In this blog of fragments and jetsam, quite often I quote Len Owen, the number two engineer of the early British nuclear reactor effort. He is another of those lost souls of history, not quite famous enough to have biographies penned about him. The British archives contain his “project diary” from January 4, 1946 to January 17, 1950 (I have no idea if he kept diaries after 1950). The diary is hard to read and the 101 photos I took in the archives of the diary’s pages are even harder to read. I have made some effective use of Owen’s words but I fear that I have not adequately plumbed its treasures; that task awaits a future historian.
Here are extracts from the very first three days of the atomic project. I like the sense of urgency in the words. I also experienced a pulse of history: the “calculator” referred to is not a Hewlett-Packard but a person.
Started the job…
Owen, Leonard. 1946. Project diary, Feb. 1946 – Jan. 1950. AB 38/48. National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom, Jan. 4, 1946 to Jan. 6, 1946.
Continued discussion of “family tree” with CH … Discussed “pile” designs and components with Kendall and Ginns. Loud(?) on that they must proceed forthwith to produce schematic drawings for the Harwell pile, followed by Bar Charts and costs. The lack of an expert calculator is standing out miles. We must get somebody.
