Over the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, the United Kingdom’s nuclear power program depended so much on two individuals, scientist John Cockcroft and engineer Christopher Hinton. Their interactions, antagonistic at times, shaped policy and actions. They were contrasting characters and I’ve written and blogged about both at length, but I remain fascinated by peripheral material revealing their motivations.
At the start of 1957, with six months to go before he leaves the Atomic Energy Authority for the electricity sector, Hinton pens a brief rebuff to Ivor Williams, presumably an artist:
Thank you so much for your letter. I am afraid that Sir John Cockcroft’s suggestion that I might be very willing to have my portrait painted was made without my knowledge. In fact, I am afraid that at present I am not able to afford the luxury of a portrait, either in terms of money or sitting time. While I am honoured by your suggestion that you should paint such a portrait, I am afraid, therefore, that am bound to decline it.
Hinton, Christopher. 1957. Hinton to Williams, Jan. 8, 1957. AB 19/22. National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom.
Too many questions. Was Cockcroft being cheeky in training the hungry eyes of a portrait painter onto Hinton. Was Hinton, one of the top British engineers, really so hard up that he couldn’t afford a portrait? Both were not vain but neither was modest, either: why not a portrait? Of course, there are no ready answers but I remain intrigued.
