Teaching staff

[ZeroDeConduite]

I was shown round the Cambridge Mathematical Lab in the holidays during my LE year, about 1955, where EDSAC was installed in about three rooms. A relation was one of the professors who supervised its use, all punched tape and mystery. And air-conditioning .
I stayed a few days with my relation, and evening 'entertainment' was proof reading the galley proofs of the latest edition of Cambridge Mathematical Tables, which meant checking every single calculation in the book with a Brunsviga desktop calculator - he had three calculators and I was set to work on one, alongside his son, who was about the same age as me...
It was about 30 years later that I next encountered a computer, and from that time they have been a daily work/play necessity - though I don't get on with these newfangled smart phones haha because I need my three monitors and multiple opened windows

[michael scuffil]

Only one of my contemporaries at CH, or at least of those that I knew well, made a career in computing. He was an English Grecian, and read English at Oxford.

As for Joe Lyons mentioned above: When I first arrived in Cambridge, it was a Sunday afternoon, I wandered around the town and happened to see the Joe Lyons teashop, which I went into and had a cup of tea. It was an island of familiarity in an otherwise alien world*. I think it was the only time I went into the Cambridge Lyons.

*I suppose that's the appeal of McDonalds and Starbucks nowadays.

[michael scuffil]

I don't get on with these newfangled smart phones

I've never seen the point of them. They're no use as computers, and not particularly good as phones (dumbphones are better). Their main use is for taking snapshots and the instantaneous transmission of pictures. My wife inherited one from our granddaughter. I told her she'd hardly use it, and it's true.

[J.R.]

How time rushes past.

Dippy nib pens and messy ink-wells in my day. Biros etc forbidden. Calculators were still far away on the horizon, though I doubt CMES would have ever allowed them if they had suddenly appeared off the horizon.

[William]

I did Maths A level in the mid 60s, (for obvious reasons can't say I was a Maths Grecian!) and there was never any mention of computing as a career. I don't think it was seen as 'real' mathematics. It was seen as a tool, just as log tables were. All praise to Mr Bullard for taking you. Leo is well known in computing history.

Alas for Katherine and others, that they had no Mr JE Bullard at Hertford. He did more than organise that Grecians' visit to London, with Mr DCF Chaundy in the party. (He taught physics [also ballroom and Morris dancing!] and had electronics as a hobby.) I clearly remember a talk JEB gave in 1955 to the school Science Society entitled, "Fast Electronic Digital Computers." There was an account of this talk published in the CH NHS and Science Magazine. The most memorable part of the talk comprised words such as, "During your lifetime your lives are going to be changed by these machines, in ways that you cannot imagine."

[sejintenej]

How time rushes past.

Dippy nib pens and messy ink-wells in my day. Biros etc forbidden. Calculators were still far away on the horizon, though I doubt CMES would have ever allowed them if they had suddenly appeared off the horizon.

In my professional exams one long paper involved a large number of foreign exchange calculations including up to about 7 places of decimals and we were not allowed to use any type of calculators. Back to long division and multiplication - an absolute ****** of an exam.

[donaldfay]

Bullard:: "take logs" was useful advice from Bullard, Maths teacher.
MH Jones (Prep): well suited to being a Prep housemaster and general teacher for 9 to 12 year olds.
"Uncle" Kirby: certainly a very odd individual, but overall an inspiring schoolteacher and life teacher.
The Master Mariners' Prize For Excellence of Character: not sure it was deserved by me; it was given as a consolation prize for having been at Housie for nearly ten years and never getting any other prize. Perhaps an inappropriate label to be given.

Don Fay. PrepA and ColA during 1950s

[LHA]

How did you manage to stay 10 years? Intriguing!

[sejintenej]

All this computer talk. No 'puters in my time at school. No calculators either.

I'm going to dust my trusty abacus off and see if it's worth anything on 'Floggit' !.

I use an abacus at home and was taught by that Japanese lady (actually a Doctor in Mathematics) whose pupils appeared many years ago on Blue Peter.

As for computers I have no idea aboout how to do the background programming but had to play with commercial office programs. My wife was PA to the head of IT for a major international company and had to assess all the programs offered. Being busy she brought them home!!!! I had fun.
At my work the secretaries would come to me with "How do I do this/that/the other" so I reckon that they used 5% of the abilities of Word and I knew perhaps 15%. For my own department it was Excel and we did everything on prewritten programs