| John Pinkerton joined AMRE (TRE) in June 1940 after previously spending 4 or 5 weeks at the Dover CH station in August/September 1939. He first set up some posts to listen for German navigational beams then joined the CHL/GCI team at Worth Matravers and worked on aerial measurements. He installed the 50cm aerial I had designed on the Dover CHL. He worked on IFF with Lord Bowden.
After the war he returned to Cambridge to research ultrasonic waves in liquids. This led him to stored programme research for computing and he obtained the post of project leader at Lyons that resulted in him designing and developing the world's first business computer - the Lyons Electronic Office or 'LEO'.
He later joined ICT and continued working at the top level in the computer industry. He was twice the President of the European Computer Manufacturer's Association and since his death on 22nd March 1997 the IEE has honoured him by arranging an annual Pinkerton lecture. |
