Page 9 - The Malvernian - July 2022

THE MALVERNIAN
MRATHS Weekend
The 80th Anniversary of the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) moving to Malvern College for security reasons during WWII was marked by an event organised by MRATHS (Malvern Radar and Technology History Society) on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May in the Science Centre at Malvern College.
During the event Dr Phil Judkins (visiting Fellow at the University of Leeds and soon to take up a Fellowship at Cambridge) gave a talk titled: ‘Using intelligence: Enigma, Spies and Radar against Hitler’s missiles’.
Dr Judkins is an internationally acknowledged expert on the history of radar, interception and cryptography, and electronic warfare. Details of his work and papers on the subject have appeared in The Times and Daily Mail and have been the subject of TV documentaries and used in films.
The second talk was given by best-selling author, Damien Lewis who was launching his new book, ‘The Flame Of Resistance’. The research for this book led him to discover new stories about the French support for 'Operation Biting', an operation during which British Joint Force stole a German Wurzburg Radar from Northern France in one of WWII’s most daring raids, in the first airborne mission launched from British soil. Vital to the success of ‘Operation Biting’ was the work of the French resistance, who risked all to gather the crucial information that enabled the intimate planning of this high-stakes smash-and-grab raid, one that had the potential to change the course of the war. Damien also gave an account of his research for ‘The Flame Of Resistance’, where he reveals the story of the superstar of stage, screen and song, Josephine Baker, and her little-known clandestine role in WWII as a daring spy for the Allies. As with the Wurzburg raid, her spying, directed from London, helped change the course of the war.
To ensure that the pupil population at the College gain an understanding of the part played by the scientists who worked here between 1942-1945 in World War II we decided to base the Group 4 project on the theme of 'The Scientists come to Malvern'. The Group 4 project is a part of the requirements to gain the IB Diploma. It is a 10 hour inter-disciplinary project where pupils studying the different sciences (including computer science) research a title or theme and then deliver a presentation of their findings. Mike Burstow, retired government scientist and Chairman of MRATHS, gave an inspiring introductory lecture to the Lower Sixth IB pupils explaining some of the areas that they could research and the importance of the various developments in ensuring the defeat of Hitler’s Nazis.
Following the lectures, the IB students selected an area that they would like to be involved in and began their research. A few days later we were treated to some well researched presentations on the topics of:
» Who did What and Where?
» What was it like here in the War years?
» What were the Americans doing here from 1943?
» Why was the invention of a high-power microwave source (resonant cavity magnetron) so important?
» What did the group of scientists do in House No.7?
» What did the scientists do after they left TRE/Malvern? » What difference did radar make to World War II?
The resulting presentations given to their peers, MRATHS guests and other members of the College community were very informative and well delivered. Our next step is to create a pupil podcast for the interest and benefit of pupils who were unable to attend the lectures and IB presentation.
Natalie Watson | Head of Science
THE MALVERNIAN
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