Kenneth More
This is also from May 1960, and is of a proper famous person - Kenneth More signing autographs at the Imperial College fete!...
Work
In, I think, 1959, my father actually got a job - having seemingly managed to put it off until he was 27. It sounds late, but a degree would have taken him to 22, plus another year for a Masters, 2 years working on a PhD and 2 years National Service adds up!And in fact, it was the only job he ever got - he worked at the same place (for Plessey at the Allen Clark Research Centre at Caswell in Northamptonshire) until he retired.I'm probably breaking all sorts of rules by publishing these, but I doubt there are any still-secret innovations in a lab almost 50 years ago.It looks like what I think of as proper chemistry - bell jars and that sort of thing, although there seems to be a disappointing lack of bunsen burners. Interesting to see what looks suspiciously like a car battery in there though!...
Birmingham Rag, October 1958
I'm not quite sure of the timeline here. I know my dad did National Service after he was at Imperial College, and I think that included a Masters degree.But, now that he's been demobbed, it looks like he's back at university. I think he said once that he started on a PhD but couldn't finish it as the grant ran out. So, I'm guessing that this is the PhD period, especially as it looks like he started a proper job in 1959....
"Pubs with the Wrens"
They certainly knew how to make their own entertainment in those days!
This shot, from April 1958, is on a film titled "Pubs with the Wrens". Two of them appear to have been known as "Thing" and "It"...
One thing to note is that my dad was just short of 26 when this was taken, and he has a noticeably, ahem, "high forehead". Fortunately I have not been blessed with quite such active genes in that department.
...
Garden Fete, De La Pole Hospital, Cottingham. 25/08/1956
These are from the summer fete at De La Pole Hospital in Cottingham (near Hull), where my grandfather worked.Here we have Mr Hudson judging the lovely ankles competition.And this is the view from the other side of the screen!...
"Bugs and Paddy Toasting The Union"
No idea what's going on in this one - why the hats? Judging from the blackboard, there might be an election for Student Union President about to happen, but why the need for toasting? Well, they're students, so drink is never going to be far away......
"Sound Effects"
From the Imperial College Drama Society's production of Dispersal.It must have been really difficult to do sound effects for a play in those days, presumably before even tape recorders were widely available. I assume everyone does it from a laptop these days, with just a mouse click to kick off the relevant sound. Imagine trying to cue up records and start them off at the right point - not to mention stopping them in time as well....
"Bugs in Bed (5th floor)"
Another from Imperial College. Not a clue what's going on in this one - it looks to me like someone's been out on the sauce and has slept it off in the corridor. But, if that was the case, surely he wouldn't have sheets, blanket and a pillow - not to mention an alarm clock on the window ledge.Not sure who Bugs was, but judging by some of the captions on other photos, he might have been one of the rowing crowd rather than the drama society. Complete guesswork though, and I imagine we'll never know the true story!BTW, sorry for the gap in posting....
"Morphy Day, General Melee"
November 1955, on the footpath of the ThamesA bit of digging on t'interweb reveals that Morphy Day traditionally consisted of various bits of Imperial College (which was made up of the Royal College of Science, the City & Guilds College and the Royal School of Mines) having a flour and tomato fight on the towpath at Putney whilst the Morphy and the Lowry races took place between the three colleges on the river. Somehow I suspect the rowing wasn't the most important bit of the day......
"Wal and apparatus"
Now that's what I call a proper setup in a chemistry lab, with a proud looking John Walton.At a rough guess, it'll be for distilling something lethal to put into their punch....