope you will do so in considerable numbers — you will, I think, note one of those parallels so dear to the heart of the historians — like Ralph Blumenau and myself. One particular feature links our gathering here to-day with that event of January 25th, 1865. It is this.
One hundred years ago a group of men, men of steadfast courage and confidence, of vision and imagination, built a school in the certainty that boys would come to it in due course. It was a great Victorian act of faith and we here to-day are witnesses to its justification and its fulfilment.
In the intervening century much has happened — in Malvern as elsewhere. But for us here to-day the outstanding circumstance is that Malvern College, over and above its other considerable achievements, has become one of the leading science schools in the country.
The important contribution which it has made to the teaching of science is described in the pamphlet, of which you are already possessed, and I will therefore say no more in detail. Our purpose here to-day is to open the third extension of the Preston Science School and this brings me to my parallel. This new extension owes its existence — as did Malvern College itself—-to a group of men who, like our founding fathers, have vision, courage, confidence and generosity. They have faith in the truly splendid work which our Senior Science Master, John Lewis, has done here, work which has fired the imagination and the discipleship of so many. They believe that, given this new equipment, he can attain to even greater heights. They, like ourselves, have confidence in the future of Malvern College, and the expression of their faith is seen in these new premises which are due to their munificence. To-day is our opportunity to thank the representatives of those firms and organisations through whose liberality this new wing has been built. Their names are inscribed on a commemorative plaque, but I would like here and now to express the deep gratitude of the College Council, and also of all those who will use the buildings, for this benefaction. I would like also to offer a special word of welcome to Sir Graham Savage, Assessor of the Industrial Fund, and to Mr. Lang of the Department of Education and Science at the Ministry of Education, both of whom have interested themselves so very beneficially on our behalf.
It is particularly appropriate that to-day's opening ceremony should be performed by Sir Bernard Lovell — not merely because of his fame to-day in the world of science, but because he was also one of that band of brilliant scientists who worked at Malvern during the war. We can in one sense welcome him as a "parent," since he sent his son to Malvern — I hope beneficially, Sir — for the final year of his school career.
One final point: one room in the new wing has been called the Rowe Room to commemorate the work of the radar experts who took over Malvern College and contributed so much to the winning of the war. This team of giants was led by Dr. (then Mr.) A. P. Rowe who, after leaving Malvern, worked for the Admiralty and then was for ten years Vice-Chancellor of Adelaide University. It was from Adelaide that he wrote to the present headmaster — if I am correct, Sir — to say that no one had, through force of circumstances, done more damage to Malvern College than he, but he yet hoped to return and live in Malvern. He added that if, during his 'retirement,' he could repair the damage by joining the staff as a part-time teacher of mathematics and astronomy, he would like to do so. His offer was accepted with alacrity and for the last seven years he has made a wonderful contribution — not only to the academic standards of Malvern but to the life of the College in general. We cannot be too grateful to him, and it is partly as a tribute to his old war-time chief that Sir Bernard Lovell agreed to come to us to-day. We welcome you, Sir Bernard, in all the capacities to which I have referred: we deeply appreciate the fact that you have broken a pretty inflexible rule in coming to us: we appreciate your presence all the more for being ' hard to get': we thank you most sincerely for coming. May I ask you, overlooking I hope, the fact that our ceremonies have had to take place in a separate part of the buildings and not in the new wing itself, to declare that new wing open."
In his reply, Sir Bernard Lovell said:
"An American Congressman who visited Jodrell Bank recently was good enough to send me an official report of the House of Representatives Committee on research and development funds in the United States. The first page of this report gives the astonishing fact that Congress is now being asked to approve 15,000 million dollars annually to sustain the Government's interest in and need for research and development. This is 15% of the total Federal budget. 20 years ago, the sum was less than 1%.
This fantastic increase is a symbol of the extraordinary grip which science has on our civilization to-day. These figures underline a fact which must surely be self-evident. It is that in the world today no nation can survive as an economic and dynamic entity unless it gives priority attention to its research and development. In passing I am bound to reflect that this truism has been sadly neglected by our own leaders. A country which has as its heritage Newton, Herschel, Darwin, Faraday, Thomson and Rutherford is, in these critical years, spending not more than 3% of its budget on these vital matters.
Why has this disparity occurred during the last two decades? At the close of World War II our position was not unfavourable. The efforts to increase the aid to research and development in America fell on stony ground. The attitude in the higher echelons of government was epitomized by the remark of the, then, Secretary of Defence Wilson who regarded the historic launching of Sputnik I merely as a "neat scientific trick." But the progressive forces were too strong and the national outcry was so great that, in fact, the event of that day October 4th, 1957 completely changed the attitude to science. Seven years later even one single consequence of the "scientific trick " was costing the United States 5,000 million dollars a year — I refer to the Apollo moon programme. From that point the scientific effort in the U.K. lost ground in comparison with the international scene with alarming speed. The Government, although of course finally responsible, was handicapped by divided counsels from its advisers and the cancellation of the Blue Streak rocket at the moment when a dynamic advance on all scientific fronts was demanded set the tone for all that has followed subsequently.
I have dwelt on this for a special reason. I think that most commentators would agree that the launching of the Soviet Sputnik was the single event which changed the American scene and worsened our own, not only by comparison, but also because large numbers of our best brains began to despair and migrated to the American continent. (May I remind you that the official Royal Society investigation 2 years ago showed that we were losing 12% of Ph.D. students to America every year: And I know that in my own case 40% of the students who have taken Ph.Ds. at Jodrell Bank are now working in the United States.) The irony of this is that the dramatic event was staged by a people who were widely regarded in the West as being relatively uneducated and backward scientifically and technologically.
Surely there has never been in history a more dramatic demonstration of the great power of scientific education than this. Thirty years ago the Soviets began their concentration on the education of the young in science and technology. We must remember too that they began from a poor position — so poor that they felt the need to retain under duress in their country eminent physicists like Kapitza. The cumulative results of their efforts became manifest in the Sputnik within a quarter of a century — and this in spite of the decimation of their country in a world war.
You will realize therefore that, although the advance of science often makes one feel uncomfortable and has its dangerous aspects, nevertheless I believe that no nation can survive in an effective manner unless its science and technology are strong and virile. This strength must derive ultimately from the people and for this the teaching of science must permeate the schools of our country in an attractive and efficient manner. The problem is one of great difficulty simply because during the last two decades science itself has advanced with increasing acceleration, and the issues of what to teach, how to teach it and at what stage, has itself become a hard problem.
At least, here today, we have a wonderful example of an organization which has faced this task in a worthy manner and it would be impossible for me to express adequately my admiration for the Headmaster and his staff, especially the senior science master, and to those of you who with such generosity have made these developments possible. It seems to me to be an almost idealised example of the kind of development for which the country is yearning. A development which, if nurtured, will soon permeate the teaching of science in this country. It is impossible to make science easy, but it is only too easy to make science obscure. The work which is proceeding here is the enemy of obscurity and should soon exert such a wide influence that the young will find science attractive and in a generation we might well achieve, without compulsion, the kind of balance of scientific professionalism amongst the people which will force and fit the nation to take its proper place in the world scene.
At the stage of education we are discussing today the primary emphasis is bound to be on science as knowledge, and the processes, techniques and tools of discovery. I think though, that it is necessary also to give some attention to the inculcation of the more general conflicts and interactions of scientific knowledge. One of our major troubles today is that many administrators gladly accept the benefits of the modern world and indeed use the results of science for private profit, while displaying a woefully inadequate feeling for the urgent need to continue the investment in fundamental work. It is, I think, undeniable that the benefits which the people enjoy today and the industrial and military strength of the nations depend on discoveries made in scientific laboratories within the last 50 years where the work was in progress without any intention or thought of practical application. On the whole as a nation we have failed dismally to reap the rewards of the appropriate technical development of our discoveries and there is much emphasis today on corrective processes for this situation. However, I am sometimes worried that this justifiable emphasis will push even further from men's minds the need to extend the investment in basic research which will provide the capital for our descendants. There is, today, far too much of a tendency to dismiss as " prestige" the urgent needs of development of our researches in the U.K. Our investments in basic research have failed to keep pace with the growth of our own overall scientific budget, and the further restrictions which are often rumoured would be a disastrous brake in a sphere of activity in which the nation has already suffered hardship.
On this question of the general awareness of the interactions of science and the need to make the young people aware of the problems, I remember with pleasure a spontaneous remark made by Major Gagarin — the first man to orbit the earth in a space vehicle. One might have expected that a member of the Soviet armed forces trained to undertake such a hazardous adventure would be unaware or at least somewhat insensitive of the influence of the basic sciences on his flight. However, I am sure that anyone who had the opportunity of talking quietly to Gagarin would be amazed at the extent of his relevant scientific knowledge. I particularly like to recall the occasion of a small luncheon at the Royal Society in honour of Gagarin. The President asked if he would accept as a memento of his visit the recently published collected works of Isaac Newton. In a short reply Gagarin said that he was particularly pleased to be able to take home these works because " after all without Sir Isaac Newton's discoveries my flight would have been impossible."
Although there are so many important and exciting things to be said about the present and the future I cannot discharge my task today without looking for a few moments into the past. During some of the darkest years of this nation's history the grounds and buildings of this college were diverted from their normal educational function. Four years is a short time in the history of man — even today it is only 4% of the time span of this college. Yet in the centuries to come the memory of what occurred within these gates under conditions of great secrecy in the years 1942 to 1946 will not be dimmed. It is indeed fitting that today we should honour the man who controlled and directed that secret establishment. It is for me a special pleasure that this building is to be associated with the name of Dr. A. P. Rowe, because during those years I happened to be one of Rowe's young men.
It was, I think, early in the 1930's that Prime Minister Baldwin made his fateful judgement that "the bomber will always get through." He was nearly right and but for an unknown factor in his assessment we would not be here today. He could not have known at that time, that the vision and determination of a few men, amongst whom the name of Rowe shines forth, would provide the country with a means of detecting the enemy bomber as it approached our shores and thereby enable our fighter pilots to search out their quarry and win for us the Battle of Britain with the handful of Spitfires which we then possessed.
I had no acquaintance with Rowe or with his devices in those pre-war years, and no doubt the senior turf here was still in use for its rightful purpose. Indeed I saw Rowe's cricket bag before I saw Rowe. It was propped against a wall in the hall of Bawdsey Manor. Its effect on me was magical. Reluctantly dragged from academic seclusion and expecting to be drafted under a technological robot I realised that, after all, the place must be in charge of a decent Englishman. My rebellious nature softened and (although of course I realise that Rowe may have other opinions) I tried to do whatever he asked of me for nearly 7 years.
I use the word "tried" advisedly because there was an early incident in our relationship which showed me, that although Rowe might play cricket, he had an iron grip on his establishment. Rowe and his team evacuated Bawdsey when hostilities began and moved to Dundee. I was in his airborne group and went to Scoone airport near Perth. As you might expect the facilities at the airport in 1939 were scarcely conducive to scientific research or development, even if it was for military purposes. I quickly sought an audience with Rowe in Dundee and complained about lack of libraries, workshop facilities, equipment and everything I could think of. In retrospect I see his response as that of a master.
Quietly he walked across to a large magnetic board on which his staff tree was arranged, verified that my name was Lovell, and removed it from " Airborne" to " Stores." Within five minutes he had deposited me with the establishment's storekeeper.
Rowe has himself described with eloquence and precision in his book "One Story of Radar," the circumstances under which we came to Malvern in 1942. It was here that his great work reached its climax. He had welded into a coherent organisation a remarkable array of scientists exhibiting every temperament known to man. He extracted from them the devices which held the key to our victories. From your buildings, now mercifully restored to their proper function, emerged the secret weapons with which our bomber forces located and devastated the enemy towns and industries, and the devices which enabled our fighters to seek out in the darkness of night the enemy bombers. From the middle floor of your Preston laboratory came the device which told the pilots hundreds of miles away when to release their bombs with such precision that individual bridges could be destroyed. From the top floor of that laboratory came the apparatus which enabled Coastal Command to deal with the U-boats. It was this to which Hitler referred when he said in despair that " the setback of our U-boat campaign is due to one single technical invention of our enemies." Finally at the climax, Rowe and his team were ready with the countermeasures which deceived the enemy when the historic moment came to enter Europe again.
I hope I have said enough to give you a glimpse of A. P. Rowe as he was when he controlled us all, and much more, from his desk in the classic sixth. He would, I know, be the last person desiring me to continue further with this picture. I remember one occasion when he had come with me and a few others to London on a lovely summer Saturday afternoon on some urgent matter. In despair I complained to Rowe of our lot and talked about the world which we had left a few years ago. He reprimanded me sternly, saying that it was a sign of old age to dwell on the past. I hope he will agree that it was necessary for me to do so on this occasion for a few moments.
But today is to those years as the domes of Fylingdales are to the masts of the old C.H. stations. Today, hope springs from developments of which this building is a pioneering symbol in the same way that the work in the college buildings gave us hope in 1942.
At moments like this when we initiate something which has no foreseeable end we do well to pause and remind ourselves that the good and the evil are irretrievably mixed in nearly all scientific research. Science contains the hope of the future and at the same time the very real possibility of destroying the civilised world. The devices of which I have been talking are already hopelessly outdated and have themselves given rise to tools which epitomise what I have in mind. The radar aerials have grown to radio telescopes which today penetrate to the ultimate depths of time and space. With their help we struggle with the intractable problems of the origin of space, time and the universe. Alas, with only minor differences the same telescopes are scanning the skies to detect the missiles which are poised to destroy us. The ballistic missiles themselves are a consequential issue of the flying bomb and V2s, of the war. These missiles also with relatively so little change are either the carriers of death or of the scientific instruments which are now moving towards the moon and the planets searching out the clues which will tell us how the solar system came into existence four and a half thousand million years ago.
In declaring this building open I do so with the hope that those who pass through its doors will strive to extract the good which is in science. May their skill be used practically, to improve the welfare and happiness of the people, and intellectually to help us understand the nature of ourselves, our world and of the organisation of the cosmos."
The Chairman thanked Sir Bernard, and handed over to Dr. Rowe, who said:
"A biblical dictum tells us that there were giants in those days. It is an understandable illusion, for the dead do not compete with the living and their frailties are apt to die with them. It is not my business to speak of the College but, being mindful of the Shakespearean tradition that the lowest form of life at the Court, the Court Jester, could say what he liked to the king, let me say that I do not believe that there were ever more giants, or more gigantic giants, in the College than there are today. So it comes about that, on this its great day, it can show an outward and visible sign that it forgives and understands the chaos some of us brought during the years of war.
But you would have me speak of T.R.E. Now and again it can happen that some great cause and the hour combine to bring together an exceptional body of people.
Certainly, there were giants in those days and I was but their servant. It has ever been my ambition to work with men having more brains and more energy than I possess and my desire has been fulfilled — except, I suppose, for a decade in an Australian university.
The official histories have made it clear that without the devices evolved by T.R.E., mostly at Swanage and this College, the war in the air and on the sea could not have been won and so D-day would not have happened at all.
The giants who worked here, particularly in the Preston Laboratory, were not altogether unaware of their stature. For a farewell party, I wrote these words:
At Preston Lab. it's plain to see,
They're not as other men.
It's good to see them haughtily,
Dispense the latest gen.
In honouring the servant, greatly I may say to his embarrassment, you honour the giants of those days. Most of all, you honour yourselves by your forgiveness of the harm we did you and indeed by remembering at all, what so many have forgotten or have never known, that not by the bestial carnage of the first world war, and of the Eastern front in the last, was victory won by the Western powers but by the gifts of science to those who fought and bore the greatest burdens of those fateful years."
After this Mr. Lewis made a short speech saying how science in Malvern had been modernised, mentioning in particular the Nuffield Projects, which have created a new atmosphere and attitude towards science in general. Then he explained what could be seen on each floor of the new wing and finished by emphasising that the best way of proving the worth of all this would be to go and see it.
As soon as the speeches had ended, most of the Science School was on display. In the Rowe room pride of place was given to a device which enabled collisions between two bodies to be photographed in a state where there was no friction. Below, in the Modern Physics Laboratory Mr. Chaundy's excellent series of experiments with centimetre waves was on display. In the advanced Laboratory Mr. Partridge's work in demonstrating applied science was well examined both by the visitors and the press. It was unfortunate that time did not permit much examination of the Nuffield experiments, with which many boys were then occupied, and the Chemical exhibition in the Preston Science Schools, but several of the visitors had to leave early. The final impression was that optimism about the day expressed by many of the science staff was justified.
Centenary Day — January 25th, 1965
The celebrations of the actual Centenary Day at Malvern passed without mishap. After lunch the various people who had been invited, together with the staff, many of the College Prefects and the Press, assembled in the Salter Room in the new Science Block, and listened to speeches, of which the first was by the Chairman of the College Council, Sir John Wheeler-Bennett:
"Sir Bernard Lovell, Headmaster, Ladies and Gentlemen:To-day is our centenary. One hundred years ago, on January 25th, 1865, Malvern College opened its doors and twenty-four boys trudged through the snow to enter their new school. Thus a new venture was born, a new public school in the great English tradition took its first faltering steps along the road to achievement. To-day we know what that achievement has been and to-day we encompass for a fleeting moment past, present and future.
We commemorate the past in the publication by Messrs. Macmillan of "The History of Malvern College," written at the request of the College Council by Ralph Blumenau, our Senior history master. It is in my opinion, if I may say so at the risk of making its author blush, a model of what such a work should be — accurate and readable. Author and publisher are to be warmly congratulated and we are very glad to have with us to-day, Mr. Alastair Maclean, who is representing Messrs. Macmillan.
The present and the future may be viewed together. If you will read Mr. Blumenau's book — and I hope you will do so in considerable numbers — you will, I think, note one of those parallels so dear to the heart of the historians — like Ralph Blumenau and myself. One particular feature links our gathering here to-day with that event of January 25th, 1865. It is this.
One hundred years ago a group of men, men of steadfast courage and confidence, of vision and imagination, built a school in the certainty that boys would come to it in due course. It was a great Victorian act of faith and we here to-day are witnesses to its justification and its fulfilment.
In the intervening century much has happened — in Malvern as elsewhere. But for us here to-day the outstanding circumstance is that Malvern College, over and above its other considerable achievements, has become one of the leading science schools in the country.
The important contribution which it has made to the teaching of science is described in the pamphlet, of which you are already possessed, and I will therefore say no more in detail. Our purpose here to-day is to open the third extension of the Preston Science School and this brings me to my parallel. This new extension owes its existence — as did Malvern College itself—-to a group of men who, like our founding fathers, have vision, courage, confidence and generosity. They have faith in the truly splendid work which our Senior Science Master, John Lewis, has done here, work which has fired the imagination and the discipleship of so many. They believe that, given this new equipment, he can attain to even greater heights. They, like ourselves, have confidence in the future of Malvern College, and the expression of their faith is seen in these new premises which are due to their munificence. To-day is our opportunity to thank the representatives of those firms and organisations through whose liberality this new wing has been built. Their names are inscribed on a commemorative plaque, but I would like here and now to express the deep gratitude of the College Council, and also of all those who will use the buildings, for this benefaction. I would like also to offer a special word of welcome to Sir Graham Savage, Assessor of the Industrial Fund, and to Mr. Lang of the Department of Education and Science at the Ministry of Education, both of whom have interested themselves so very beneficially on our behalf.
It is particularly appropriate that to-day's opening ceremony should be performed by Sir Bernard Lovell — not merely because of his fame to-day in the world of science, but because he was also one of that band of brilliant scientists who worked at Malvern during the war. We can in one sense welcome him as a "parent," since he sent his son to Malvern — I hope beneficially, Sir — for the final year of his school career.
One final point: one room in the new wing has been called the Rowe Room to commemorate the work of the radar experts who took over Malvern College and contributed so much to the winning of the war. This team of giants was led by Dr. (then Mr.) A. P. Rowe who, after leaving Malvern, worked for the Admiralty and then was for ten years Vice-Chancellor of Adelaide University. It was from Adelaide that he wrote to the present headmaster — if I am correct, Sir — to say that no one had, through force of circumstances, done more damage to Malvern College than he, but he yet hoped to return and live in Malvern. He added that if, during his 'retirement,' he could repair the damage by joining the staff as a part-time teacher of mathematics and astronomy, he would like to do so. His offer was accepted with alacrity and for the last seven years he has made a wonderful contribution — not only to the academic standards of Malvern but to the life of the College in general. We cannot be too grateful to him, and it is partly as a tribute to his old war-time chief that Sir Bernard Lovell agreed to come to us to-day. We welcome you, Sir Bernard, in all the capacities to which I have referred: we deeply appreciate the fact that you have broken a pretty inflexible rule in coming to us: we appreciate your presence all the more for being ' hard to get': we thank you most sincerely for coming. May I ask you, overlooking I hope, the fact that our ceremonies have had to take place in a separate part of the buildings and not in the new wing itself, to declare that new wing open."
In his reply, Sir Bernard Lovell said:
"An American Congressman who visited Jodrell Bank recently was good enough to send me an official report of the House of Representatives Committee on research and development funds in the United States. The first page of this report gives the astonishing fact that Congress is now being asked to approve 15,000 million dollars annually to sustain the Government's interest in and need for research and development. This is 15% of the total Federal budget. 20 years ago, the sum was less than 1%.
This fantastic increase is a symbol of the extraordinary grip which science has on our civilization to-day. These figures underline a fact which must surely be self-evident. It is that in the world today no nation can survive as an economic and dynamic entity unless it gives priority attention to its research and development. In passing I am bound to reflect that this truism has been sadly neglected by our own leaders. A country which has as its heritage Newton, Herschel, Darwin, Faraday, Thomson and Rutherford is, in these critical years, spending not more than 3% of its budget on these vital matters.
Why has this disparity occurred during the last two decades? At the close of World War II our position was not unfavourable. The efforts to increase the aid to research and development in America fell on stony ground. The attitude in the higher echelons of government was epitomized by the remark of the, then, Secretary of Defence Wilson who regarded the historic launching of Sputnik I merely as a "neat scientific trick." But the progressive forces were too strong and the national outcry was so great that, in fact, the event of that day October 4th, 1957 completely changed the attitude to science. Seven years later even one single consequence of the "scientific trick " was costing the United States 5,000 million dollars a year — I refer to the Apollo moon programme. From that point the scientific effort in the U.K. lost ground in comparison with the international scene with alarming speed. The Government, although of course finally responsible, was handicapped by divided counsels from its advisers and the cancellation of the Blue Streak rocket at the moment when a dynamic advance on all scientific fronts was demanded set the tone for all that has followed subsequently.
I have dwelt on this for a special reason. I think that most commentators would agree that the launching of the Soviet Sputnik was the single event which changed the American scene and worsened our own, not only by comparison, but also because large numbers of our best brains began to despair and migrated to the American continent. (May I remind you that the official Royal Society investigation 2 years ago showed that we were losing 12% of Ph.D. students to America every year: And I know that in my own case 40% of the students who have taken Ph.Ds. at Jodrell Bank are now working in the United States.) The irony of this is that the dramatic event was staged by a people who were widely regarded in the West as being relatively uneducated and backward scientifically and technologically.
Surely there has never been in history a more dramatic demonstration of the great power of scientific education than this. Thirty years ago the Soviets began their concentration on the education of the young in science and technology. We must remember too that they began from a poor position — so poor that they felt the need to retain under duress in their country eminent physicists like Kapitza. The cumulative results of their efforts became manifest in the Sputnik within a quarter of a century — and this in spite of the decimation of their country in a world war.
You will realize therefore that, although the advance of science often makes one feel uncomfortable and has its dangerous aspects, nevertheless I believe that no nation can survive in an effective manner unless its science and technology are strong and virile. This strength must derive ultimately from the people and for this the teaching of science must permeate the schools of our country in an attractive and efficient manner. The problem is one of great difficulty simply because during the last two decades science itself has advanced with increasing acceleration, and the issues of what to teach, how to teach it and at what stage, has itself become a hard problem.
At least, here today, we have a wonderful example of an organization which has faced this task in a worthy manner and it would be impossible for me to express adequately my admiration for the Headmaster and his staff, especially the senior science master, and to those of you who with such generosity have made these developments possible. It seems to me to be an almost idealised example of the kind of development for which the country is yearning. A development which, if nurtured, will soon permeate the teaching of science in this country. It is impossible to make science easy, but it is only too easy to make science obscure. The work which is proceeding here is the enemy of obscurity and should soon exert such a wide influence that the young will find science attractive and in a generation we might well achieve, without compulsion, the kind of balance of scientific professionalism amongst the people which will force and fit the nation to take its proper place in the world scene.
At the stage of education we are discussing today the primary emphasis is bound to be on science as knowledge, and the processes, techniques and tools of discovery. I think though, that it is necessary also to give some attention to the inculcation of the more general conflicts and interactions of scientific knowledge. One of our major troubles today is that many administrators gladly accept the benefits of the modern world and indeed use the results of science for private profit, while displaying a woefully inadequate feeling for the urgent need to continue the investment in fundamental work. It is, I think, undeniable that the benefits which the people enjoy today and the industrial and military strength of the nations depend on discoveries made in scientific laboratories within the last 50 years where the work was in progress without any intention or thought of practical application. On the whole as a nation we have failed dismally to reap the rewards of the appropriate technical development of our discoveries and there is much emphasis today on corrective processes for this situation. However, I am sometimes worried that this justifiable emphasis will push even further from men's minds the need to extend the investment in basic research which will provide the capital for our descendants. There is, today, far too much of a tendency to dismiss as " prestige" the urgent needs of development of our researches in the U.K. Our investments in basic research have failed to keep pace with the growth of our own overall scientific budget, and the further restrictions which are often rumoured would be a disastrous brake in a sphere of activity in which the nation has already suffered hardship.
On this question of the general awareness of the interactions of science and the need to make the young people aware of the problems, I remember with pleasure a spontaneous remark made by Major Gagarin — the first man to orbit the earth in a space vehicle. One might have expected that a member of the Soviet armed forces trained to undertake such a hazardous adventure would be unaware or at least somewhat insensitive of the influence of the basic sciences on his flight. However, I am sure that anyone who had the opportunity of talking quietly to Gagarin would be amazed at the extent of his relevant scientific knowledge. I particularly like to recall the occasion of a small luncheon at the Royal Society in honour of Gagarin. The President asked if he would accept as a memento of his visit the recently published collected works of Isaac Newton. In a short reply Gagarin said that he was particularly pleased to be able to take home these works because " after all without Sir Isaac Newton's discoveries my flight would have been impossible."
Although there are so many important and exciting things to be said about the present and the future I cannot discharge my task today without looking for a few moments into the past. During some of the darkest years of this nation's history the grounds and buildings of this college were diverted from their normal educational function. Four years is a short time in the history of man — even today it is only 4% of the time span of this college. Yet in the centuries to come the memory of what occurred within these gates under conditions of great secrecy in the years 1942 to 1946 will not be dimmed. It is indeed fitting that today we should honour the man who controlled and directed that secret establishment. It is for me a special pleasure that this building is to be associated with the name of Dr. A. P. Rowe, because during those years I happened to be one of Rowe's young men.
It was, I think, early in the 1930's that Prime Minister Baldwin made his fateful judgement that "the bomber will always get through." He was nearly right and but for an unknown factor in his assessment we would not be here today. He could not have known at that time, that the vision and determination of a few men, amongst whom the name of Rowe shines forth, would provide the country with a means of detecting the enemy bomber as it approached our shores and thereby enable our fighter pilots to search out their quarry and win for us the Battle of Britain with the handful of Spitfires which we then possessed.
I had no acquaintance with Rowe or with his devices in those pre-war years, and no doubt the senior turf here was still in use for its rightful purpose. Indeed I saw Rowe's cricket bag before I saw Rowe. It was propped against a wall in the hall of Bawdsey Manor. Its effect on me was magical. Reluctantly dragged from academic seclusion and expecting to be drafted under a technological robot I realised that, after all, the place must be in charge of a decent Englishman. My rebellious nature softened and (although of course I realise that Rowe may have other opinions) I tried to do whatever he asked of me for nearly 7 years.
I use the word "tried" advisedly because there was an early incident in our relationship which showed me, that although Rowe might play cricket, he had an iron grip on his establishment. Rowe and his team evacuated Bawdsey when hostilities began and moved to Dundee. I was in his airborne group and went to Scoone airport near Perth. As you might expect the facilities at the airport in 1939 were scarcely conducive to scientific research or development, even if it was for military purposes. I quickly sought an audience with Rowe in Dundee and complained about lack of libraries, workshop facilities, equipment and everything I could think of. In retrospect I see his response as that of a master.
Quietly he walked across to a large magnetic board on which his staff tree was arranged, verified that my name was Lovell, and removed it from " Airborne" to " Stores." Within five minutes he had deposited me with the establishment's storekeeper.
Rowe has himself described with eloquence and precision in his book "One Story of Radar," the circumstances under which we came to Malvern in 1942. It was here that his great work reached its climax. He had welded into a coherent organisation a remarkable array of scientists exhibiting every temperament known to man. He extracted from them the devices which held the key to our victories. From your buildings, now mercifully restored to their proper function, emerged the secret weapons with which our bomber forces located and devastated the enemy towns and industries, and the devices which enabled our fighters to seek out in the darkness of night the enemy bombers. From the middle floor of your Preston laboratory came the device which told the pilots hundreds of miles away when to release their bombs with such precision that individual bridges could be destroyed. From the top floor of that laboratory came the apparatus which enabled Coastal Command to deal with the U-boats. It was this to which Hitler referred when he said in despair that " the setback of our U-boat campaign is due to one single technical invention of our enemies." Finally at the climax, Rowe and his team were ready with the countermeasures which deceived the enemy when the historic moment came to enter Europe again.
I hope I have said enough to give you a glimpse of A. P. Rowe as he was when he controlled us all, and much more, from his desk in the classic sixth. He would, I know, be the last person desiring me to continue further with this picture. I remember one occasion when he had come with me and a few others to London on a lovely summer Saturday afternoon on some urgent matter. In despair I complained to Rowe of our lot and talked about the world which we had left a few years ago. He reprimanded me sternly, saying that it was a sign of old age to dwell on the past. I hope he will agree that it was necessary for me to do so on this occasion for a few moments.
But today is to those years as the domes of Fylingdales are to the masts of the old C.H. stations. Today, hope springs from developments of which this building is a pioneering symbol in the same way that the work in the college buildings gave us hope in 1942.
At moments like this when we initiate something which has no foreseeable end we do well to pause and remind ourselves that the good and the evil are irretrievably mixed in nearly all scientific research. Science contains the hope of the future and at the same time the very real possibility of destroying the civilised world. The devices of which I have been talking are already hopelessly outdated and have themselves given rise to tools which epitomise what I have in mind. The radar aerials have grown to radio telescopes which today penetrate to the ultimate depths of time and space. With their help we struggle with the intractable problems of the origin of space, time and the universe. Alas, with only minor differences the same telescopes are scanning the skies to detect the missiles which are poised to destroy us. The ballistic missiles themselves are a consequential issue of the flying bomb and V2s, of the war. These missiles also with relatively so little change are either the carriers of death or of the scientific instruments which are now moving towards the moon and the planets searching out the clues which will tell us how the solar system came into existence four and a half thousand million years ago.
In declaring this building open I do so with the hope that those who pass through its doors will strive to extract the good which is in science. May their skill be used practically, to improve the welfare and happiness of the people, and intellectually to help us understand the nature of ourselves, our world and of the organisation of the cosmos."
The Chairman thanked Sir Bernard, and handed over to Dr. Rowe, who said:
"A biblical dictum tells us that there were giants in those days. It is an understandable illusion, for the dead do not compete with the living and their frailties are apt to die with them. It is not my business to speak of the College but, being mindful of the Shakespearean tradition that the lowest form of life at the Court, the Court Jester, could say what he liked to the king, let me say that I do not believe that there were ever more giants, or more gigantic giants, in the College than there are today. So it comes about that, on this its great day, it can show an outward and visible sign that it forgives and understands the chaos some of us brought during the years of war.
But you would have me speak of T.R.E. Now and again it can happen that some great cause and the hour combine to bring together an exceptional body of people.
Certainly, there were giants in those days and I was but their servant. It has ever been my ambition to work with men having more brains and more energy than I possess and my desire has been fulfilled — except, I suppose, for a decade in an Australian university.
The official histories have made it clear that without the devices evolved by T.R.E., mostly at Swanage and this College, the war in the air and on the sea could not have been won and so D-day would not have happened at all.
The giants who worked here, particularly in the Preston Laboratory, were not altogether unaware of their stature. For a farewell party, I wrote these words:
At Preston Lab. it's plain to see,
They're not as other men.
It's good to see them haughtily,
Dispense the latest gen.
In honouring the servant, greatly I may say to his embarrassment, you honour the giants of those days. Most of all, you honour yourselves by your forgiveness of the harm we did you and indeed by remembering at all, what so many have forgotten or have never known, that not by the bestial carnage of the first world war, and of the Eastern front in the last, was victory won by the Western powers but by the gifts of science to those who fought and bore the greatest burdens of those fateful years."
After this Mr. Lewis made a short speech saying how science in Malvern had been modernised, mentioning in particular the Nuffield Projects, which have created a new atmosphere and attitude towards science in general. Then he explained what could be seen on each floor of the new wing and finished by emphasising that the best way of proving the worth of all this would be to go and see it.
As soon as the speeches had ended, most of the Science School was on display. In the Rowe room pride of place was given to a device which enabled collisions between two bodies to be photographed in a state where there was no friction. Below, in the Modern Physics Laboratory Mr. Chaundy's excellent series of experiments with centimetre waves was on display. In the advanced Laboratory Mr. Partridge's work in demonstrating applied science was well examined both by the visitors and the press. It was unfortunate that time did not permit much examination of the Nuffield experiments, with which many boys were then occupied, and the Chemical exhibition in the Preston Science Schools, but several of the visitors had to leave early. The final impression was that optimism about the day expressed by many of the science staff was justified.