A royal society for technology

Notes and Records of the Royal Society

Volumn 64, Issue SUPPL. 1, 2010, Pages

  Collins, Peter ^a  

^a Royal Society   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Alex Fleck; Council of engineering institutions; Duke of Edinburgh; Fellowship of engineering; Gordon Sutherland; Meredith thring

Indexed keywords

EID: 77955635465     PISSN: 00359149     EISSN: 17430178     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1098/rsnr.2010.0033     Document Type: Article

References (77)

1. Sutherland to Maddox, 20 November 1963: Cambridge University Library, papers of Gordon Sutherland MS Add 8353: E17.
2. At Maddox's suggestion, Sutherland also called for more recognition for social scientists. But my focus here is on technology and applied science.
3. Hall to Sutherland, 9 December 1963: Sutherland E24. Holder to Sutherland, 16 December 1963: Sutherland E26. Zuckerman to Sutherland, 21 December 1963: Sutherland E31.
4. Hinton to Sutherland, 11 December 1963: Hinton papers H21 and Sutherland E26.
5. Thring to Sutherland, 2 December 1963: Sutherland E27. Includes a copy of a proposal dated 14 November.
6. Sutherland to the Association of Consulting Scientists, 20 February 1964: Sutherland E32.
7. Sutherland to Thring, 27 February 1964: Sutherland E29.
8. Thring to Sutherland, 1 April 1964: Sutherland E29. Sutherland to Thring, 2 April 1964: Sutherland E29.
9. Cf. Hartley to Sutherland, 4 January 1964: Sutherland E25. 'I see Thring has circulated his proposal also. Yours has the great advantage of not being a direct challenge to the R.S. and its acceptance by Hague [Chairman of the Engineering Institutions Joint Council] is an important point.'
10. Sally M. Horrocks, 'The Royal Society, its Fellows and industrial R&D in the mid twentieth century', Notes Rec. R. Soc. 64 (this issue).
11. The members included Harold Hartley and Alan Wilson. CM 15 December 1960, minute 27. Penney, Deputy Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, had stepped down as Treasurer of the Royal Society on 30 November 1960, to be succeeded by Alex Fleck, former Chairman of ICI. The Society's finances, at least, were in the hands of industrial leaders.
12. Copies of Penney's document are attached to a letter from Penney to Florey, 29 June 1961 (HF/ 1/17/1/12) and, slightly modified, from Penney to Florey, 16 August 1961 (HF/1/17/2/23). See also paper C/126(61).
13. Sutherland E20, paper dated 7 December 1960.
14. See draft copy of Hill's paper at HF/1/17/2/23, and A. V. Hill, 'Age of election to the Royal Society', Notes Rec. R. Soc. 16, 151-153 (1961).
15. The number of Fellows elected each year was set at 15 in 1848 and increased to 17 in 1931, 20 in 1938 and 25 in 1946.
16. OM/120(61).
17. In the short term, anyway. As Florey presciently commented to Harold Hartley on 30 January 1963, 'I think within a year or two the whole matter of the numbers of Fellows to be admitted every year can be raised again. HF/1/17/1/17.
18. CM 12 April 1962, minute 9. Abdus Salam was one of those opposed to any increase - doubtful of any backlog of top quality candidates in his own field, at least, and 'categorically against' general candidates at all, their existence in his view a source of 'deep resentment among unsuccessful mainstream candidates. Abdus Salam to Martin, 12 March 1962: HF/1/17/1/17.
19. Brian Balmer, Matthew Godwin and Jane Gregory, 'The Royal Society and the "brain drain": natural scientists meet social science', Notes Rec. R. Soc. 63, 339-353 (2009).
20. G. van Praagh, 'Technology and the sixth-form boy', Nature 199, 958 (1963)
21. P. V. Danckwerts, 'Science versus technology: the battle for brains', Nature 200, 219-220 (1963).
22. Annual Report of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy 1963-64, Cmnd. 2538 (HMSO, London, 1964).
23. Also SP(64)9, 'Status of engineering', dated 26 February 1964: copy at TODD Acc 811, box 2.
24. Penney to Hartley, 20 March 1963: HF/1/17/1/17.
25. OM 4 April 1963, minute 2(d)(iii);
26. OM 9 May 1963, minute 2(d)(i);
27. CM 9 May 1963, minute 29.
28. In Florey's view, quite unfairly. See, for example, his note of the meeting with Hailsham on 30 March 1962: OM/37(62).
29. The letter was later circulated as paper TC/2(64).
30. This outcome was sufficiently positive to impress Harold Hartley. Ahead of the dinner he had been arguing that a new elite body for engineers would not be incompatible with the Royal Society's doing more for engineers itself, but afterwards he had second thoughts: 'it is premature at this moment to discuss the existence of such a prestige body of engineers as I suggested.' Once the Society had sorted out its position on engineering and the EIJC had secured its charter, it would be time to look again at what else needed to be done. Hartley to Florey, 8 March 1964, and Hartley to Florey, 19 March 1964: HF/1/17/2/56.
31. CM 16 April 1964, minute 16. Also CM 14 May 1964, minute 14 and Appendix B.
32. Martin to Hinshelwood, 21 July 1964: HF/1/17/6/1.
33. Howard Florey, 'Address at the Anniversary Meeting, 30 November 1964', Proc. R. Soc. B 161, 439-452 (1965), at pp. 447-449.
34. Sheffield Telegraph, 14 December 1964. Thring had just moved from Sheffield to Queen Mary College, London.
35. Hartley to Sutherland, 4 January 1964: Sutherland E25.
36. See also Fleck to Hinton, 12 December 1963: Hinton papers H21;
37. and Fleck to Sutherland, 31 December 1963: Sutherland E23.
38. Sutherland to Florey, 5 January 1964: HF/1/17/6/1.
39. David Martin to Florey, 20 January 1964: HF/1/17/2/56.
40. TC/4(64), C/56(64).
41. It was proposed again, still unsuccessfully, by H. M. Barlow in 1974 and by Hugh Ford in 1976, and still resurfaces occasionally.
42. CM 4 March 1965, minute 26.
43. CM 17 June 1965, minute 14.
44. Howard Florey, 'Address at the Anniversary Meeting, 30 November 1965 , Proc. R. Soc. B 163, 425-434 (1966), at p. 432.
45. CM 10 November 1966, minute 19;
46. CM 13 July 1967, minute 24.
47. P. M. S. Blackett, 'Address of the President at the Anniversary Meeting, 30 November 1966', Proc. R. Soc. A 296, v-xiv (1967).
48. Hartley to Florey, 8 March 1964: HF/1/17/2/56.
49. Kurti to Blackett, 14 August 1967: OM/65(67).
50. Also OM 31 October 1967, minute 2(e). Kurti was then Chairman of the Hooke Committee, which was responsible for selecting the programme of regular discussion meetings and lectures.
51. CM 15 July 1965, minute 9;
52. CM 21 October 1965, minute 12.
53. Hartley commented grumpily to Sutherland, 'The list shows that the academics have hogged the additional places.' Sutherland to Hartley, 25 January 1965;
54. Hartley to Sutherland, 10 March 1965: Sutherland E25.
55. Also Hartley to Hinton, 10 March 1965: Hinton papers, H23.
56. Sutherland to Hartley, 25 April 1966: Sutherland E25.
57. Thring to Sutherland, 13 May 1966: Sutherland E30.
58. Blackett to Thring, 24 May 1966: Sutherland E30.
59. Thring to Duke of Edinburgh, 7 June 1966;
60. Duke of Edinburgh to Thring, copied to Wynne-Edwards and Hartley, 20 June 1966: Sutherland E30.
61. OM 16 June 1966, minute 3(d);
62. also CM 13 October 1966, minute 28.
63. Sutherland to Thring, 11 December 1963: Sutherland E29.
64. Pitchford to Robert Wynne-Edwards, 3 June 1966: Sutherland E30.
65. Thring to Sutherland, 28 June 1966: Sutherland E30.
66. Note by Harold Hartley, 13 July 1966: Sutherland E25;
67. Sutherland to Thring, 27 July 1966: Sutherland E30.
68. OM/108(66).
69. OM 10 November 1966, minute 2(f). The bonus did not materialize.
70. See a draft 1991 paper by J. F. Coales (paper F-91.12) in The history of the Fellowship of Engineering (Royal Academy of Engineering, London). It was 1971 before the CEI got round to trying to establish the Senate, and in the end it never met. Hinton later noted, 'Nothing came of the proposal which was one of Prince Philip's bright ideas.' Michael Leonard (Secretary of the CEI) to Hinton, 29 October 1971;
71. Hinton to Leonard, 9 November 1971: Hinton papers C12.
72. OM 30 November 1966, minute 2(b). Meanwhile the Duke of Edinburgh continued to stir things by hosting a joint dinner of the Royal Society Dining Club and the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers at Buckingham Palace on 3 November 1966, to discuss the needs of the applied sciences for recruitment from schools and universities.
73. T. E. Allibone, The Royal Society and its dining clubs (The Royal Society, London, 1976), pp. 406-407
74. Allibone to Dining Club members, 21 October 1966: HF/1/17/1/47. Harold Hartley again acted as intermediary.
75. Draft paper on future activities of CEI: Hinton papers C11.
76. OM/27(70); OM 16 April 1970, minute 2(a).
77. OM/52(70).