LEO Computers Society’s guide to references and holdings related to the story of LEO.If any reader knows of any other reference please let Frank Land know at f.land@lse.ac.uk Last update 20/10/2018

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BOOKS

Books about LEO

Anon (1952) The Layman’s Guide to LEO, Lyons.
The guide was circulated to Lyons executives and senior management to help them understand how computers, and in particular LEO, worked. The typewritten document is in part based on Ernest Lenaerts Development of the LEO Computer – see below. The manuscript was donated to the LEO Computers Society by Philip Bird in November 2017

Bird, P. (1994) ‘LEO, the First Business Computer’, Hasler Publishing.
Peter Bird joined Lyons when, as he says, ‘the pioneering years of computing were no more than folk history.’ Nonetheless, through his ‘talking with old-timers’ and delving through the Lyons archives, he has made an important contribution to the LEO story. Of particular value are the appendices which, inter alia, give details of the instruction codes, speeds, capacities and deliveries of the different models.

Caminer, D.T., Aris, J.B.B., Hermon, P.M.R. and Land, F.F. (eds.) (1996) ‘User Driven Innovation: The world’s first business computer’, McGraw Hill, Maidenhead.
A first-hand account written by thirteen of the early users who developed the disciplines of systems engineering and put LEO to work on economic, time-dependent business applications, starting in 1951. Included is an edited version of the seminal report of the two Lyons executives who, after a tour of the early computer activity in the United States in 1947, recommended that Lyons acquire a computer of their own. Also included is a Science Museum interview with John Simmons.

Professor Dick Nolan of the Harvard University Business School writes in his introduction to the book:

"This story has the best qualities of a Harvard Business School case study: it is an important event in the history of the business.

It is a study about extraordinary people ... As confident executives they look outside their company, in other countries, at universities to discover new ways of doing things and fresh ideas. In their bold actions, trust shows through as a foundation in implementing their vision. Young people are given free reign and do not disappoint. A resulting exciting, challenging ‘can-do' culture is heard in the words of the people who were there."

Dr Terry Gourvish, Director Business History Unit, LSE, in LSE Business History Newssheet,

"This is a major contribution to the history of computing and computers in the UK. A full scale case study of LEO computers, written by members of the team who experienced all its trials and tribulations, it provides a fascinating insight into the development by J. Lyons & Co. of the first business computer in the UK."

Neil Fitzgerald, editor of CA magazine, in The Scotsman, Business section. .

"Can-do culture, empowerment, user-driven innovation, business process re-engineering, flat organisations, quality, short lines of communications and decision making. We are led to believe that these are radical, modern ideas. However, a book that has come into my hands shows that they were being successfully harnessed almost half a century ago, to create the most significant event ever in business management.

The editors ... tell the story of how they and others built and put to work the world's first business computer. This did not happen in California's Silicon Valley, but at Cadby Hall, the ... west London premises of Lyons.

An important facet was that they felt they should always take a strategic view of the whole function to be computerised and make recommendations for improvements before going to work."

"Telling the story of how the foundations of data processing were laid from 1949 onwards has evidently been a labour of love.

This is a work of scholarship but eminently readable nevertheless. It will be seen as a major contribution to the history of business computing; it is strongly recommended for anyone already working in or studying to enter the field of IT."

Michael Braithwaite, Deloitte, Touche, European Journal of Information Systems.

"I commend this book to a wide audience. To the general reader it stands as a very well written and exciting account of technological innovation. To the business school student it presents a remarkable story of technological success that, as a commercial venture was flawed, perhaps by factors beyond the control of the players."

Professor George Mitchell, review published Journal of Operational Research Society..

"This fascinating book tells the life story of LEO. Rather over a third of the book is the historical record, carefully researched and engagingly written up by Caminer. The rest is largely personal memoirs of those involved in the early days, including accounts of several innovative applications. The whole is rounded off by an evaluation by Aris. The book's value is enhanced by the style of writing. Those who worked in LEO, especially in its earlier days, including many of the book's authors, exercised an influence on the development of business computing in the UK quite disproportionate to their numbers.

I found this book a good read and one which exited several strands of thought. Although its main market will be among scholars and students of IT and business studies, it deserves a wide readership in the OR community."

"The book is a fascinating adventure story in which the dynamics of an extraordinary group of people made the seemingly impossible happen."

"The story of that first business computer: Leo - Lyons Electronic Office - is told in this book. Whilst it is history, reflection on what was achieved and not achieved and why still has many lessons of relevance to the successful use of IT today - we seem to be learning painfully and slowly!.

.... a review by John Aris of what of what he calls the ‘LEO approach' - an integrated combination of technology innovation, application and consultancy designed to enable significant business improvements from computer use in a range of situation. Many of these applications would be called ‘business process redesign' in the 1990s!

The wide range of contributors provide many different perspectives on what happened and views on why things evolved the way they did. It is a set of memoirs - often very personal ones - of a time when Britain could be said to have led the world in the application of this new technology.

... it is a book that we should all be grateful the authors took the time and trouble to get together and write. It is a story of extraordinary achievements, by a talented team..."

"This book is a first-hand account of how this astounding innovation came about. It is a flesh and blood, warts and all story related by the participants, brimming over with the same enthusiasm that enabled the unlikeliest of organisations to lead the way into the future that we are all familiar with today.

It concludes with different strands coming together to provide the essence of the LEO credo of comprehensive, integrated, secure, action stimulated implementations.

“As well as being a fascinating piece of historical writing the book provides food for thought in the supposedly computer literate world of the 21st Century. Spectacular computer disasters such as the London Stock Exchange's Taurus system have left us with rather jaundiced perceptions about computer projects. Why were Lyons better at implementing computer systems?

One major factor was that before automating business processes the Lyons team ensured that they were well understood and ready for computerisation. Long before the prospect of computers came along, Lyons had established a systems research office with the brief to constantly search out how improvements might be made to the business by changing processes.”

Ferry, Georgina (2003) ‘A Computer Called LEO’, Fourth Estate, London.
‘LEO and its creators deserve their place in history not because of what it was, but because of what it did. For LEO was the first computer in the world to be harnessed to the task of running a business.

Caminer H., editor (2016) ‘LEO remembered: by the people who worked on the world’s first business computers’, LEO Computers Society. Collection of reminiscences, testifying to a sense of collective endeavour among the LEO community.

Lenaerts, E. (1948) ‘Development of the LEO Computer: Brief Description of EDSAC’.
Peter Bird collected and had bound (September 1992) the photocopies of the handwritten description of EDSAC compiled by Ernest Lenaerts in October 1948, with contributions from David Caminer, Derek Hemy, Thomas Thompson and others. It formed the basis of a larger publication titled The Layman’s Guide to LEO – see below. The volume was donated to the LEO Computers Society by Philip Bird, November 2017.

Simmons, J.R.M. (1962) ‘LEO and the Managers’, Macdonald, London.
The paperless office concept of the Lyons Comptroller, whose support was vital to the LEO project

Ahmed, Haroon (2013) ‘Cambridge Computing - The First 75 Years’, TMI Publishers.

Anon (2011) ‘ICL Mainframe Computers’, Books LLC.
This 19 page pamphlet gives a brief description of a number of UK designed and manufactured computers including the LEO range, pages 18 and 19. All the texts are lifted from Wikipedia entries and include some errors made in these entries.

The history of ICL is synonymous with the history of the British computer industry. ICL was formed by a series of mergers in response to the increasing market dominance of the large American corporations, particularly IBM. The struggles between these two giants and the inherent problems and implications of competing with US multi-nationals are examined in detail in Campbell Kelly's wide-ranging study. At the time of writing in the late 1980s, the author was given unrestricted access to ICL archives and his lucid account of the company, its set-backs and successes makes for a compelling and informative read. This book, which was Winner of the Wadsworth Prize for Business History (1989), will be of great interest to anyone involved in business or the computing industry.

Chapter 6 presents an anthology of quotations about LEO, mainly from LEO personnel.

Grindley, C.B.B., (1975), Systematics, McGraw-Hill, New York. Based on his experience working with LEO, Grindley sets out a ‘language’ for defining information systems.

Jones, Capers (2014) ‘The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering’, Addison-Wesley. Capers Jones’s book is a monumental history of computers and computing with a prime focus on ‘software engineering’. Jones has an introductory chapter which deals with the pre-history from the beginning of civilisation to 1930, then chapters dealing with each decade up to 2013. His chapter on the 1950s includes the LEO story, brief (pages 85, 86, in a 452 page book), but giving some weight to the place of LEO in computing history.

Lavington, Simon H. (1980) ‘Early British Computers: The Story of Vintage Computers and The People Who Built Them’, Manchester University Press, http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/EarlyBritish.html#TOC
Chapter 13, pages 68-77, gives a brief history of LEO and English Electric, including a timeline.

Lavington, Simon, (2011), Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age 1947 – 67, Computer History, Springer. Although the book is primarily a history of Elliott-Automation it has a number of references to Lyons and LEO.

Lavington, Simon (ed.) (2012) ‘Alan Turing and his Contemporaries’, British Computer Society. 111 pages, summarises the background to all the early British stored-program projects
from 1945 – 1951.

Lean, T, (2016), Electronic Dreams: How 1980s Britain learned to love the computer, Bloomsberry/Sigma. The book includes references to LEO and its early success. See also Review by Jonathan Margolis in Financial Times, below.

Marshall, Stephen (2015) ‘The Story of the Computer: A Technical and Business History’, Kindle edition available. 592 pages the story of computing up to, but not including, the advent of smart phones. The LEO project is noted in Chapter 6, pages 198-189 and further mentions are made elsewhere such as the donation to EDSAC (Chapter 5, page 185). Reviewed by Dik Leatherdale in Resurrection Issue Number 79 Autumn 2017.

Morelli, M, (2001),Dalle calcolatrici ai computer degli anni Cinquanta, Franco Angeli, pp. 341-44

O'Regan, G. (2012) ‘A Brief History of Computing’, 2nd ed, Springer, London. Chapter 3, ‘Early Computers’, provides a brief account of EDSAC and LEO.

O’Regan, Gerard (2015), ‘Pillars of Computing: A Compendium of Select, Pivotal Technology Firms’, Springer. Chapter 21, pages 135-138, provides an account of LEO Computers Limited.

O’Regan, Gerard (2016) ‘Introduction to the History of Computing: A Computing History Primer’, Springer. For undergraduate students, Chapter 5.3, page 75, describes LEO I.

Roebuck, K. (2011) ‘Managed Print Services: High-impact Technology - What You Need to Know’, Tebbo. The book is a type of encyclopaedia including a wide range of technology topics each supplemented by a rich set of references. A short, well sourced, chapter on LEO, page 50-56, is included.

Rose, Michael (1969) ‘Computers, Managers and Society’, Pelican.
The author notes LEO amongst the pioneers and provides a brief account of the LEO story.

Simmons, J.R.M. (1970) ‘Management of change. The role of Information', Gee & Co, London.

Stern, Nancy B. (1981) ‘From ENIAC to UNIVAC: Appraisal of the Eckert-Mauchly Computers Hardcover’, Digital Press, March 16, 1981. Pages 148 -151 report on the precedence of the LEO initiative in the development of business computing.

Tatnall, Arthur (ed.) (2012) ‘Reflections on the History of Computing: Preserving Memories and Sharing Stories’, in ‘Series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communications Technology’, Vol. 387, Springer, November 2012. Chapter 2, Frank Land, Remembering LEO, pp. 22-42.

Turing, Dermot, (2018), The Story of Computing, Arcturus Publishing , London, includes a section on the Lyons/LEO place in the story of computing, and includes photo of LEO, Chapter 6, pages 106 to 110. Sir Dermot Turing is a nephew of Alan Turing, and 12^th Baronet Turing. The book provides a comprehensive and readable account of the story of computing from abacus to a glimpse of how the story might develop in the future.

Various authors (1956) ‘The Electronic Office’, a collection of articles assembled by the Liverpool and Merseyside Branch of the Office Management Association following their conference in April. Includes articles by David Caminer and Oliver Standingford. Bound copy held by Hilary Caminer.

ARTICLES, REVIEWS and other PAPERS

Agar, J. (1996) The Provision of Digital Computers to British Universities up to the Flowers Report (1996), Computer journal, Vol. 39, No. 7, pp 630-642.

Anderson, D., Delve, J. (2004) Pioneers of Payroll on computers: LEO, the Army, the Navy Dockyards and De Havilland, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, ISSN: 1058-6180.

Anon (1947-1954) LEO Chronicle, Lyons and Office Management Association. Papers of John Simmons, Reference Number: 363/S4/11, Warwick University, Modern Records Centre. The Chronicle is a diary of events and activities relating to the development and operation of LEO computing – an invaluable source. http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/leo/id/242

Anon (1954) LEO Lyons Electronic Office, Published by J. Lyons & Co., Cadby Hall, Feb 16^th.

Anon (1954) ‘Electronic Abacus’, The Economist, pp. 789-791, 13th March, probably authored by Mary Goldring.

Anon (1957) It’s Quicker by Computer: ‘LEO’ Works our Rail Distances, The Times, June 24.

Anon (1957) Political & Economic Planning, ‘The LEO Computer: a case study in the use of an electronic computer in routine clerical work’, Three Case Studies in Automation, July, probably authored by Leonard Tivey.

Anon (1960) ‘Getting to grips with computers’, The Times Newspaper, reprinted in The Times Newspaper, August 4th 2000.

Anon (1960) ‘Notes on Commissioning of LEO Automatic Office at the Ministry of Pensions’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp.198, January.

Anon (1960) Advanced Data Processing, a clip from the "Engineer" for 22 July 1960, probably the earliest reference to LEO II in print, and concentrating on the microprogramming feature.

Anon (1960) Command by Magnetic Rings, a clip from New Scientist for 21 July 1960.

Anon (1960) Introducing LEO III, a clip from The Stock Exchange Gazette for 12 August 1960, announcing the development of LEO III in more general terms.

Anon (1963) EE-LEO Brochure for LECTOR System, Data Processing Journal, February, page 15.

Anon (1964), Quis LEO Aptitude test, comprising Introduction and Explanation, Instructions for giving test, the Test Itself, Correct answers’ The document as digitized by John Hoey in Australia and a copy is available from Frank Land, f.land@lse.ac.uk

Anon (1965) Daily Mail Obituary for LEO I, 9th January. Plus other items about LEO initiatives in Eastern Europe.

Anon (1967), September LyonsMail short note and photos of Lyons Managing Director Samuel Salmon viewing restart of LEO III/7 following the catastrophic fire at the Lyons computer installation. More information on the incident can be found in Peter Bird’s book LEO: The First Business Computer page 164 to 166.

Anon (2017), Quotation from a Director of J. Lyons, “I attended a Board meeting when for 1 hour and 59 minutes there was a heated debate about the price of a cup of tea in Teashops.
‘A rise of a penny or half a penny!’
At the end of the row John Simmons, of whom everyone was in awe, asked for a further 2 million pounds for work on Leo. Passed without debate.”

Archibald, H., (1997), Stewarts and Lloyds Steelworks, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 20, pp. 243 – 248.

Aris, J.B.B., (1997), The LEO approach an evaluation in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 4, Chapter 27, pp.321-336.

Aris, J.B.B. (1996) ‘Systems Design – Then and Now’, Resurrection, Journal of
the Computer Conservation Society, Summer.

Aris, J.B.B., (1998), Inventing Systems Engineering, Proceedings of Conference Computers in Europe: Past, Present and Future, Kyiv, pp 33 – 46, October.

Aris, J.B.B. (2000) ‘Inventing Systems Engineering’, IEEE Annals of the History of
Computing, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 4-15, July-September.

Aris, J.B.B., Land, F.F., Mellor, A. (eds.) (2003) LEO Conference Report, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Volume 12, Issue 4, Pages 253-398, December.

Avery, R. (2001) The World’s first commercial computer went into operation 50 years ago in Britain. Who developed it?, The Times Supplement Tomorrow’s Today, 24 page supplement sponsored by Microsoft, pp 20-21, May 31^st. Hilary Caminer holds a copy.

Behr, B. (ed.) (2014) LEO Computers Society Newsletter, Autumn, with contributions from Jessica Bradford (Science Museum), Peter Byford, Bernard Behr, David Holdsworth (Computer Conservation Society), Frank Land and Michael Storey.
http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/images/2014_Newsletter.pdf

Behr, B. (ed.) (2015) LEO Computers Society Newsletter, summer, with contributions from Peter Byford, Ralph Land, Norman Witkin, Neil Lamming, Gloria Guy, Bill Sant and David Holdsworth. http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/images/NewsletterSummer2015.pdf

Blyth, T. (2015) Information Age? The challenges of displaying information and communication technologies, Science Museum Communications Spring 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.15180/150303 The article provides an account of the setting up of the London Science Museum’s Information Age Gallery in October 2014 including the LEO exhibit.

Braithwaite, M. (1998) User-Driven Innovation: the World’s first Business Computer: Review, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol.7, pp 74-75.

Briscoe, G. (1994) The First Business Computer, Review of Peter Bird’s book in Management Services, February, p. 35.

Briscoe, G. (1994) Computing was a piece of cake, The British Journal of Administrative Management, February/March, p 23 and 27.

Briscoe, G. (2016) 1950s Computer Training Package, Resurrection, Issue Number 73, pp25-33.

Byford, P., (2018), New heritage partnership to unlock important IT archive, ICL All Stars Magazine, Issue 58, Winter 2018, pp.25-26

Caminer, D.T. (1956) Experience of a General Purpose Computer, in The Electronic Office, a bound collection of articles assembled by the Office Management Association following their conference in April 1956. Bound volume held by Hilary Caminer.

Caminer, D.T. (1955) The Application of Electronic Digital Computers and Calculators to Accountancy, Costing and Managerial Control, Lecture to Northampton College of Advanced Technology (now City University, London). Lecture Notes held by Hilary Caminer. Also see https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=history-of-computing-uk;ca4a4c3.0012

Caminer, D.T. (1958) ‘….And How to Avoid Them’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 1, No 1, pp. 11-14.

Caminer, D.T. (1997) ‘LEO and its Applications: the Beginning of Business Computing’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 40, No 10,
pp. 585-597.miner

Caminer, D.T. (2000) Back to Basics, interview in Institute for the Management of Information Systems Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 1. Copy held by Hilary Caminer.

Caminer, D.T. (2002) ‘LEO and the Computer Revolution’, 2nd annual Pinkerton Lecture, IEE Computing and Control Engineering Journal, Vol. 13.

Caminer, D.T., (1997), The Story of an Innovation, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 7 – 154.

Caminer, D.T. (2003) ‘Behind The Curtain at LEO’, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 3-13, April-June.

Caminer, H., (Editor), Behr, B., (Production), (2018), Newsletter and Review, Leo Computers Society Vol. 4, Spring 2018, pp. 1-22, http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/images/LeoNewsletterSpring2018.pdf
The issue includes articles by Peter Byford, John Daines, Frank Land, Lisa McGerty, Elisabetta Mori, Phillip Bird, Mike Storey, Tony Morgan, Stan Holwill, Bill Forfar, WEJ Parry, Tony Davies, Bob Stevenson. The issue can be read or downloaded from the LEO Computers Website at http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/

Campbell-Kelly, M., (1995), ICL and the evolution of the British Main Frame, Computer Journal, Vol. 38, No. 5, pp 400-412.

Cann, R., (1997), The Royal Dockyards, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 24, pp. 274 – 286.

Casey, F. (1954) Lyons Electronic Office: How LEO Works, in Business: The Journal of Management in Industry, April.

Ceruzzi, P.E. (1996) LEO: The First Business Computer, Review, ACM Computing Reviews, February, http://www.computingreviews.com/review/Review_review.cfm?review_id=119311&listname=search Note: this review was rated the best review in Computing Reviews for 1996.

Clarke, Gavin (2013) The Big Battle with Blue, The Register, March. A useful sketch
of LEO history based on author's reading and interviews with Frank and Ralph Land.

Cochrane, A. (2017), LEO Operating Memories, an account of working as an operator on the Stewarts and Lloyds LEO II/3. Copy available from Frank Land and Dropbox.

Coombs, M. (2003) Review: ‘A Computer called LEO’ (Ferry, G.), European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 12, Issue 4, 241–24.

Cooper, A., (2018), A Virtual LEO III. The story of LOLA the consortium of London local authorities who replaced their LEO III with an IBM 360/50 and for whom IBM produced a LEO III emulator to enable them to run legacy systems. A copy of the article is available from Frank Land, f.land@lse.ac.uk

Cotterell, S. (2002) The day LEO roared, Project Manager Today, pp. 4-6, February.

Cummings, J.G., (2012), The Great Railway Caper: Big Data, O’Reilly Strata Conference October 2012 on Big Data. The paper gives an account of the LEO railway distancing job. http://blog.jgc.org/2012/10/the-great-railway-caper-big-data-in-1955.html

Daines, J. (2017) The LEO Computers Society Heritage Project, presentation at October 2017 LEO Computers Society Reunion at HAC London. Copies can be obtained from John Daines and Frank Land.

Daines, J. (2017) LEO, Lyons Electronic Office: The World’s first Business Computer, presentation at Cambridge Centre for Computing History November 2017. Copies can be obtained from John Daines and Frank Land.

Delve, J., Anderson, D. (2001) The Pinkerton Lecture, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing Vol. 23, Issue2, pp.68-73.

Duffy, J. (undated) LEO I: The construction of the world's first Business Computer, Tripod Website, http://james.duffy.tripod.com/Leo1.html. A good account of the LEO story with many photographs.

Eadie, N., (1997), The General Post Office, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 21, pp. 249 – 256.

Enticknap, N. (1977) The First Business Computer, Computer Management, pp. 10-15, June.

Evans, C. (1983) Conversation: J.M.M. Pinkerton, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing,
Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 64-72.

Fantl, L. (1956?) Application of Digital Computers to Chrystallography, Lecture to Northampton College of Advanced Technology (now City University, London). Lecture Notes held by Hilary Caminer.

Fantl, L., (1997), The Early Days, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 2, chapter 14, pp.157 – 167.

Fantl, L, (1997), Into South Africa, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 4, Chapter 25, pp. 289 – 305.

Forbes, J.M. (1965) ‘An Introduction to Compiler Writing’, The Computer
Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 8, No 2, pp. 98-102.

Galliers, R. (ed.) (2003) Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 12, No. 4, December. The Issue is devoted to the 2001 conference at the London Guildhall celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the rolling out of the world’s first business application at the Cadby Hall headquarters of J Lyons and Company on their LEO I computer. URL http://www.citeulike.org/journal/els-09638687

Gibson, A. (1991) IAM – seventy five innovative years, a short history of the IAM, 1915-1990, Modern Records Centre Warwick University, MSS.337/4/66/1.

Gibson, A. (1995) The next five years, additional material to celebrate 80 years of the IAM, Modern Records Centre, Warwick University, MSS, 337/4/ 66/2.

Gibson, A., (1991), British Journal of Administrative Management (1991), 75th Anniversary Issue: Copy held as manuscript text at John Rylands Library, Manchester University in box GB 133 NAHC/LEO/A6 http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/ead/html/gb133nahc-leo-p1.shtml
The contents include:Simmons, the visionary, April 1991. O&M and Simmons, November 1991. The contents of the collection can be viewed by application to the librarian.

Gibson, R.P. and Lenaerts, E.H. (1960) Maintenance Procedures on a Computer, proceedings
of joint BCS/IEE Conference, January. The paper reflects both LEO I and LEO II experience.

Glass, R. (200T of the ACM, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp 25-26. The paper refers to the first LEO applications.

Godwin, C. (1986) Landmarks: How the king of the jungle grew up on tea and cakes,
Computing, April 23^rd.

Gosden, J.A. (1960) ‘Market Research Applications on LEO’, The Computer Journal,
British Computer Society, Vol. 3, No 3, pp. 142-143.

Gosden, J.A. (1964) “The Operations Control Center Multi-Computer Operating System.”
Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery,
E2.2-1-E2.2-9. New York: Association for Computing Machinery.

Gosden, J.A., (1997), Toward System Software, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 2, Chapter 16, pp. 185 – 206.

Graham-Cumming, J. (2012) The Great Railway Caper: Big Data in 1955, presented at Strata Conference, London, October 2^nd.

Harvey, F. (2001) The lion that failed to roar, LEO, Financial Times, August 20^th.

Hendry, J. (1986) The Teashop Computer Manufacturer, Business History,
Vol. 29, No 8.

Henin, S. (2003) LEO: II computer in una tazza da tè, La Altra Scienza, p. 102.

Hermon, P.M., (1997), A Reminiscence, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 2, Chapter 17, PP. 207 – 220.

Hinds, M.K. (1981) 'Computer Story', Meteorological Magazine, Vol. 110, pp 69-80.

Holdsworth, D. (2013) Software, a progress report on the LEO III Intercode and Master Routine Emulator, pp 5-6 Resurrection, Issue 63, Autumn, and Issue 64, p.7
http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res63.htm
(2014) Resurrection, Issue 65, http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res65.htm;
Issue 66, p.9 and Issue 67, p.5/6, http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res67.htm
(2015) Resurrection, Issue 70, p.6, http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res70.htm
Holdsworth notes: "The complexity of the LEO III software systems continues to amaze me, especially the way in which the LEO veterans take it in their stride."

Holdsworth, D. (2015) History of the Leo III Software Preservation Project: Blow by Blow Account, http://sw.cc5 - 13s.bcs.org/leo/BlowByBlow.htm, Draft Account.

Hudson, R.L. (2001) David Caminer analyses what went wrong with one of the world’s first computers, the LEO, Convergence, the Wall Street Journal’s magazine of Digital Business, Vol VII, No 3.

1984 (Siemens – Data Processing, the history of the domain of Data Processing from 1954 to 1984), Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Munich. The paper, in German, refers to the role played by LEO.

Jackson, M.J., (1966), A Computer in the Mail Order Business, Data Processing, September-October, pp. 1-9.

Jackson, M.J., (1970), Freemans (London, SW9), paper presented at Computer for Profit Conference, 6 pages, sponsored by British Institute of Management, Confederation of British Industries and ICL, at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, January 22^nd 1970

Jackson, M,J., (1997), Freemans Mail Order, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 23, pp, 274 -286.

Johnson, H.J.W. (2016) LEO I – Recreating the Word’s First Business Computer, Middlesex University Mauritius Campus, Business Information Studies, Information Studies, Dropbox archive: https://www.dropbox.com/home/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project – links to Dropbox ‘LEO Oral History project’, not to this specific item.

Kaye, E.J. and Gibbs G.R. (1954) ‘LEO – A Checking Device for Punched Paper Tape’,
Electronic Engineering, Vol. 29, pp. 386-392.
Reprinted as part of ‘LEO –Lyons Electronic Office’ in Electronic Engineering, pp 18-24 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/outriders/2011/11/leo_making_history.shtml

Kemp, K. (2014) Early Commercial Computing, Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society Journal (BAIS), No. 47, pages 21-33.

Lamming, N. (2017) LEO in OZ, ICL All Stars Magazine, Issue 53, Winter, pp 25-27.

Land, F.F. (1960) ‘Computers in Purchasing and Stores Departments: LEO at the Ford Motor Company Spares Depot’, Computers in Purchasing and Stores Departments, Purchasing Officers Association, pp 27 – 33.

Land, F.F. (1996) Information Revolution, in Malcolm Warner (ed.), International Encyclopaedia of published in LSE Working Paper Series, Number 95. http://www.worldcat.org/title/informationrevolution/oclc/500306458&referer=brief_results

Land, F.F. (1996) ‘Systems Analysis for Business Applications’, Resurrection, Journal of the Computer Conservation Society, Summer.

Land, F.F. (1997) ‘Information Technology Implementation: The Case of the World’s First Business Computer: The Initiation Phase’, in McMaster, T., Mumford, E., Swanson, E.B., Warboys, B., and Wastell, D. (eds.) Facilitating Technology Transfer through Partnership: Learning from Practice and Research, pp. 3-19, Chapman & Hall: London.

Land, F.F., (1997), The Widening Field. in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 2, Chapter 15, pp. 168 -184.

Land, F.F. (1998) ‘LEO, The First Business Computer: A Personal Experience’, in Glass, R.L. (ed.), In the Beginning. Personal Recollections of Software Pioneers, IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA.

Land, F.F. (1998) The Fist Business Computer: A case Study in User Driven Innovation, Proceedings of Conference Computers in Europe, Past Present and Future, Kyiv, pp. 108 -120, October.

Land, F.F. (1999) A Historical Analysis of Implementing IS at J. Lyons, in Currie, W.L. and Galliers, R.D. (eds.) Rethinking Management Information Systems, Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp 310 - 325.

Land, F.F. (2000) ‘The First Business Computer: A Case Study in User-Driven Innovation’, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 16-26.

Land, F.F. (2006) LEO II and the Model T Ford, British Computer Society Journal, Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 650 – 656.

Land, F.F. (2009) Appreciation of Professor Colin Tully (1936 – 2007): Professor of Software Practice, Middlesex University, British Computer Society, Vol. 52, Issue 3, May, pp. 388 – 391.

Land, F.F., (2010), The use of history in IS research: an opportunity missed?, Journal of Information Technology, Vol 25, pp. 365 – 394 Reprinted 2016 in Enacting Research Methods in Information Systems: Volume 1, pp 213-234, editors Wilcocks, L., Lacity, M., Sauer, C., Springer International Publishers. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-29266-3_9

Land, F.F. (2012) Remembering LEO, pp. 22-42 in Tatnall, A. (ed.) Reflections on the History of Computing: Preserving Memories and Sharing Stories, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technologies, Springer.

Land, F.F. (2013) The story of LEO the World’s First Business Computer, in Developing LEO:
The world's first business computer, Warwick University Library Modern Records Centre,
Simmons Archive, https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/explorefurther/digital/leo/story/
Reprinted in The Software Practitioner, Vol 24, no.4, July 2014, p.5.

.Land, F.F. (2015) Early History of the Information Systems Discipline in the UK: An account based on living through the period, Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 36, Article 26. The article includes a short Appendix recounting the LEO story.

Land, F.F. (2017) Review: Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost its Edge in Computing, ACM Computing Reviews, June 27^th, http://www.computingreviews.com/review/review_review.cfm?review_id=145394 - link takes to the login page only – need to be a member of ACM to access.

Land, R.R., (1997), Lyons Teashops, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 18, pp223 – 228.

Land, R.R., (1979), Behind the Iron Curtain, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 4, Chapter 26, pp. 306 -320.

Land, R.R., (2018), Mysterious Death of Dennis Skinner, commentary on report of death of LEO Moscow Office Manager. Commentary held by Frank Land and in Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/home/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/LEO%20Memoirs%2C%20Reminiscences%20and%20Anecdotes?preview=Dennis+Skinner+mysterious+death.docx. Also see Monica Porter below.

Laver, M., (1997), The General post Office, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, Chapter 22, pp. 257 – 260.

Lavington, S.H. (1980) ‘LEO and English Electric’ in Early British Computers: The story of vintage Computers and the people who built them, Chapter 13, pp. 68 – 77, London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Lee, J. (ed.) (1998) Biographies, John Maurice McClean Pinkerton, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 20, Issue 3, pp. 69 – 71.

Lenaerts, E.H. (1951) Visual Presentation of Binary Numbers, Electronic Engineering, Vol. 23, pp. 140-141.

Lenaerts, E.H. (1954) ‘LEO - Operations and Maintenance’, Electronic Engineering, Vol. 29, pp. 335-341. Reprinted as part of ‘LEO –Lyons Electronic Office’ in Electronic Engineering, pp. 11-17.

Lenaerts, E.H., (1955), Automatic Square-Rooting on a Computer, Electronic Engineering, July 1955

Lenaerts, E.H., (1966), Study of Static Charge on Paper Tape, Journal of Science Institute, June 1966

Lenaerts, E.H., (1967), Acoustic Noise in the Computer Room, for GPO, November 1967

Lenaerts, E.H., (1969), Talking to the Computer, New Scientist, December 1969

Lewis, J.W. (1963) ‘Time Sharing on LEO III’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 24-28.

Lewis, J.W. (1964) ‘The Management of a Large Commercial Computer Bureau’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 255-261.

Lewis, J.W., (1997), Glyn Mills Bank and Army and Air Force Officers Payroll, in Caminer, D.T., et al, editors, LEO: The Incredible Story of the World’s First Business Computer, McGraw-Hill, New York, Part 3, chapter 19, pp. 229 – 242.

Lyons, N. (2015) LEO: The Lyons Electronic Office. The story of the First Business Computer, Journal of the Royal Signals Institution, Vol. 33, Issue 1, pp. 32-37. An abridged version was published in Kai Kai Baluch Journal September 17^th 2017, pp. 29-32.

Lyons, N. (2017) Correspondence, Research, Talks (including scripts), London Metropolitan Archives, City of London: Accession reference: B16/078, 2007-2016. The material includes history of J Lyons and Company Limited and its achievements (presentations includes images mainly sourced from Peter Bird, historian) and media interview recordings.

Lyons, N. (2018), The Joe Lyons Story –Food for Thought, Computer Conservation Society, talk presented at meeting of CCS in May 2017 tells the story of the company which produced the World’s First “electronic office”. Available at You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwGDC8Bdow

“Another remarkable fact from Electronic Dreams: which UK company would you imagine was, by 1951, the world’s first to use a computer for business, and started making computers for other companies? It was J. Lyons and Co, the teashop chain. Its computer business, LEO, kept going until 1963. Lyons’ role as a computer manufacturing pioneer is the more astonishing — at least to anyone old enough to remember the ostensibly low-tech J. Lyons cafés — in that there was stiff competition from within the UK; companies such as Ferranti, Elliott Brothers, English Electric and British Tabulating Machinery were all selling British boffin-made computers globally.”

Mason, R.O. (2004) ‘The Legacy of LEO: Lessons learned from an English Tea and Cakes Company: Pioneering efforts in Information Systems’, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, pp. 183 – 219.

Mason, R. O. (2009) AIS, LEO and the Pursuit of Good Work, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 25, Article 37, pp. 452 – 464.

Merriman, J.H.H., Caminer, D.T., and others, (1957) A Discussion on the Use of Electronic Processing Equipment, Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Vol. 120, No.3, pp. 291-307. Proof copy held by Hilary Caminer.

Microservios, (2011) LEO 1, el primer ordenador comercial de la historia, cumple 60 años, a Spanish version of the 60th LEO anniversary including the video of the event at the London Science Museum.

Morgan, A.B. (Tony), Commissioning LEOs — a Memoir, Newsletter and Review ISSUE Spring 2018,Vol. 4, section 9, page 12, editor Hilary Caminer, layout, Bernaqrd Behr.

Morgan, A. B. (Tony), LEO Lives: LEO DME, Another story……, in LEO Matters, Newsletter of LEO Computers Society, editor Vince Bodsworth, to be published

Mori, E. (2017) Coping with the “American giants": mergers, relationships and attempted partnerships in the European computer industry in the early sixties, Paper presented at 2017 4th Conference on the History and Philosophy Conference, Brno, SS

Mori, E., Primiero, G. and Arif, R. (2018 forthcoming) “Validity & Correctness before the OS: the case of LEO I and LEO II”, will be published in De Mol, L. and Primiero, G. (eds.), Reflections on Programming Systems – Historical and Philosophical Aspects, Philosophical Studies Series, Springer (forthcoming 2018).

Mori, E., (2018). From Academia to Business: the case of EDSAC and LEO, Stored in Memory. The 10^th Annual SIGCIS Conference St. Louis, Missouri, USA, October 14, 2018

Niewlsdomski, S. (2016) British transistor manufacturers in the 1950s, British Vintage Wireless Society Bulletin, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 10-22. The paper includes a section on LEO III, and displays a job advert dated 1957 for Computer Engineers from LEO Computers Limited. It may be referenced and read but not copied. See http://www.bvws.org.uk/publications/bulletins.php/volume41number4

Pearson, I. (ed.) (2017) ICL AllStars Magazine, Issue 50, Autumn. The newsletter of ICL Australian veterans includes a number of references to the history of LEO.

Pelling, N. (2002) The Case For The First Business Computer, http://www.nickpelling.com/Leo1.html The business cases behind the five proposals made to the board of J. Lyons & Co. by Thompson and Standingford in 1947 - which led to the construction of the first business computer - are analysed, but found to be strategically lacking. Both an alternate reading of the case and some contemporary implications are then developed.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1951) Automatic Frequency Control, Electronic Engineering, Vol. 23., pp. 147-148.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. and Kaye, E.J. (1954) LEO: History and Technical Description, Electronic Engineering, Vol. 29, pp. 284-291. Reprinted as part of ‘LEO –Lyons Electronic Office’ in Electronic Engineering, pp. 3-10.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1959) Features of the LEO IIC Computer, Automatic Data Processing, December.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1961) ‘The Evolution of Design in a Series of Computers’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 42-46.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1966) ‘Large-Scale Computing in the Seventies’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 10, No. 2, September.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1975) ‘Performance Problems with LEO I’, The Radio and Electronic Engineer, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 411-414, August.

Pinkerton, J.M.M. (1983) Tape 6 in Christopher Evans’s ‘Pioneers of Computing’, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 5, No 1, pp. 64-72, January-March.

Pinkerton, J.M.M (1991) Taming LEO – Overcoming the Inherent Unreliability of LEO I, IEE Review, Vol. 37, pp. 13-17.

Pinkerton, J.M.M., Hemy, D., Lenaerts, E.H., (1992), The Influence of the Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory on the LEO Project, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 41-48.

Pinkerton, J.M.M, (1997), 'Evolution of Constructional Methods from Radios to Computers'. This is a 25 page illustrated booklet containing a reprint of a talk by John Pinkerton 'read at a joint meeting with the Computer Conservation Society at the Science Museum on 8 -9 April, including references to and photos of LEO. Published in Transactions of the Newcomen Society for the study of Engineering and Technology, Volume 68, 1996-9

Pollock, N.C. (1955) Electronic Computers and their possible applications, Report to the Board, Stewart and Lloyds, Document stored at the National Museum of Computing, Bletchley. Thanks to Corby Borough Collection for making the Report available. See http://www.corby.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Electronic%20Computers.pdf

Porter, Monica, (1979). Mysterious Death of Dennis Skinner, Coffee Break: 2, 15 Years Ago. Report of death of manager of LEO Moscow Office in 1964. Copy of report held by Frank Land. Donated by Frank Skinner (no relation). See also blog by Ralph Land with more information, held by Frank Land and in Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/home/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/LEO%20Memoirs%2C%20Reminiscences%20and%20Anecdotes?preview=Dennis+Skinner+mysterious+death.docx.

Quest, M. (1962) Living with Computers, The Journal of the Hotel and Catering Institute, Vol. 9, No. 4. The article recounts the LEO story and includes an interview with Ralph Land about computers and the hotel business.

Randall, G.A. (1959) The Potentialities of a Computer in the Smaller Office, The Accountant, September 19th.

Reynolds, C. (1990) CODIL: The Architecture of an Information Language, The Computer Journal, Vol. 33, pp. 155-163. Note: CODIL was a LEO project.

Reynolds, C. (2015) Algorithms aren't everything, IT NOW, September, pp. 60-61.

Runciman, B. (ed.) (2017) The Second Part of our Celebration of 60 years of BCS and the Member Magazine – 1987 – 2016, IT Now, Autumn, entry for year 2001, notes 50^th anniversary of first LEO job with picture of John Pinkerton and picture of W.D.& H.O. Wills LEO II installation.

Salmon, Sam, Chairman, (1965), J. Lyons & Co: Annual General Meeting Report, The Times Newspaper, Chairman’s report notes sale of all of the Lyons LEO Computers shares to English Electric and formation of English Electric LEO Marconi, June 14th

Sant, W., (2015), The Early Days of Customs & Excise Computing, LEO Computers Society, editor Bernard Behr, Newsletter and Review, Summer 2015, Vol. 2, pp. 16-17. Apply to Frank Land or Bernard Behr for copy if required.

Saran, C. (2016) The heyday of computing: How the Brits ruled IT, Celebrating 50 years of British Technology Innovation, Computer Weekly, April 5-11, pp. 23-29. http://www.bitpipe.com/fulfillment/1459781780_511

Schmidt, E. (2016) From LEO to Deep Mind: Britain’s computing pioneers, presentation at the London School of Economics on 14^th October 2016. The presentation took the form of a conversation between the speaker, the Executive Chair of Alphabet, the Google parent company, and Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou of the LSE and the audience. The presentation can be heard on the LSE podcast at http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=3612 The event was jointly sponsored by LSE’s Department of Management and the LEO Computers Society. It was intended to be the first of an annual LEO lecture.

Simmons, J.R.M. (1957) Priniples of Security, Reprinted Paper held in Simmons collected archive at Modern Records Centre, Warwick University as 363-51-6a, pdf.

Simpson, I, LEO III (13), from HigherSystems summarises the computers the author worked on starting with the British Oxygen LEO III – 1962 – 1965. See http://www.highersystems.co.uk/Leo_3.html

Spooner, P. (1957) Electronics in the Office, Business Magazine, November Issue. This featured LEO II quite prominently but by this time many other British manufacturers also were offering for business. The Decca twin magnetic tape drive of which a photo appears was available with LEO II

Standingford, O. (1956) Using a Computer Service and Multum in Parvo, Standingford’s summary of papers and discussions at the conference in The Electronic Office, a bound collection of articles assembled by the Office Management Association following their conference in April 1956. Bound volume held by Hilary Caminer.

Thompson, T.R., and Standford, O. W., (1947), Report of visit to USA May/June 1947. Extract published in Caminer, D.T., Aris, J.B., Hermon, P.M., Lanf, F.F. (editors and contributors) LEO The Incredible Story of the Wold’s first Business Computer, McGraw Hill, New York, Appendix A, pages 337-359.

Thompson, T.R. (1955) The Scope for Electronic Computers in the Office, presented to the Office Management Association's Conference in May.

Thompson, T.R. (1955) Diminishing Returns, Engineering, December 23^rd. The paper reflects Thompsons impressions following a tour of computer installations in the USA.

Thompson, T.R. (1958) ‘Four Years of Automatic Office Work’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 106-112.

Thompson, T.R. (1960) ‘Problems of Auditing Computing Data: Internal Audit Practice and External Audit Theory’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 3, No 1, pp. 10-11.

Thompson, T.R. (1962) ‘Fundamental Principles of Expressing a Procedure for a Computer Application’, The Computer Journal, British Computer Society, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 164-169.

Thompson, T.R. and others ‘The LEO Chronicle, Major Events from 1947 to 1962’, Leo Archive, National Archive for the History of Computing, Manchester, LEO Computers, see https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/367f3633-3a28-3fa9-837c-039693dcf8ee for listing of items held at John Rylands Library. As part of the library's special collections, the Archive is located in the main building of John Rylands University Library of Manchester, Burlington Street (building 18 in the campus map). Note the collection is not digitised and can be viewed by application to the librarian.

Wagner, F. and Wolstenholme, P. (2003) ‘A Modern Real-Time Design Tool; Applying Lessons from LEO’, IEE Computing and Control Engineering Journal, Vol 14.

Walton, Mark, editor,(2018): A Celebration of Life in the 40s, 50s and 60s, includes an account of the leading role played by the UK in the development of computers, with a mention of the role played by LEO with photos of LEO I, published in September as part of Goodwood Revival, an annual 3 day festival celebrating Goodwood Racecourse.

Weetch, R. (2016) Middlesex University Scholarships and Awards 2016, Systematic Marketing, notes the award of the David Tresman Caminer Scholarship to Elisabetta Mori, https://smxi.com/blogs/russell.weetch/?cat=149

Weik, M.H. (1961) A Third Survey of Domestic Digital Computing Systems, Ballistic Research Report No. 1115, March, Ballistic Research Laboratories. Does not mention LEO but shows developments in USA. BRL Report 1961 http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61.html#TOC

Wilcock, J. (2010) The Staffordshire University Computing Futures Museum LEO Page, available at https://archive.is/SHAKK - a good account of the Lyons and LEO story.

Wilkes, M.V. (2001) ‘John Pinkerton and Lyons Electronic Office’, IET Computing and Control Engineering Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 130-144.

Wilkes, M.V. (2001) ‘John Pinkerton and Lyons Electronic Office’, IET Engineering and Education Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 5, pp. 183-188.

Wilkes, M.V. (2000) 'Business Innovation: Introduction of new methods into business operations' IEE Inaugural Pinkerton Lecture, unpublished, copy of text with F. Land.

Williams, J.E. (1967) The Brains Behind The Buttons, Coventry Standard, p. 21, January 5^th. The article refers to LEO/28 sold to Coventry Corporation.

Williams, R. (1976) Early Computers in Europe, AFIPS National Computer Conference and Exposition, June, Proceedings, pp. 21-29, New York. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1499799.1499804 and to download paper https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/afips/1976/5084/00/50840021.pdf The paper includes a long section on the Lyons/LEO story. From the abstract: “the paper also includes a detailed description of the birth and foundation of the most successful first British commercial computer company-Leo Computers Limited, and this gives an insight into the thinking which lay behind British early computer development”.

Woods. M.J. (2002) History of the Kidsgrove Works, http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/jaxbar/kidsgroveworkspt1.pdf A detailed account of the Kidsgrove works, including its role with English Electric LEO Marconi (EELM) and the part Kidsgrove played in the evolution of the UK computer industry.

ARCHIVES –LEO DOCUMENTS AND ARTEFACTS

LEO Computers Society. http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/ The Society has a membership of over 700 people mainly ex- employees of LEO computers; J. Lyons & Co.; ex-employees of LEO clients; plus others interested in the story of LEO. Chair of the Society is Peter Byford. The Society publishes a regular Newsletter – editor Bernard Behr – describing aspects of the LEO story. One of its chief objectives is the preservation and publication of the LEO heritage. As such it has engaged in a partnership with the Cambridge Centre for Computer History in a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to further that objective. The Society and its members hold significant memorabilia in the form of :

Centre for Computing History Cambridge (CCH): www.ComputingHistory.org.uk Contact: Lisa McGerty at lisa@computinghistory.org.uk
The CCH and LEO Computers Society reached a Partnership Agreement in the summer of 2018 for the storage, and archiving of LEO memorabilia. At the same time the Partnership submitted a bid for funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund for support of further work in archiving and providing education and presentations noting the work of the LEO pioneers. In September 2018 the Fund made available substantial funding for an initial one year period. Earlier the Centre held an exhibition featuring the LEO story in November 2017, attended by a number of members of the LEO Computers Society some of whom gave a LEO heritage project presentation. A short description of the Lyons and the LEO project, including photos can be found at: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6162/LEO-I-computer-became-operational/. A collection of sounds made by LEO III has been borrowed by Jason Fitzpatrick from the LEO Computers website for display at the Museum on You Tube can be heard at https://youtu.be/6vfa_RC_y1M The LEO Computers Society has transferred a number of holdings to the CCH for secure keeping on a loan basis. These include files retrieved from Peter Bird, David Caminer and Ray Henessey. A ful list transferred as at October 2018 is provided in the annex to LEOPEDIA. See also LEO Computers Archive finds New Home

LEO II test program - scanned and available online as individual pages
Preparing for a computer - scanned, single pdf available online
Intro to programming - scanned and available online as individual pages
Inland Revenue - scanned and available online as individual pages
EDSAC – micro-programming - scanned and available online as individual pages
EDSAC - scanned and available online as individual pages
Notes on use of LEO - scanned and available online as individual pages

UK (and online) Archives

British Library, holds various LEO related items in its archives. Including oral Histories of Mary Coombs and Frank Land. See

Archives IT – an organisation devoted to the collection, archiving and dissemination of information relating to the history of UK IT. The archive includes the Oral Histories of many UK’s eminent IT personal who made that history including from LEO Ninian Eadie. The Director of Archive IT is Paul D Janner, Director@archivesit.org.uk. See his article Capture the Past to Inspire the Future, page 66, ITNOW, Winter 2017. Website www.archivesit.org.uk

Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Established annual Pinkerton Lecture at the behest of LEO Computers Society to honour the achievements of John Pinkerton. The lecture series commenced in 2000. Until 2011 the lectures were held at Faraday House, London. Since that date they have been given in India by the Indian branch of the IET in Bangalore. The IET write about the lectures at http://conferences.theiet.org/pinkerton/history/index.cfm

2000 Inaugural John Pinkerton Lecture Sir Maurice Wilkes AT&T Research Laboratories

2002 Seizing the Moment: The Far Reaching Effects of Broadband on Economy and Society
David Cleevely Analysis Group

2004 Intellectual Property, Entrepreneurs and Company successes Hermann Hauser
Director, Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd IET.tv footage

2005 ICT Use in Rural India: Innovations Bridge the Digital Chasm Professor Subhas
Bhatnagar Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad IET.tv footage

2006 e-Science and Cyberinfrastructure Professor Tony Hey
VP Scientific Computing, Microsoft, USA IET.tv footage

2007 Invention to Phenomenon (Sensation?) Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Director of the World Wide Web Consortium

2008 Web 2.0 (Social Media to Inspire Change) Alex Balfour IET.tv footage

2009 IT: Is it on the money? John Carey, Former Head of Business, Strategy & IT and interim
CTO, Lloyds TSB IET.tv footage

2011 Internet for all - is the real barrier to reaching this vision: demand, awareness, usability
or access technology? Dr Mike Short IET.tv footage

http://conferences.theiet.org/pinkerton/

2013 Can India create a global powerhouse? Sir Robin Saxby, Ex Founding CEO and Chairman ARM Holdings plc

2015 'Re-imagining society through the Internet of Everything'. Dr Robert Pepper,
Vice President - Global Technology Policy, Cisco http://events.theiet.in/Pinkerton2015/

Intriguing History Website cites “the very brave and innovative decision to promote the
development and use of commercial computers” taken by the Board of J. Lyons & Co. in 1947. See http://www.intriguing-history.com/leo-computer-jlyons-co/

Marconi maintain a Marconi History website which includes a section devoted to LEO Computers and is regularly updated with news from the LEO Computers Society. Access is restricted to password holders including Frank Land, marconiincomputersandautomation

London Metropolitan Archive, (LMA), holds material relating to J. Lyons and Company archived under GB 0074 ACC/3527 See http://search.lma.gov.uk/LMA_DOC/ACC_3527.PDF Note: The material, including references to the LEO initiative are held in boxes in their original format (not digitzed). Selected material will be made available to searchers and can be photographed provided it is required for genuine research and not commercial reasons. LMA charges £5 per document copied. Neville Lyons neville.lyons@btinternet.com, (friend of the LEO Computers Society) has photographic copies of much of the material related to Lyons. LMA hold the copyright for the archive. Catalogue numbers for LEO related materials copied by Neville Lyons are:

Lyons Office Journals covering profiles of TR Thompson, EH Lenaerts and Visit of Princess Elizabeth to Cadby Hall.

The I love ICL Website http://www.vintage-icl-computers.com/icl3a holds a collection of documents including LEO III Intercode and CLEO training manuals. These include the following: LEO III Paperwork at:

The site is maintained by Pete Wooledge a member of the LEO Computers Society,
tabbs-firefly@outlook.com.

University of Stafford April 14^th 2016, Inaugural Lecture: Fifty Glorious Years Staffordshire's Role in the Development of Computing. The Lecture, by Professor Alan Eardley, includes references to English Electric, LEO, Kidsgrove. Photos of LEO and extracts from an interview of Frank Land by Alan Eardley.

International Archives

Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Purchased a Microprogram Module from a standard LEO III in 2013. The item is not on display but shown on its website together with a brief account of the LEO story written by Barbara Ainsworth. See http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/12682 The curator is (2018) Nicholas Crotty: ncrotty@museum.vic.gov.au

Heinz Nixdorf Museum (HNF), Padeborg Germany. Claims to be the largest Computer Museum in the world. But currently its only LEO holding is the Caminer et al LEO book in the Museum Library. Its Director, Dr Jochen Viehoff is keen to establish a LEO presence to show the LEO role in the history of computing. http://www.hnf.de/en/home.html

University of Melboune Archive: holds collection of Shell Oil Australia Archive, including material relating to the purchase and use of LEO III in Australia

Computer History Archives Project: Director Mark Greenia, includes video Early Vacuum Tube Computers with a section on the LEO at around time index 7:34. and 13.09. Can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnNm_uJYWhA

Many individuals, dead and alive; members of the LEO Computers Society or ex LEO employees, have private collections of LEO artifacts, documents and photographs, some of which are of historical importance. They include:

Peter Bird private archive, indexed and boxed and held at Cambridge Centre for Computer History.

David Caminer private archive, collected by Ray Hennessy and Hilary Caminer, part indexed and boxed.

Ernest Lenaerts 100 notebooks, quarto, compiled in manuscript, dating from 1949 to the early 1950s. The notebooks have been donated to the LEO Computers Society by Paul and David Lenaerts, Ernest's sons, and have been scanned into digital format by Bill Purvis, a member of the Computer Conservation s They can be viewed at http://www.billp.org/LEO"

Wally Dutton Wally's daughter Andrea has donated her father's collection of LEO memorabilia including published papers dating back to 1954, newspqper articles and photographs

There are many other private hoards and the LEO Computers Society would welcome information about such holdings.

Museums

Birmingham Museum J. Lyons donated some LEO I items to the Museum in 1965. Documentation relating to the donation is held by Peter Byford of the LEO Computers Society, and photographs of LEO I hardware items are held by Chris Burton of the Computer Conservation Society. The items themselves are currently (October 2018) not available for viewing whilst a major refurbishment of the Museum is taking place..

Science Museum, London. The Museum opened a new Gallery The Information Age,
which features amongst other exhibits tracing the evolution of the information age, a special section devoted to LEO, including recordings of a teashop manageress reflecting on the changes the Teashop Job (L3) made to her life. The new Gallery is sponsored by a number of members of the IT industry and organized and managed by Dr Tilly Blyth of the Science Museum. LEO items held are displayed at https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/search?q=Library%20LEO%20items

The National Museum of Computer History, (TNMOC), Bletchley. LEO hardware items at TNMOC are listed at Hardware May 2010.pdf (3MB) and flowcharts of LEO I microinstructions at http://leo.settle.dtdns.net/LeoCode/MicroProgs.htm Information about LEO related items and activities listed at V http://www.tnmoc.org/search/node/. Trustee of Museum and Secretary of Computer Conservation Society is Kevin Murrell, kevin.murrell@tnmoc.org

National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. The Museum has LEOlll/33 (Phoenix Insurance), as well as three LEO III circuit boards, one of which is on display, and three circuit boards from from LEO IIs. The Senior Curator of Modern Science and Computing is Dr Tacye Phillipson: t.phillipson@nms.ac.uk Website: http://www.nms.ac.uk/

OBITUARIES and BIOGRAPHIES

John Aris – 1934 - 2010 Educated at Eton and Oxford, with a degree and life-long interests in the classics, joined LEO as a programmer in 1958. A career in LEO and its successor companies, including Chief Business Systems Engineer for ICL in 1968 was followed by heading the computer department of the Imperial Group, then becoming director of the NCC. He retained his interest in LEO up to the end of his life becoming a prominent and active member of the LEO Foundation and the LEO Computers Society.

Antony (Tony) Bernard Barnes – 1926-2000. Tony Barnes joined Lyons as a Management Trainee after graduating in 1947 working in the Statistical Office. He transferred to the LEO programming team in November 1950 where his talents were quickly recognised. In 1955 he accompanied Thomas Thompson to the USA on a six-week tour, visiting several computer manufacturers and users. In January 1956 he became the Administrative Manager of the Design and Development Section of Leo Computers Limited and in June1959 the Production Director, reporting directly to Anthony Salmon, the main Lyons Board Director responsible for the whole LEO project. He left Leo Computers Limited shortly after the merger with English Electric.

Peter Bird – born 1934, died 6^th August 2017. After a career in the Merchant Navy achieving his Masters certificate ‘discovered’ computing, studied programming and applied for Jobs in computing. Interviewed by Lyons for an operator job and joined Lyons 1964 as an operator on the LEO III. Promoted rapidly to Operations Manager, then overall Systems Manager. After retirement became interested in the history of Lyons and in the LEO story resulting in the publication of his books on LEO and subsequently on Lyons the Food Empire. The LEO Computer Society book LEO Remembered is dedicated to Peter. Peter’s obituary was posted on the Guardian Newspaper website in the OTHER LIVES section on 10^thSeptember 2017 at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/10/peter-bird-obituary On October 14^th it appeared on page 38 of the Guardian print edition in the Other Lives section of the Saturday edition. The obituary is also posted by Elisabetta Mori in http://ta.mdx.ac.uk/leo/in-memory-of-peter-bird/http://ta.mdx.ac.uk/leo/in-memory-of-peter-bird/ and Wikipedia posted an obituary at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bird_(IT_manager)

George Booth – Died 19^th September 1959, aged 90, Company Secretary and Director of J. Lyons, made the case to the Lyons Board for the company to commit itself to build a business computer and to collaborate with Cambridge University with its EDSAC project by providing some funding for the project in exchange for help in setting up the LEO project. His support was crucial in getting the support of his fellow board members; Earlier responsible for recruiting John Simmons as someone to study and improve the efficiency of Lyons. Obituary written by Isidore Gluckstein in Lyons Mail October 1959.

Dan Broido – 1903-1990 Born in Siberia of politically active parents, refugee to Germany from Soviet oppression, took degree in Mechanical Engineering in Berlin, and became an engineer at the firm of Rotaprint, who sent him to the UK in 1934 to work in their London branch. Worked for Caterpillar Tractors during World War II on nationally important work, and subsequently for a Company interested in developing automatic reading equipment, Broido filed over 100 patents including one of the earliest bar code systems. The company was taken over by ICT but in 1956 he was recruited by LEO as Chief Mechanical Engineer charged with developing optical reading facilities. This resulted in the development of Lector and later Autolector. When LEO, and later ICL started selling computers in Eastern Europe including Russia, Broido played a key role in the success of that enterprise. A biographical sketch of his carrer can be found on pages 202 to 203 in his book LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
http://www.kzwp.com/lyons.pensioners/obituary2B.htm (page 1)

David Caminer – 1915 - 2008 joined Lyons before World War II as a Management Trainee, his career was interrupted by National Service, losing a leg in the battlefields of North Africa, before returning to Lyons and being appointed head of the Systems Research Office ,followed by taking a prominent and leading role in the establishment of LEO. Described by John Aris as the inventor of Systems Analysis, his methodological approach was a key factor in the success of LEO. His ambition, following his retirement was to ensure that the story of LEO would take its proper place in the history of computing. He helped fulfil that ambition by his writing and the establishment of the LEO Foundation. See also a biographical sketch on page201 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer

Jackie Caminer – died January 2017 aged 94, wife of David Caminer. Her daughter Hilary Caminer writes: ` My mother, Jackie, died this morning peacefully at home aged 94. Without her, my father's LEO work would have been much harder for him - they were heroes and heroines those LEO partners.

She had a fine career in her own right as a teacher - teaching not only here but in Brussels and Luxembourg when my father was installing computers for the EU. She was also an ardent campaigner on adult education and on local issues as well as a fine dancer, artist and craftswoman. She missed my father terribly and counted many of his LEO colleagues as personal friends.

Doug Comish writes: I was very sorry to hear that your mother had died. She was a quite remarkable character with many accomplishments and a most wonderful wife for David.

When you look back at what was achieved with LEO it was remarkable. It was a privilege to work with that outstanding team of people from all disciplines—from application designers, programmers, operators, design, development, and production engineers and marketeers. The manner in which they all pulled together and overcame problems was probably unique.

Your father played the major role but Jackie was a great support. You can be very proud of them.

Hamish Carmichael – died July 2017 aged 83. Hamish after a career with ICL became an active member of Computer Conservation Society. Always a good friend of LEO. Author of book of reminiscences and stories of ICL (including LEO) employees. Computer Conservation Society obituary http://www.coymputerconservationsociety.org/index.htm

Joe Crouch – Died 2018. Joe Crouch joined LEO as a trainee programmer and quickly rose to Senior Programmer/Consultant Status, working at Hartree House. When Ilford Limited acquired a LEO II Joe headed the LEO team helping to establish the computer’s systems. Subsequently he joined Leo Fantl in South Africa as head of the Programming group. (noted by Norman Witkin)

Leo Fantl writes “A key area (in our operations) … was production, which covered our operating, data preparation, and local mine data capture. Joe Crouch took the lead here. ….In many ways Joe was another Derek Hemy, incredibly quick to grasp a new point, clear thinking, and a good writer. His direction of the preparation and subsequent management of operations was outstanding. I had chosen Joe to succeed me but this turned out to be not to his liking. Later he did much difficult design work for the larger group, notably Sage Life, the group’s insurance company” Joe married a local Afrikans girl.

John Godwin writes; “I remember them (Bob Day and Joe Crouch) as being among the pioneers of computers in South Africa. In the nineteen sixties LEO III/2 at the Johannesburg bureau was the first commercial multi-processing machine in the country.

Along with Leo Fantl and their colleagues they changed the way the Mines and other large companies ran their businesses. Today everyone is a computer expert, but then they really were. I am glad I knew them, true trail blazers.”

Mike Daniels – died March 2018, worked in Service Bureau, Hartree House in Programming and Support 1962-1966. He went on to work with several companies, including UNISYS, RCA (in America), III, an American Company back here. He worked on computer systems all his working life, all over the world. He was mainly involved in print/newspapers but also programming with Concorde. That said, he never forgot the early days.
He was a super guy, always cheerful. I'm so glad you had good memories. Please pass on to anyone who knew him (From Betsan Daniels).

Bob Day – Died 2018. Bob was recruited in 1960 by Leo Fantl to join the newly formed LEO/Rand Mines collaborative venture in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bob, of Afrikan descent, was one of a handful recruited, all of high quality joining within that first period. Bob stayed in a senior role until his retirement.

Leo Fantl writes “Bob Day was a typical South African. With an outstanding secondary education record, he joined the Post Office as a technical apprentice, and completed his training as the top performer for the whole country. Bob is mainly Afrikans but totally bilingual . When he took our appreciation course, he had never done any programming, but I still remember his hostile stare during my lectures –and how I leaned over him while he was writing his test, to see if he was actually writing sense. He got 100 per cent.’ (User-Driven Innovation, p.300)

John Godwin writes: “In the nineteen sixties LEO III/2 at the Johannesburg bureau was the first commercial multi-processing machine in the country. Along with Leo Fantl and their colleagues they (Bob Day and Joe Crouch) changed the way the Mines and other large companies ran their businesses. Today everyone is a computer expert, but then they really were. I am glad I knew them, true trail blazers”.

Leo Fantl – 1924-2000 Came to UK in June 1939 as a refugee from Czechoslovakia. Joined RAF age 18 and received technical training. Recruited by Lyons as Technical Trainee in the Planning Department in 1949, but was transferred to the LEO enterprise in 1950 to join Derek Hemy as a pioneer programmer. Despite a lack of formal training became a first rate mathematician involved in developing mathematical software and doing ground-breaking work in the problem created by rounding errors. Played major role in most of the early LEO applications including the tax tables for the UK Inland Revenue. In 1960 he was seconded to work on LEO’s first overseas venture, the joint establishment with Rand Mines of a LEO III computer bureau in Johannesburg. He spent much of his remaining career managing the computer operations of Rand Mines by then the sole owners of the bureau. A brief biographical sketch can be found on page 202 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
http://www.thocp.net/biographies/fantl_leo.html

Gordon Foulger – 1942-2011 After graduating from Queen Mary University with a degree in General Science he became a LEO programmer seconded to work on GPO programs, including the Giro and telephone billing. He became a database specialist and consultant as his career evolved.
http://www.gordonfoulger.co.uk/obituary.php

Bob Gibson – born 1927, died August 2016. He trained as electronic engineer as part of National Service. After working as an electronic research engineer in Civil Service, recruited by LEO as trainee maintenance engineer. Took responsibility for training customer engineers and rose to oversee all LEO training as well as managing engineering maintenance services, and personnel. Briefly left LEO to become a management consultant but returned to become head of customer support services for EELM. Completed career with ICL as manager Large Projects before setting up his own consultancy. Retired 1988 and published book on Project Management. Gained a reputation as a safe pair of hands for complex and difficult assignments. One of the stalwarts whose contribution played a key role in the success of LEO.

John Gosden – 1930-2003 Joined LEO as a programmer in 1953 after taking a degree (pass) in Mathematics at Cambridge University and made rapid progress with his understanding of software. Played a key role in the design of systems software for LEO II and LEO III. Left LEO in 1961 to emigrate to the USA for a sterling career in computing including acting as advisor on computer matters to the US Government.
A biographical sketch of his career can be found on pages 203 and 204 in Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/gosdenobit.html

John Grover – Born December 1924, died 2000. After National Service in the RAF where he gained his pilot’s wings, joined Lyons as a Management Trainee in 1947 working on Bakery Accounts. Recruited to the new LEO team as a programmer in 1950, took responsibility for a number of the early LEO applications Including the world’s first business application, the valuation of bakery output. David Caminer paid this tribute to John Grover. "John played an invaluable part in out very very small team. He followed the methodology that we laid down unswervingly and made it possible to get it firmly established as newcomers were drawn in. He was a fine trainer and many of the young men and women who were recruited learned the new discipline working under him." He left LEO in 1956 to join Derek Hemi at EMI working on the EMIDEC. A short biographical sketch can be found on page 204 in Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer. http://www.computerconservationsociety.org/resurrection/res24.htm#d

Peter Gyngell – born 23 February 1930, died 6thJune 2018 at his home in Wollongong, Australia. Peter was born in Wales, graduated from RADA in 1948, but did not follow an acting career. He became involved with LEO in 1958 working for the Ford Motor Company on their LEO II computer at Aveley on the huge Ford spare part application. He played a critical part in the success of that work. He subsequently joined LEO Computers Limited and was appointed manager of the LEO operations Australia in 1961. Neill Lamming writes: “As General Manager of LEO Australia when it was formed in 1961, Peter had a massive presence in the early business computing market in Australia. He personally led the sales campaigns which resulted in spectacular wins against established competitors like IBM with such major organisations as Shell Australia, Colonial Mutual Life, H C Sleigh and Tubemakers of Australia. He was a legend who will always be remembered warmly by those who worked with him.” A more extended obituary is held in the LEO Computers Dropbox archive at https://www.dropbox.com/preview/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/LEO%20Memoirs%2C%20Reminiscences%20and%20Anecdotes/PETER%20GYNGELL%20Obituary.doc?role=personal

Douglas Hartree – 27.03.1897-12.02.1958, eminent Cambridge Scientist noted for his contribution to a number of fields of study including early computing – as an example he was the first civilian to programme ENIAC - played a crucial role in the collaboration between Cambridge University and Lyons in the development of LEO. “Hartree's fourth and final major contribution to British computing started in early 1947 when the catering firm of J. Lyons & Co. in London heard of the ENIAC and sent a small team in the summer of that year to study what was happening in the USA, because they felt that these new computers might be of assistance in the huge amount of administrative and accounting work which the firm had to do. The team met with Col. Herman Goldstine at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton who wrote to Hartree telling him of their search. As soon as he received this letter, Hartree wrote and invited representatives of Lyons to come to Cambridge for a meeting with him and Wilkes. This led to the development of a commercial version of EDSAC developed by Lyons, called LEO, the first computer used for commercial business applications. After Hartree's death, the headquarters of LEO Computers was renamed Hartree House. This illustrates the extent to which Lyons felt that Hartree had contributed to their new venture.” From Wikepedia at https:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hartree

George A. Hayter – Died April 2015 in Northern Cyprus. Joined LEO about 1964/5, on systems and sales, at Allied Suppliers, started at Hartree House, then Computer House and Stag Place. Subsequently worked at BOAC under Peter Hermon, then headed the Stock Exchange computer transformation, before setting up his own consultancy for the financial sector.

Derek Hemy – !920 –2000, Joined Lyons as Management Trainee 1939. Did war service in Royal Corps of Signals. Returned to Lyons in 1946 in Systems Analysis Office under David Caminer. Selected as first LEO programmer, a role in which his performance was outstanding. Left LEO in 1955 to senior role in EMI's venture into computing with the EMIDEC. Transferred to ICL when they took over EMI computing and later became computer consultant for Unilever. More biographical details in Bird, P. J. LEO: The First Business Computer, pp. 204- 205.

Mavis Hinds – 1929-2009 Worked for the Meteorological Office and used LEO I for weather forecasting – the earliest use of computers for modelling the weather in the early 1950s.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.502/abstract

Ernest Joseph Kaye – 1922-2012 Joined John Pinkerton as his assistant in 1949 in the design of LEO I and later LEO II, having been recruited as an electronic engineer from GEC. Later took on the role of procurement officer for the engineering side of LEO. Retired in 1968 to the family firm of renting material for television and theatre productions. See also page 205 for a biographical sketch in Peter Bird’s LEO: The First Business Computer.

Ernest Lenearts – 1910-1997 Despite an interest in things technical his parents persuaded him to take a clerical job at J. Lyons starting in the late 1920s. Bored by his job he asked for more technical training in the hope of getting a job in the Lyons laboratories. His chance to progress came during World War II. In 1941 he became a wireless mechanic in the RAF rising to the rank of sergeant before demobilisation. He returned to Lyons, but was now appointed Radio Mechanic working on innovative microwave technology. On the inauguration of the collaboration between Cambridge University and Lyons on the EDSAC/LEO project he was sent to Cambridge for the year 1948 both to learn about computer technology and to help in the design of EDSAC. When Lyons commenced building LEO he joined John Pinkerton in the design team. He made many contributions and also helped in the writing of many technical papers including one selected as the best paper of that year. He subsequently took an interest in the man-machine interface including working on speech recognition. He retired in 1969. A biographical sketch of his career can be found on pages 206 to 207 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.

George Manley – 1938-2011 LEO engineer, rising from apprentice to Chief Commissioning Engineer. After an illustrious career with LEO was headhunted by Honeywell before in 1974 returning to what was now ICL. http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/images/GeorgeManleyObit.pdf

Donald Moore – 1920-2013, started his career in computing by setting up and managing the Army Payroll Centre with an IBM 705, subsequently took over the Shell-Mex & BP LEO III computer Centre at Hemel Hempstead. Obituary: http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/169330/moore

Robert E Peel – He was an intrinsic part of the Master Routine team with such luminaries as Adrian Rymell, Colin Tully, Nigel Dolby, Sheila Milne and I’m sure a few others whose names I have forgotten. The Intercode Translator team interacted closely with the Master programmers and I remember Bob as a thoroughly pleasant and competent member of that illustrious team. I think he worked on the Allocator/Loader routine which had to take the translator output and do something sensible with it. I remember nothing but the great professional relationship we had with him.

John Pinkerton – 1919-1997 After doing research into radar systems and receiving a PhD at Cambridge recommended by Maurice Wilkes to Lyons as the Engineer to design and develop. He joined Lyons in January 1949 and started to build the small team of engineers which succeeded in building LEO I as a machine based on the EDSAC design but significantly modified for business data processing. In 1959 he was appointed a Director of LEO Computers Limited, but resigned on the merger creating EELM. On the further creation of ICL he took charge of research into the product lines being developed by EELM. Subsequently he took a leading role in the development of International Standards and represented the UK in bodies such as the European Union’s ESPRIT project. He also became Chairman of the editorial Board of the ICL Technical Journal. As a tribute to his outstanding qualities the IET inaugurated an annual Pinkerton Lecture and the WCIT set up an annual Pinkerton Award to the years leading apprentice. A short biographical sketch can be found on page 208 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.

Anthony Salmon – 1916-2000 A member of the ruling Salmon and Gluckstein family, founders of J. Lyons & Co, was assigned Managing Director of LEO Computers Limited on its foundation in 1954 and became a main board Director of the parent company in 1955. He played an active role in promoting LEO sales using his extensive business contacts. Ceased active involvement after merger of LEO with English Electric in 1963, though nominally Vice-Chair of merged company. A short biographical sketch can be found on page 208 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
http://www.kzwp.com/lyons.pensioners/obituary2S.htm (page 1)

John Simmons – 1902-1985 after gaining a first class degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University he was recruited by George Booth, Lyons company secretary as a Management Trainee and statistician with a brief to review and develop the Lyons business processes. Under his tutelage many innovations to business processes were introduced and in 1932 he established the Systems Research Office. In 1947 he sent two of his managers to the USA to study if Lyons could learn from American business processes. The outcome of the visit was the famous Standingford/Thompson report suggesting the possibility of computers as an engine for making the company more efficient. He used his own reputation and authority to endorse the idea and the resulting collaboration with Cambridge University to build LEO. He was appointed to the Lyons Board in 1954 as an Employee Director and a year later as a full Director. His reputation in the business world was an important factor in the establishment of LEO, the product of a catering company, as one of the leading computer supplier in the UK and further afield. A biographical sketch can be found on pages 209 o 210 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
http://www.oldbrightonians.com/notable-obs/business/john-simmons-bc.-1916.html
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/978019 209 to 210 in Pet8614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-57059?rskey=A6LhXK&result=4

Oliver Standingford – 1912-1980, Senior Lyons Manager who at the behest of John Simmons, visited the USA with T.R. Thompson. They jointly wrote the report which was instrumental in the initiative which led to Lyons building the LEO computer. http://www.kzwp.com/lyons.pensioners/obituary2S2.htm

Robin Stanley-Jones – Died 2013, joined as a technician around 1961 and worked at Minerva Rd; did 24/7 shifts on III/1 at Hartree House; then went with LEO III/8 to Australia (Tubemakers of Australia) (1963?). He returned to Minerva Road in 1967 (where he met his wife) and worked in development until the company became ICL. He remained in IT, mostly with Digital Equipment, until his retirement.

George F Stevens – 1911-2002, senior Lyons manager who took responsibility for the running of the Lyons LEO Computers when LEO Computers Limited merged with English Electric. He subsequently oversaw the switch by Lyons to IBM computers.
http://www.kzwp.com/lyons.pensioners/obituary2S2.htm

Thomas Raymond Thompson (TRT) – 1907-1976. The Lyons Mail published an appreciation of TRT in its April 1976 issue. This can be found in the Warwick University Simmons archive filed as 383-S4-14-2-9.jpg. TRT was one of the giants of the LEO enterprise.
http://www.kzwp.com/lyons.pensioners/obituary2T.htm
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/101160
The Lyons Journal published a personality profile of T.R. Thompson in August 1961. A copy of the profile can be found in the London Metropolitan Museums Archive (LMA) as part of its collection of J .Lyons & Co. papers. It has been copied by Neville Lyons and is available from him.

Colin Tully – 1936-2007 Joined LEO in 1960 after graduating with a degree in Economics from Cambridge. University. Became very much involved with Software Development including coding the LEO III Master Routine. Subsequently mixed an academic career with consultancy and practice at Standard Telephone and Cables. Had stints as an academic researcher at York University, Cranfield and the London School of Economics, finishing his career as Dean and Professor at Middlesex University. Maintained his interest in LEO and its achievements via the LEO Foundation and the LEO Computers Society.
http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/16757
http://comjnl.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/3/388.short
http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/images/colintullytribute.pdf

Mike Webb – Died November 2015 at his home in Anglesey. Joined LEO as a mathematician and operational research specialist. After leaving LEO became an academic, first with the LSE and subsequently as head of business studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Peter Wood – 1918-2013, who has died at the age of 95, was given a good send-off in June, well attended by family, old boys and members of his bowls club. Peter was very modest about his war, but it was revealed that he was evacuated from Dunkirk, trained as a commando, fought in India on the North-West Frontier, was captured by the Japanese – and escaped! He ended the war as a 27-year-old Lt-Colonel, still in the Far East. An England-schools rugby international, he became a pillar of the Association, and a leading member of both the cricket and rugby clubs. He was Ground Secretary for many years, and a vice-President of the Association and those clubs. After the war he was responsible for the first commercial computer in the country, the LEO I, as DP Manager for the Lyons Organisation. A biographical sketch can be found on page 212 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.

Others whose death has been noted, but of whom more information would be welcome:

Dave Rowberry, Software Programmer, later member of Animals group, died 2003

Note: Would anybody who has further information about people on the list including dates of birth and death, when at LEO or its clients, position or role, links to obituaries, pictures [please send them to Frank Land {f.land@lse.ac.uk}

Brief biographical sketches of a number of Lyons and LEO people can be found in LEO, the First Business Computer; P. Bird, Hasler Publishing, 1994, pages 200-212.

Tony Barnes, Daniel Broido, David Caminer, Mary Coombs, Leo Fantl, Isidore Gluckstein, Montague Gluckstein, Samuel Gluckstein, John Gosden, John Grover, Derek Hemy, Ernest Kaye, Frank Land, Ernest Lenaerts, Joseph Lyons, John Pinkerton, Anthony Salmon, Ray Shaw, John Simmons, Oliver Standingford, Thomas Raymond Thompson, David Wheeler, Maurice Wilkes, Peter Wood.

ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORIES

Note: The LEO Computer Society uses Dropbox to hold records of interviews, reminiscences and memoirs recorded by the Society. The Dropbox links are provided for some of the records below. However the link can only be activated by a few designated members of the Society. Anyone who wishes to download a particular item, please apply to Frank Land at f.land@lse.ac.uk

Reprinted as Interview between J.R.M. Simmons, Director and Chief Comptroller of J. Lyons & Co., and the Science Museum, London. Appendix B, in Caminer, D.T., Aris, J.B., Hermon, P.M., Lanf, F.F. (editors and contributors) LEO The Incredible Story of the Wold’s first Business Computer, McGraw Hill, New York, pages 360-374

Abstract: Pinkerton begins by discussing his education and wartime work in radar technology in England. He then describes his movement into the computer industry after World War II and his work on the LEO I and LEO II computers. In this context he discusses the British computer firms J. Lyons and Company, Leo Computers, English Electric Co., and International Computers Ltd.

Abstract: John Pinkerton joined Lyons as chief engineer at the very beginning of the LEO initiatve and led the engineering side until the merger with English Electric. He held senior engineering appointments within the merged companies until his retirement. Much of the success of the LEO enterprise lay in his genius for bringing innovative ideas to practical fruition – one of the true heroes of the information age.

Audio Recording: Tape 6 in Christopher Evans’s ‘Pioneers of Computing’

Transcript: Evans, Chris, (1983) Pioneers of Computing, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 5, No 1, pp 64-72, January-March.

Abstract: This is a full oral history of the life of Mary Coombs as part of the British Libraries Oral History series on the life of selected British Computer scientists.

Repository: British Library, National Life Stories, an oral history of British Science

Type of recorder: Marantz PMD661 on secure digital (Sessions 1-4) Marantz PMD660 on

compact flash (Sessions 5-9) Recording format: Wav 24 bit 48 kHz (sessions 1-4) WAV 16 bit 48 kHz (sessions 5-9) Total no. of tracks 9 Stereo Total Duration 07 hours:14 minutes:40 seconds

Copyright/Clearance: Open except for 00:56:57 – 00:59:15 of track 7 and 00:21:51 - 00:22:49 of
track 9; these sections are closed for 30 years until June 2041.

Abstract: Google interviewed and filmed a number of old LEO employees including Mary Coombs as part of the celebration at the Science Museum of the 60^th anniversary of the roll out of the first business application on the LEO I computer. Narrated by Georgina Ferry/

Abstract: This is a full oral history of the life of Frank Land as part of the British Libraries Oral History series on the life of selected British Computer scientists.

Repository: British Library, National Life Stories, an Oral History of British Science

Type of recorder: Marantz PMD661 on secure digital Recording format: WAV 24 bit 48 kHz Total no. of tracks 18 Stereo Total Duration: 15 hours:06 minutes:31 seconds

Copyright/Clearance: No restrictions except for the following sections: track 1 [between 35:38 – 35:58, and 40:36 – 41:26], track 4 [between 31:46 – 34:56], track 8 [between 13:04 – 13:15 and 47:20 – 49:19], track 9 [between 18:21 – 18:41, 20:20 –

Abstract: Google interviewed and filmed a number of old LEO employees including Frank Land as part of the celebration at the Science Museum of the 60^th anniversary of the roll out of the first business application on the LEO I computer. Narrated by Georgina Ferry/

Abstract: Professor Alan Eardley interviewed and filmed Frank Land as part of his collection of material on the history of computing for his inaugural lecture at Stafford University, April 14^th 2016.

Restrictions: Interview and video will be available to members of LEO Computer Society

Abstract: Archives IT are conducting and archiving interviews of UK individuals who have contributed to the development and evolution of IT. Frank Land has been added to the archive with a whole life interview. Ninian Eady is also in the archive.

Interviewer: Martin Garthwaite as part of LEO Computer Society’s Oral History Project

Abstract: Ralph joined the Lyons Teashop Division in 1953 as management accountant for the Teashops and transferred to LEO in 1954. He rose to manager of the LEO City Office followed by spells in promoting LEO exports in Paris and Dusseldorf before heading the LEO/English Electric team working in Eastern Europe including Soviet Russia. His subsequent career until retirement was with Rank-Xerox and Rolls Royce working on exports to Eastern Europe.

Abstract: Google interviewed and filmed a number of old LEO employees including Ralph Land as part of the celebration at the Science Museum of the 60^th anniversary of the roll out of the first business application on the LEO I computer. Narrated by Georgina Ferry/

Abstract: Google interviewed and filmed a number of old LEO employees including Ernest Kaye as part of the celebration at the Science Museum of the 60^th anniversary of the roll out of the first business application on the LEO I computer. Narrated by Georgina Ferry.

Abstract: Chris Date, well known for his work on Data Base theory and practice started his career with LEO in 1962 – 1967, and provides a description of his experience on pages 7 - 9 of the transcript of the interview. Very complimentary about LEO

Abstract: Betty joined Lyons as a labour cost clerk in the Statistical Office in September 1949. In 1953 she was selected for a LEO appreciation course, and as a result was offered a job as a programmer on LEO I. Despite scepticism about what LEO would be able to do she accepted the offer. She worked on a number of applications – payroll under Mary Blood (Coombs) and Tea Blending under Frank Land. She gained a reputation as a sound and reliable programmer. She left LEO to work as a programmer with EverReady before leaving to start a family.

LEO Computers Society: Oral History Project

The LEO Computers Society has initiated an Oral History Project assisted by funding from the Association for Information Technology (AIT) Trust. Recordings and edited transcripts are held in LEO Dropbox archives. They can be accessed and downloaded by selected members of LEO Computers Society only. The list of Oral Histories taken to-date (January 2016) includes:

Abstract: Alan received degree in mathematics and after National Service joined Armstrong Siddeley as a programmer on a Ferranti Mark I. The company’s merger with another aircraft manufacturer led to his leaving and joining LEO. He worked on the LEO II at Standard Motors, but in 1963 joined Peter Gyngell in Australia working with a number of LEO computers sold in Australia and later with EELM and then ICL; finishing his career in 1996 as a very senior member of the successor companies working in an administrative and legal capacity.

Abstract: John was an operator in the LEO II bureau and then did acceptance trials for LEO III systems in the Minerva Road factory before moving onto System 4 trials and software development. His oral history covers the role of operators in the early days. He progressed through ICL until retirement as a senior consultant in 2002. Active member of LEO Computers Society

Abstract: Mathematics degree from Imperial College, followed after National Service by Masters in Statistics from LSE. Joined Lyons Maid (Ice Cream division of J. Lyons) working on weather based Ice Cream forecasting. Helped define LEO Ice Cream sales job, later working on bakery sales. Remained an employee of J. Lyons.

Abstract: Roger left Mill Hill school in 1950 to self-study to become an actuary but in 1954 responded to an advertisement for a programmer job at Cadby Hall. Joined LEO aged 22, the then youngest programmer. Rapid progress led to him being given the British Rail station to station distancing job working with John Gosden under David Caminer. The oral history is confined to his early career and the details of the BR job. A text-only Part 1 to the composite oral history provides a summary of his career to retirement. His career after leaving LEO in 1957 included managing the LEO 2/9 at Ilford Limited, working for Ford Motor Company and rising to head much of their European Computer organisation, and finishing his career as a private consultant.

Copyright: Tim Greening-Jackson, but unrestricted access permitted subject to due acknowledgements.

Abstract: Alan studied Classics at Oxford and on graduating was taken on by Lyons in their Systems Research Office. A career working on a number of the Lyons LEO application followed by a senior role in Lyons Systems Services, formed to develop and service computer applications first on LEO machines and later when Lyons replaced LEO with IBM computers. Acting Chief Executive Institute of Administrative Management.

Text: https://www.dropbox.com/home/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/Leo%20Interviews?preview=Alan+King+edited+P2.doc

Abstract: Joined as trainee programmer after being offered jobs by Elliott computing and English Electric.. Worked on many projects including British Oxygen. Despite temptation to join other companies remained with LEO and its successor companies working in a senior capacity on a number of Government projects and after retirement working as a consultant to ICL and its associated companies. Active in LEO Computers Society until his death.

Abstract: Joined LEO as engineer. Spent most of his career as commissioning engineer on LEO IIs and IIIs, finishing as senior commissioning engineer. In retirement LEO Computer Society’s expert on all matters relating to LEO hardware. Active Member of LEO Computers Society

Abstract: Trained as electronic engineer as part of National Service. After working as an electronic research engineer in Civil Service, recruited by LEO as trainee maintenance engineer. Took responsibility for training customer engineers and rose to oversee all LEO training as well as managing engineering maintenance services/ Briefly left LEO to become management consultant but returned to become head of customer services for EELM. Retired 1988.

Abstract: Born in Liverpool, educated at grammar school, took Mathematics at Kings College, Cambridge. Then National Service finishing with rank of Captain. Joined Lyons as a Management Trainee in 1949, rose to management rank in the Lyons Work Office as cost accountant. Selected to join LEO in 1956. Long and distinguished career with many roles including education, staff selection, sales and marketing finishing as head of marketing before retirement. Active sportsman, including playing soccer for Cambridge University.

Abstract: Took Science degree at Imperial College after national service in RAF. Joined LEO after seeing an advertisement. Steve worked as a commissioning engineer first on LEO II machines including commissioning the Bull Printer on LEO II/3 and subsequently on LEO II machines. Achieved rank of Chief Engineer for LEO III. Involved in design of the abandoned LEO IV after merger with English Electric. Subsequent career from 1965 with Medical Research Council working as a design engineer.

Abstract: Joined Pinkerton as a design engineer, rising to senior design engineer for LEO I and II. Left LEO in 1956 to work with John Bennet in Australia at Sydney University. A distinguished career as project manager and design engineer with ICL followed including work on communication Systems. Retired in 1981 but carried on working as private consultant.

Abstract: As a mathematics graduate Neil chose LEO when offered jobs in the computing industry. Started work at Hartree House working on Army Payroll, joined team at Renold Chains and subsequently recruited to join Peter Gyngell in Australia. Rapid rise post merger to become Managing Director of ICL Australia at age 37. Left company to work on executive recruitment and retired at age 50.

Abstract: Joined LEO following Mathematics degree at Oxford University and National Service. Started as programmer under Leo Fantl working on mainly mathematical applications on LEO I. Spend whole career with LEO and successor companies as a senior application and software programmer retiring aged 60.

Abstract: After grammar school started training as an accountant, but decided to try something else and was interviewed by David Caminer, and Tony Barnes and offered a job with LEO I as an operator. Worked on LEO I, LEO II and LEO III. Became shift leader and then Chief Operator. Left LEO in 1974 to join Access at Southend. Retired aged 60.

Abstract: After a career in the Merchant Navy achieving his Masters certificate ‘discovered’ computing, studied programming and applied for Jobs in computing. Interviewed by Lyons for an operator job and joined Lyons 1964 as an operator on the LEO III. Promoted rapidly to Operations Manager, then overall Systems Manager. After retirement became interested in the history of Lyons and in the LEO story resulting in the publication of his books on LEO and subsequently on Lyons the Food Empire.

Abstract: Joined as a mathematical working on linear programming transportation applications. Long career with LEO and its successor companies working at various locations including Hartree House and subsequently Kidsgrove. His work involved hardware and software design as well as applications and he finished with the title of Chief Engineer. Appointed visiting Professor at Southampton University. Regarded his early learning of CLEO as a key step in his understanding of design in his later career.

Abstract: Paul Dixon, a refugee from Czechoslovakia (Prague) in 1947, graduated from Manchester University with an honours degree in Economics and Politics. Intrigued by an advertisement for programmers, applied, was interviewed by Peter Hermon and joined LEO Computers as a programmer. Although only with LEO for two years had a rapid rise ranging over a range of applications. Joined Roger Coleman at LEO II customer Ilford’s. Emigrated to Canada and later the USA for a career in computing, including very senior, and prominent positions with major companies.

Repository: Edited Transcript in Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/home/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/LEOSoc%20Oral%20History%20file%20uploads?preview=PAUL+DIXON+edited+P2.docx

Abstract: A lively, chatty interview full of personal anecdotes relating to his life and work experiences. Concentrated on Maths at School and awarded scholarship to Cambridge. But opted to do National Service in Royal Signals, for two years, rising to rank of Lance Corporal. Opted for a degree in Physics at University of Birmingham, graduating with II/1. Saw LEO advert for engineers, taken on at Minerva Road and after training school became maintenance engineer on a range of LEO/IIs. Spent 3 years with LEO, then joined Honeywell as manager of software development. Subsequent career with Rank Xerox in marketing, as consultant with CACI, then working with James Martin and after a spell in Australia (1997), set up as independent consultant before retirement.

Abstract: Received background training in Electronics doing his National Service in the Royal Air Force. Decided on career in that field after seeing an advert for trainee engineers from LEO. After training worked first as commissioning engineer on LEO II/7 than became site maintenance enginner on LEO II and LEO III sites including acting as chief engineer on Ilford’s LEO III.. Retired from ICL in 1969 to join an independent computer maintenance company working on LEO machines.

Abstract: Studies Natural Sciences at St Andrews, specially interested in Electronics. Commissioned in REME and posted to teach at Shrivenham, On discharge interviewed by Pinkerton and joined LEO engineering team in Olaf Street. Left LEO for a career in electronic control devices, but retained an interest in LEO. Joined LEO Computers Society and started collecting LEO memorabilia

Joined LEO: Not clear. Worked on LEO III/6 Shell-Mex and BP in 1965 as part of site engineering team

Editor: David Phillips is undertaking a first edit of the transcript of a very confusing and chronologically muddled interview. Tony Earnshaw will be asked to re-edit the revised script.

Abstract: Worked as untrained TV repair man in 1950s, Spotted by passing LEO engineer, invited to apply to LEO. Started work as assistant to site engineers on the Shell-Mex and BP LEO III in Hemel Hampstead. Prides himself on his successful career as an engineer without having acquired any qualifications. Rose to be chief site engineer at Minerva Road responsible for seven sites. Left ICL to become independent engineer,

Abstract: Peter Hermon joined LEO after he obtained first class honours from St. John’s Oxford, and seeing an advertisement for a mathematician from J. Lyons. He was one of the most brilliant LEO recruits and quickly made his mark as a programmer and consultant. He was involved in a number of LEO sales, working first with Wills Tobacco and later with Dunlop Rubber. He joined Dunlop to first run their LEO installation, but subsequently rose to head Dunlop Management Services world-wide. He moved to BOAC where he was responsible for the development of BOADICEA the airline reservation system which became a major UK success story and later became a Director of British Airways. After retirement in 1989 he became an active member of the LEO Foundation, acting as its treasurer. Peter’s other interests were walking in North Wales and he has published a number of guides for walking in Wales.

Abstract: Peter had a long career in computing starting when he left Grammar School aged just 17 and following an advertisement applied to LEO Computers Limited. Passing the aptitude test as the sole non-graduate applicant at that time, he was trained as a programmer to work on the LEOIII/1 Hartree Service Bureau. He worked on a number of applications, rising in seniority, but left LEO in 1965 to join the AA as a programmer and data analyst. His subsequent career, primarily in Data Management included a 27 year stint at Eastern Gas, followed by the software contractor and consultant John Hoskins, and later as an independent contractor/consultant. Despite his relatively short stint at LEO at the beginning of his career, it is to his LEO roots he returned on retirement. After attending an early LEO reunion he took over the chair of the LEO Computers Society, and oversaw its growth to over 800 members (May 2018), and continues to fill that role with undiminished enthusiasm.

Role in LEO: Joined as apprentice engineer in Minerva Road, became commissioning engineer, and chief commissioning engineer on a number of LEO IIIs

Abstract: One of the earliest to join the LEO team as a clerical assistant involved in a variety of tasks such as filing and note taking for the design team comprising John Pinkerton, Ray Shaw Ernest Kaye and Ernest Lenaerts. Even permitted to do some soldering. Always remembers with great fondness working with LEO

Role in LEO: Started as temporary assistant at Minerva Road, the trained as consultant at Hartree House and rose rapidly working as consultant in a variety of locations including the Midlands, North West London ICL region. Finishing work with ICL as Chief Executive of ICL Australia for two and a half years, before leaving computer industry.

Georgina Ferry has donated the unedited transcripts of the people she interviewed for her book A Computer called LEO to the Heritage Project of the LEO Computers Society. The following interviewees are included:

Anthony Salmon, Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler, Murray Laver, David Caminer, John Pinkerton, Ernest Kaye, Ray Shaw, Derek Hemy, Peter Hermon, John Aris, Mary Coombs, Ralph Land, Frank Land (incomplete first half of transcript lost)

OTHER MEMOIRS, REMINISCENCES AND COMMENTS

Abstract: Maurice Bonney was a mathematician who had early experience of working with LEO as head of a group of programmers involved with aerodynamic calculations for missile technology working in the British aircraft industry, and using LEO as a bureau facility. Later in his career he worked for Renold Chains on their LEO III as chief programmer. He subsequently joined academia In Operations Management finishing his academic career as Professor of Operations Management. He spent much of his academic career working on Computer Aided Design producing significant innovative research.

Abstract: Born in Northern Island, father miner, mother textile worker, moved with large family to village in Northumberland, failed 11+, educated in local elementary school till age of 15 without any qualifications or certificates. One brother was an apprentice electrician at a local pit and attended Carlisle Technical College one day a week. Joe taking a peek at his brother’s books became interested and he too became an apprentice electrician at a local coal mine and attending Carlisle Technical College where he gained his ONC in mathematics and Electronics at the highest level. In 1961 opted to join RAF as a Radar technician serving part of his time in Malta. On completing his service, having acquired a love for electronics, looked for a job with computers and in 1966 was taken on by EELM to train as maintenance engineer on LEO IIIs at Radley House. Notes the quality of training he received. “I loved evert minute of the course”. Moved to Scotland as site engineer on a LEO IIIs and System 4 machines. After a successful career left ICL in 1972 to work in a number of electronic companies, before setting up his own consultancy and completing an honours degree in mathematics at the Open University. Joe retired in 2009. Final words from a fascinating memoir: “For me, I think, LEO provided an environment and situation in which I could succeed in my own terms. I was doing work that I could understand, that I liked and that made sense to me. In a sense, that gave me an attitude of if I can understand and use a computer, I can learn to do anything. That’s a big thing to say about a company but I believe that, even then, it was a special sort of company with special people in it”.

Abstract: John had a long career as a design engineer in the electronics industry, starting as electrician in the RAF after leaving School having specialised in Science and Maths. Followed up with Degree at Durham University. Later took MSc at Birmingham specialising in solid state physics and digital computing. Employed first by Lucas/CAV and then MIRA was head hunted to join the Data Recording and Instrument Company as Chief Engineer, a company associated with ICT. Left after contract dispute in 1960 to join LEO to work with John Pinkerton. Associated with a number of high level projects including a Government sponsored project on data transmission for the coming network age. Also heavily involved with the establishment of standards working with ECMA. Left LEO in 1969 as he felt the creation of ICL had emasculated the innovative LEO research team. Joined Farrington – another specialist in data recording, working partly in the USA. Finished career working in management department of Portsmouth Polytechnic. John provides a fascinating account of life as an enthusiastic design engineer as well as his appraisal of the people he worked with at LEO.

Both LEO 1 and the LEO 2s were not installed in cosy, air-conditioned palaces. They went into normal office accommodation and the heat, generated by the hundreds of thermionic valves was conducted away by fans and overhead ducting. The operators were kept cool only if they could open the office windows! This could cause a number of unexpected problems:

On LEO 1 rain could be a problem. It was necessary to look outside before turning anything on. If it was raining, or snowing, the heaters in the valves needed to be turned on before the cooling fans. This built up enough heat to ensure that the water droplets sucked in were vaporised before they hit a hot glass valve cover. Failure to do it this way round would result in a series of high pitched squeaks as the glass, of the valves cracked. This would be followed by the sound of engineers swearing! If there was no rain, it was better to get the cooling up and running first.

On LEO 2 this was not a problem. The ventilation system didn’t cause the computer much in the way of problems. The computer did provide a lot of heat, most of which was conducted away by the ventilation system. However, there was still a lot of peripheral equipment and human bodies churning out heat. The only option, certainly on LEO 2/1 was to open the windows to the outside world. Mostly this worked well. However, there were times when the outside world made its way into the operating area to cause chaos. Wildlife was one such problem. The occasional visiting bird could provide some distracting entertainment but the worst problem I can remember was a swarm of small insects which came in through the open windows and settled on the paper tapes and punched cards. They got squished into the holes in the cards and tapes changing the data.

Many years later I was working at a Post Office (now BT) site where a snake made its way through one of the doors from the outside world, down a short corridor and then got stuck between the automatic airlock doors into the air-conditioned computer hall.

Note: Colin Hobson was interviewed by Marie Hicks for her book Programmed Inequality (see above) and provides one of her case studies noting the story of LEO.

Abstract: Stan started his working life in 1947, with an interest in engineering, at an electrical engineering firm Clifford & Snell in Sutton Surrey.
I served a five years engineering apprenticeship. During this time I spent one day a week at Wimbledon Technical College studying for ONC & HNC, followed by National Service in the Royal Corp of Signals working as a radio mechanic. On return to civilian life spotted an advertisement in Wireless World from J. Lyons for an engineer to work on digital computers. Applied, interviewed by Ernest Lenaerts and Peter Mann, accepted and joined LEO as junior computer engineer in January 1956, working at Cadby Hall on LEO I. Rapidly promoted to prototype commissioning engineer on LEO II/I and then chief maintenance engineer for the Elms House LEO II. From November 1956 acted as managing commissioning engineer for LEO IIs until 1961 responsible for a series of LEO II customers starting with Stewarts and Lloyds (LEO II/3) and going on to LEO II/11. In 1963 appointed Manager of the Maintenance Development Department (London). Remained in post until end 1970 when Minerva Road was closed. Subsequently worked with other ICL machines until retirement in 1991. Enjoyed his 15 year career with LEO, with working with LEO II the highlight.

It all started when Wendy Craig woke me up with “A Cup of Tea and Lyons Tea Shops” ……

I was dozing on the settee when I became aware of LEO on the screen and Wendy Craig uttering the words Lyons Electronic Office.

Acronyms, acronyms … they are a part of everyday life and the acronym LEO reminded me that in 1963

I chanced into the world of computing when my first job was as a Computer Operator for Shell Mex and BP on their new LEO 326 machines in Hemel Hempstead. What an introduction, right at the cutting edge of the brave new world! 1024 words of 40 bit memory, made up of a matrix of magnetic rings each threaded on three wires which made it look rather like a thread-bare tapestry on a plastic frame about 12 inches square. You could SEE the bits in each WORD.

A wonderfully air-conditioned room with two LEO 326’s: each with 8 tape decks, 2 paper tape readers, a paper tape punch, card reader, card punch, two printers, main console and Engineer’s Control panel. The place was jammed by trolleys filled with the input for the jobs - mag tapes to read, some work tapes for the sorts, mag tapes for output into the next job and paper tape with daily sales tickets to be read by the Elliott Readers. This tape was punched from the handwritten dockets sent from the depots where the road tankers filled up with diesel or petrol.

I remember we had one operator on Mag Tapes, one on Peripherals, one on Buttons.

The cry rang out - “Allocate mag tape on Channel 2 Route 2: Printer on 6/1: Paper Tape output on 7/1” The job started and the P/T began to fly through the reader into a large metal bin. Mag tapes inched forward, reports printed out, reel after reel of P/T filled the bin. Don’t lose the end – it’s all got to be rewound in case the job fails or the tape needs to be dibbed.

The jobs failed sometimes due to mis-punches in the P/T so out with the dibber and the black-tape to re-punch a character or two. One day a reel stopped repeatedly just after a splice point, the data prep girls had joined two reels together. However the second tape had been turned over and joined upside down to the first one. The sprocket holes seemed to match but the 2-track side had been joined to the 3-track side and carefully trimmed to make a neat splice so it looked like the 5-track tape was supposed to look.

Another day came the words – “I bet you can’t hit the big red EMERGENCY STOP on the Engineer’s panel from here with that reel of black and sticky”…. Zooom……Ooops……. Silence except for “You’ve won the prize, Jim!” Then the problem was how to doctor the console log to cover up the re-run time.

The task now was to learn Assembler, then CLEO for writing programmes. Wow, a step up the employment ladder. The DSR – Dealer Site Record -with filling station information covering the number of pumps, A-road or B-road, car dealership, gallonage for the storage tanks, throughput per week, location and so on. Did you know there are even waterside filling stations for barges? Then began my introduction to a look-up table to check the map reference was correct for the site. It was planned to use this to work out the best road route for the tanker from the depot to each filling station and back to the depot – this was leading edge use of computers and might save money. The edge of the whole country was set up in map references so garage could be mistakenly put in the sea somewhere! In fact this routing idea was too heavy on computing calculation and, anyway, the tanker drivers were the experts on minimising the road miles. Development deferred!

Oh, the elapsed time it took to get a compilation and test of the programme back from the machine! One turn round every three days only to find there was a simple coding error. There were too many programmers, too many mistakes and too much operational work for the hours in the day. But the LEOs proved their worth and SMBP’s profitability rose.

I bade farewell to Hemel and enrolled on the Computer Science degree at Hatfield, which had 2 periods of 6 months working in a business during the 4-year course. But now the computer (I hesitate to use the word) was an Elliott 803B, all paper tape and not a mag tape to be seen. However it did have long-life plasticised paper tape from which to load the operating system! Output had to be via paper tape and then printed via a Teletype. Still I learned a lot. At the start of year 2 it was back to Hemel for 6 months commercial experience working on another programme. All acronyms were related to the sales and delivery world of the oil industry in the UK. Then other languages, FORTRAN, COBOL, Algol and more needed to be mastered.

EELM had lost the sales battle to Univac at the Shell site. The machines had changed to become Univac 1100’s with the FASTRAND storage device holding an infinite amount of information so you wouldn’t need to store information on mag tapes anymore….. wait a moment, what was that saying about systems expanding to fill the available storage? We were soon back using mag tapes and there were too many programmers developing too many programmes and too many operational programmes to run in the available time.
What goes round comes around, things don’t really change do they…..? Which brings me in a roundabout way to the time I witnessed Real Magic. The office block had a magnificent view of the junction where six roads met. A scaffold tower went up in the middle, six large white blobs appeared at the end of each road and many concentric circles were drawn. At five minutes to four o’clock the High Priest climbed the Tower holding a megaphone. Work stopped and our windows were crowded with baffled observers. His yellow-jacketed assistants hovered on the kerbs and at precisely 4pm they leapt into action to make a Magic Roundabout. Two lanes each way and six mini-roundabouts later it soon slowed the traffic to a crawl but after a few days the locals became accustomed to it and they zoomed round. In at road 1 go left to road 2 or 3, it’s quicker to go right to 5 and 6, but which way to road 4? … end of my SMBP involvement….

Hartree's fourth and final major contribution to British computing started in early 1947 when the catering firm of J. Lyons & Co. in London heard of the ENIAC and sent a small team in the summer of that year to study what was happening in the USA, because they felt that these new computers might be of assistance in the huge amount of administrative and accounting work which the firm had to do. The team met with Col. Herman Goldstine at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton who wrote to Hartree telling him of their search. As soon as he received this letter, Hartree wrote and invited representatives of Lyons to come to Cambridge for a meeting with him and Wilkes. This led to the development of a commercial version of EDSAC developed by Lyons, called LEO, the first computer used for commercial business applications. After Hartree's death, the headquarters of LEO Computers was renamed Hartree House. This illustrates the extent to which Lyons felt that Hartree had contributed to their new venture.
Hartree's last famous contribution to computing was an estimate in 1950 of the potential demand for computers, which was much lower than turned out to be the case: "We have a computer here in Cambridge, one in Manchester and one at the [NPL]. I suppose there ought to be one in Scotland, but that's about all." Such underestimates of the number of computers that would be required were common at the time!

Abstract: Employed by Stewarts and Lloyds originally as engineer on their LEOII/3 computer and subsequently as programmer. Had received training as electrical engineer while doing extended National Service in RAF and in that capacity witnesses UK H bomb tests in Pacific Islands. Joined Stewarts and Lloyds at Corby after National Service and was transferred to help run the LEOII. Subsequently joined ICL. Has recently contributed to the Corby Heritage events commemorating, inter alia, to their story of LEO at Stewart & Lloyds. Provided two articles for the May 2018 “Legends” event, including John’s Story.

I changed the focus of my career several times and I am now semi-retired and paid to work 1 day per week at The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

I recall various people from 1966-68 in addition to Pinkerton and Winterbottom. Ernest Lenaerts was around Minerva Road then; I did meet you very briefly and various other luminaries of the time but I’m sure you won’t remember me. Ann Cropper and I were involved in the start of the British Computer Society “Display group”, and our paper was based on a talk I gave in one of the early meetings of that group.

I notice that you have an error regarding the attribution of II/6. The Government Pensions activity never had their own machine, having used one of other of the LEO-owned machines that operated as a service bureau. (Editors note: Goodwin’s assertion cannot be sustained as a number of LEO Computers Society members including commissioning engineers tell of visiting the LEO II/6 at the Ministry of Pensions offices in Newcastle)

When I went on my programming course at Whiteley's , we were presented with a list that detailed the owners & locations of the LEO computers; that list omitted II/6, & in response to our enquiries about that, an evasive reply advised us that the presenter was not able to disclose that (so of course we all knew where the machine had been deployed). That machine was actually purchased by another Government activity - the Foreign Office, for one of their activities whose existence was never disclosed; that machine was actually located at Cheltenham, & certain of our engineers were required to work on that machine as required. I never heard of the fate of that machine, but I expect that it was simply scrapped - like all the others & no mention if it is included in any information published by Bletchley Park (it took over the work of the 11 Colossus machines). (Perhaps it's still there?)

It was quite amazing just how much work those machines could achieve, even using punched-card for input & output of master files (some using pure binary), supported by a room full of ancillary punched-card appliances (sorters, collators, punches & interpreters + an IBM 407 tabulating machine - that I programmed using huge re-wirable plug-boards! Modern machines seem to be no more efficient, due to the increased bit usage plus masses of bloatware, & general incompetence of system designers & programmers. Our programmes were coded to run using pure-binary code, but the compiler would accept decimal input & convert to binary for execution, but I had to decode the binary & perform modifications by 'patching' in binary.

I worked on our LEO until it was replaced by an IBM 1410 in November 1963, & I supported & worked on a series of other machines until 2000 C.E. when I accepted early retirement, but continued working as a consultant - even to the present day. Our replacement machine was eventually replaced by a Honeywell 2200 + a 120, in a dishonest attempt to gain the company's business by a bunch of fraudsters, since the machines were rip-off's of the IBM 1410/7010 &c., & the software merely stolen directly; compiling a programme in Cobol, resulted in a fatal error unless the computer used was declared to be an IBM 1410 or 7010; that machine got thrown-out prior to launch, when it was found that it was not up to the claimed performance, & would take 28 hours per day to run the existing workload then currently performed on the IBM 1410; we replaced the IBM 1410 with an IBM 360-50, running in IBM 7010 emulation mode; I wrote the Post Mortem programme for it!, & spent many week-ends running both new & old machines concurrently 24 hours per day, unassisted & unaccompanied, to develop new programmes for our entire Accounting systems; people would have a fit nowadays, if anyone attempted that! The above account is archived in Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/preview/LEO%20Oral%20History%20project/LEO%20Memoirs%2C%20Reminiscences%20and%20Anecdotes/John%20Goodwin%20reminiscences.docx?role=personal

In 1964 the inimitable @DameStephanie_ ran this job ad in @thetimes, seeking programmers for her startup. "Anti-feminists" need not apply--plus opportunities for women who'd "retired"

MEDIA COVERAGE

BBC Calling Europe, February 1954, John Pinkerton talk on LEO reported in LEO Chronicle, February 16th 1954.
BBC French Service, talk on LEO by Mary Coombs
BBC 1 TV in March 2012 ran a 5 episode series fronted by Len Goodman, reminiscing

about the 1950s entitled The 1952 Show in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee. Episode 5 screened on March 30^th at 9.15am. It featured the LEO story with an excellent interview of Ernest Kaye. See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01f9qw3/broadcasts/2012/03

The section featuring LEO and Ernest Kaye can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6TX70A3Rc

Granada TV (2003), London’s Home Movies. Episode 3 includes a section on LEO featuring David Caminer and Peter Byford. Copy held by Trevor Hughes ex LEO peripheral equipment engineer on VHS tapes.

60^th Anniversary event at Science Museum 11^th November 2011

The event received wide coverage including interviews on the BBC Today programme, BBC World Service, and BBC5 Live Outriders programme. It was also covered by the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail website. A video interview of Georgina Ferry, Ernest Kaye, Mary Coombs, Ralph Land and Frank Land made for Google was also presented. The links below include reports in media, video recordings, radio recordings, photographs.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LeoCompSoc/videos

http://storify.com/lynetter/leo-60th-anniversary

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Tools/Print.aspx?CIID=280510

Eric Schmidt in the 2011 MacTaggart Lecture noted:

“You (UK) invented computers in both concept and practice. (It is not widely known, but the world’s first office computer was built in 1951 by Lyons’ chain of teashops!). Yet today none of the world’s leading exponents in these fields are from the UK”

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/238974/mactaggart-lecture-2011.pdf

The Guardian on 2011 McTaggart Lecture Bridging the arts and sciences divide

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/29/bridging-arts-science-divide

Sunday Telegraph July 1^st 2012 Christopher Middleton interviews Eric Schmidt as part

of the paper’s campaign to "Make Britain Count" and in his comment on the interview repeats Eric Schmidt’s earlier notes on the role played by LEO in pioneering business computing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/maths-reform/9288256/Make-Britain-Count-Google-head-Eric-Schmidt-supports-our-campaign.html

TV Channel 5 ran a series of programmes on Disappearing Britain. The third episode

in December 2006, entitled The BRITISH CUPPA WITH WENDY CRAIG, and included a section on J. Lyons with its Corner Houses and Teashops. This included the story of LEO including an interview with Frank Land. See also http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/824846?view=synopsis and watch on http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/disappearing-britain-season-1-episode-3-the-british-cuppa-with-wendy-craig-536421

BBC Radio 4 commissioned a programme from Pennine Productions called Electronic

Brains which was broadcast on 30 October 2001. The programme was compiled by and fronted by Mike Hally and one of the four episodes featured the story of LEO. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/electronicbrains.shtml

BBC Radio 5/Live Tuesday, 29 November 2011. Short piece by Jammilah Knowles on

the pioneering LEO enterprise. LEO: Making history. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/outriders/2011/11/leo_making_history.shtml

Celebrating LEO, the word’s first business computer, Google Europe Blog,, November 17, 2011 http://googlepolicyeurope.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/celebrating-leo-worlds-first-business.html

ITV (LWT London area only ) is to show a series of 8 programmes called London

Home Movies on Sunday afternoons. The series will start on 9^th November 2012 at 5.30. Several members have contributed to the series and Trevor Hughes's contribution is included in the first programme.

References to LEO will appear in the programme devoted to Work which will appear on Sunday November 30^th at 5.30 pm.

Interviews with David Caminer and Peter Byford will be included with the LEO film and it will include some footage of a home movie taken by Brian Eaton in the sixties, of LEO 3 together with an interview with Brian.

National Public Radio (NPR), USA

An episode of Revolutionaries, a co-production of the Computer History Museum, Silicon Valley and KQED television, Published on Jul 6, 2012 by Computer History. The subject is the contribution to computing of Sir Maurice Wilkes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9DrKQ2isIk&list=UUHDr4RtxwA1KqKGwxgdK4Vg&
index=5&feature=plcp

The Register:

Live Chat NOW: LEO, the British computer that roared, 28^th June 2013 (see http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/26/live_chat_leo/). Gavin Clarke, editor of The Register and members of the audience interview Frank and Ralph Land online in real time. The outcome is rather messy as questions and answers do not come out in a proper sequence.

UK Computer Heritage

at Google HQ in London 1st July 2013 to celebrate UK contribution to Information and Communications Technology. Featured the Video commissioned by Google for the 60^th anniversary of LEO held at the Science Museum: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG7EqWtzeIhXjSD4SdfPx1WQICKZMVcP4

BBC How the Computer Changed the Office Forever.

BBC Magazine. Broadcast August 1^st 2013 BBC Radio 4 at 13.45 as part of a 10 episode series by Lucy Kellaway entitled Lucy Kellaway's History of Office Life and explores the changes brought about in the office by computers and this episode starts with a brief review of the LEO story including a photo of LEO I. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23509153

BBC 4 The I.T. Girls

21^st August 2013, 11.00 am BBC Radio 4. Fronted by Martha Lane-Fox its contributors include, Mary Coombs, Dame Stephanie Shirley, Ann Moffat and Tilly Blythe. From the 1950s to the mid-1970s in Britain, many of the pioneers of early computing were women. This was a highly skilled new world of work providing opportunities that were often in sharp contrast to the established norms of post-war British life, with new technology helping drive social change.

Mary Coombs was the first woman to program the world's first commercially available business computer: the Lyons LEO. She tells us what it was like to work on this machine - which was the size of a room.
In 1962 Dame Stephanie Shirley founded a programming company, Freelance Programmers, which only employed women. She became a very successful figure in the industry.
Ann Moffat started her career at Kodak in 1959. She programmed the black box flight recorders for Concorde and wrote missile programmes for Polaris.
The Science Museum's Keeper of Technologies and Engineering, Dr Tilly Blyth, explains the significance of her museum's collection of machines that changed these women's lives.

Martha Lane Fox presents the programme. In 1998 she co-founded Lastminute.com, and become one of the pioneers of the dot com era. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038hfkx

BBC News Channel: Celebrating the UK’s Computer Pioneers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7521868.stm A Brief account of the role played by the UK in the development of computers from Bletchley to LEO.
BBC Radio 4 Extra, 2^nd November, 2013, 9.00-12.00 am and 7.00- 10.pm. A three hour compilation of computing history from the BBC radio archives, fronted by Maggie Philbin at Bletchley Park. The programme started with Charles Babbage, and Ada Lovelace, went on to Bletchley and the second world war code breaking exploits, then the LEO story from the Make Hally LEO episode in the four-part story of the Dawn of Computers (about 20 minutes), Clive Sinclair and the Micro Computer revolution, Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web, and finally the spread of Social Computing with Facebook and Twitter. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03g8lxl

BBC 1 ONE Show, 13^th November, 2014, 7.00 pm – 7.30 pm devoted a section of the programme to Lyons and the LEO story, with extracts from a LEO film, and explanations from Peter Bird and Frank Land. It was well edited and presented, lauding the LEO initiative and stating clearly Lyons' role in building the world's first business computer
BBC Radio 4: Hidden Histories of the Information Age 23^rd October 2014 at 13.45. Repeated week commencing January 4th with LEO story on 7^th January at 9.30 am. One of six 15 minute programmes, presented by Aleks Krotoski, devoted to specific exhibits at the new Information Age Gallery which opened on 24^th October in the London Science Museum. The program, on the 23^rd of October, told the story of LEO as ushering in the new age of business computing. It involved interviews with Jessica Bradford from the Museum (content manager of the new Gallery, Gloria Guy and Frank Land from the LEO Computers Society, a teashop manageress who had been a user of the original teashop ordering program and nicely rounded off by Tilly Blyth (who had been largely instrumental in the making of the new Gallery from concept to final exhibit) from the Science Museum. Altogether a well-balanced telling of the LEO story and how it fits into the development of the Information Age. It can be heard on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04m3ftg
The Guardian Notes and Theories from the Science Desk, 22^rd October carries a comprehensive note on the Science Museum Information Age Gallery LEO Story Exhibit, including the film clip which forms part of the LEO exhibit. http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/oct/22/information-age-cake-computer-changed-world-science-museum
The Richmond and Twickenham Times Nov 2014 carried a photograph of the presentation to Jackie Caminer and Helen Pinkerton of framed photographs of David Caminer and John Pinkerton respectively by Peter Byford and Ray Hennessy. Included was a brief summary of the LEO story and the key roles played by David Caminer and John Pinkerton in the LEO story. See http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/11581099.Widows_gather
_for_tribute_to_their_husbands_pioneering_computer_work/
BBC Radio 4 'Ways of thinking' 4th April, 2015, 1.30. An account by Naomi Alderman of what programming and coding involves including looking back at what underlies high level languages with an excerpt from Mary Coombs Oral History talking about programming LEO I.

BBC Radio 4 'In Business' 9 April 2015 8.30 pm includes reference to LEO with some photos. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pqx2g

Stewarts & Lloyds. Corby Town Council is holding a heritage exhibition, open until end of September, 2015 1.00-4..00 weekdays, 11.00-2.00 Saturday, celebrating the town’s connection with early computers. It features LEO II/3, the first LEO delivered to an outside company: Stewart & Lloyds, steel makers located at that time in Corby. See http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/discover-corby-s-computing-heritage-with-new-exhibition-1-6866793 and http://www.corby.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Leo%202.pdf

Living Legends Hidden Histories Exhibition, including a presentation on LEO II/3 at Stewarts and Lloyds and exhibit of Mercury Delay memory. Thursday 3rd May 2018 at 6.00pm
Rooftop Arts Centre. Chisholm House, Queens Square, Corby, NN17 1PZ.

BBC Radio London, 2010, interview of Neville Lyons, with Robert Elms, on the occasion of opening of the new Modern London gallery in the Museum of London, which featured part of the frontage of the Coventry Street Corner House, donated by J Lyons company to the Museum.
BBC Radio 4 ‘Today Programme’ 2013 on the occasion of a major exhibition of the Lyons Teashop Lithographs at the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne. The recording, introduced by Justin Webb, was conducted by Nicola Stanbridge, the interviewees Neville Lyons, Charlie Batchelor, Curator and David Gentleman, one of the lithograph artists.

BBC Radio 4 'Computing Britain' a 10 part series presented by mathematician Hannah Fry from University College London. Broadcast on Monday to Friday between 14^th and 25^th September.

The series will start in the mid-1940s and finish in the early 21^st century, concentrating the UK’s part in computing history between these years. The series features the story behind machines such as LEO, EDSAC, Baby and ERNIE as well as later breakthroughs such as packet switching, home computing, the BBC Micro and ARM microprocessors.
Program 2: LEO: The Electronic Office, 15^th September 2015, 15 minutes. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069rvb4

Reflections on Program: Peter Byford: I heard the programme in your Computing Britain series about LEO. Whilst I was delighted that you made a programme about LEO and Lyons, I was disappointed about a number of aspects about it.
You used our film and other recordings that we provided, I should also state that we hold the Copyright of the LEO film, made in 1957 as I told you. Despite this there was no acknowledgement of the Society or mention of its excellent website - see below. I looked at your website and there was no mention there either. Please correct this when you can and acknowledge the Society.
You used a number of people in your programme who were not LEO people to describe Lyons and LEO and possibly because of this you made some mistakes. The only LEO people the late Ernest Kaye, Mary Coombs and Gloria Guy were taken from recordings/YouTube that we provided to you. The Society has a number of quite eloquent speakers who are, of course, knowledgeable about LEO. We could have checked your facts corrected any errors you have made before it was broadcast. One significant error was that you stated that LEO was operational in 1956 - no it was in November 1951 when the first LEO program went operational.
I know Tilly Blythe of course, but who were that other people who were on the programme? Other than the presenter of course, they were not mentioned.

BBC 4 TV: The Joy of Data July 20^th, 2016, 9.00pm. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07lk6tj

David Crawford in the Radio Times writes: “We live in a data driven world, where every industry you can think of relies on digital data, and there’s the constant threat of drowning in information overload. But why are we so enamoured of all this stuff, and how did we get to this point? Happily the ever enthusiastic Dr Hannah Fry – the Beeb’s new go to mathematician – is here to throw a lifebelt with this witty explainer. She argues that data is the bridge essential for scientific discovery, to move from problem to solution – and invaluable in the modern world.

Along the way you’ll learn how J Lyons purveyor of fine British tea and cakes was at the forefront of the computer revolution.” The programme includes interviews with Mary Coombs and Frank Land.

Guardian Review at https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jul/21/the-joy-of-data-review-who-knew-data-could-seem-so-magical-so-sexy

The Program was repeated on 18^th September 2018 at 2.00 am

Wall Street Journal, August 14^th 2018, correspondence from John Kelly III, of IBM claiming IBM invented business computing and response from Norman Witkin refuting the claim and putting forward the LEO precedence. Frank Land has copy of correspondence. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/nva7ep5ejpuarde/Wall%20Street%20Journal%20Correspondence%20August%202018.docx?dl=0

FILMS

LEO The Automatic Office, 1957 promotional film highlighting the way LEOs were

constructed and their many varied business uses, ranging from teashop inventories to Ford's payroll. Copyright LEO Computer Society. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8K-xbx7jBM Also held by Computer History Museum Silicon Valley http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/early-computer-companies/5/110/2260 and http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102705993

LEO: Celebrating The Pioneers: A short film sponsored by GOOGLE made to highlight the contribution of the team behind LEO computers, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of it taking on its first "office job" on November 17th 1951. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrn24SdW64I
Ernest Kaye LEO 1952: An extract from the 1952 show featuring Ernest Kaye and his involvement in the development of Lyons Electronic Office (LEO). It includes a glimpse of how he looked 60 years ago, barely any different from today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6TX70A3Rc
Leo II Computer: The latest in out series of early technologies from Michael Bennett-
Levy's collection that went up for auction in October last year looks at the worlds first commercial business computer, the LEO II/3. Entering service in May 1958, the LEO II/3 (Lyons Electronic Office II/3) at Stuart and Lloyds in London was the world’s first commercial business computer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Z6OGBif9w

Mary Coombs shares her story: Mary Coombs was a programmer for LEO, the Lyons Electronic Office that was the world's first business computer. Produced by Google as part of a series of short films high lighting women's involvement in the early days of computing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6DRr0Dhn4Q

Taking the Punch Out of Input, 1970's era film by Lyons Computer Services focusing on input devices for LEO III range developed in 1960's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IPVdHHRc2Q

Electronic Data Processing. A series of film strips produced by the Institute of Office

Management by its EDP Committee covering LEO I, Elliott 405 and Ferranti Pegasus. Available from Kevin Murrell at the National Museum of Computer History, Bletchley. Copy held by LEO Computers Society.

Unveiling Ceremony, on the 29^th November 2016 a commemorative plinth was unveiled in Lyons Walk in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, a site overlooking the place once occupied by Cadby Hall the headquarters of J. Lyons & Co and the location of the world’s first business computer LEO. The unveiling took place exactly 65 years after LEO carried out on behalf of Lyons the running of the world’s first data processing application on an electronic computer. The unveiling was carried out jointly by Dame Stephanie Shirley and Frank Land in the presence of representatives of the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, representatives of the local MP, Andrew Slaughter, descendants of the families which had built J. Lyons & Co., members of the LEO Computers Society and friends of LEO including representatives of the Association for Information Technology. The erection of the plinth was arranged by the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and much of the funding provided by Tony Morgan of the LEO Computers Society. A film of the ceremony, including speeches by Peter Byford, a representative of the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Frank Land, Dame Stephanie Shirley, and Tony Morgan can be found on https://youtu.be/FmHnKq15SGc For more information and pictures see http://ta.mdx.ac.uk/leo/leo-plaque-unveiling-in-london/ The Sunday Times carried an op-ed article by Dominic Lawson following the ceremony, entitled 65 years ago the age of the computer began ….. to sell better tea cake page 24 4^th December 2016. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/65-years-ago-the-age-of-the-computer-began-to-sell-a-better-tea-cake-zzpx63qx6

Cambridge Centre for Computer History Exhibition of LEO history 18-19^th November 2017, including presentations by Peter Byford and colleagues. Peter Byford’s presentation available on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4zyZG0OxFI
YOUTUBE 1969 Film celebrating 20 years of Ostrava Steel Works including a number of shots of their LEO III including shots with its chief engineer Jiri Baranek. The LEO episodes occur at 3m 24s, 7m 42s, and 9m 58s in the film. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OYm5GeZXc4&t=3s. Another 1971 Film of the steelworks featuring LEO can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpm6LYgnb8w 7.46 minutes into the 10 minute film.

LEO AWARDS and PRIZES

The AIS LEO Award for Exceptional Lifetime Achievement in Information Systems

The Association for Information Systems (AIS) is the institution linking academics in the discipline of Information Systems world-wide and has a membership in excess of 3000. It selects members who have made outstanding contributions to the study and teaching of Information Systems for the LEO Award (its highest honour), named in remembrance of LEO the First Business Computer. The award was inaugurated in 1999. See https://aisnet.org/page/LeoAward

The LEO Award Advisory Board

The LEO's are named after the world's first business computer. Created by the Lyons Company of the UK in 1951 and with installations in Australia by Tubemakers, Shell and Colonial Mutual. LEO was the first computer in the world to be used to solve complex analytic problems including (but not limited to) calculating disease among miners, ballistic problems of missiles, mortality rates for insurance companies, “flutter” in new aircraft, how to make rain by seeding clouds and even calculating tax tables.

The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the full range of Business Intelligence and Information Management activities:

Data modelling, integration, quality, warehousing and mining
Analytics, reporting, dashboarding and scorecarding
Business Process Management
Search
Performance management
Knowledge management and strategy

- to name a few. The awards are given to commercial organisations, government, and education initiatives as well as individuals who have excelled in the end-use of analytics and information management.

Governance of the LEO Awards is conducted by an Advisory Board consisting of seasoned members of the Australasian commercial, government and academic knowledge economy. The Board represent many industries and aspects of hands-on experience from the end-user community.

The awards were launched in 2010. See http://www.tbig.com.au/advisors/

Middlesex University: David Tresman Caminer Postgraduate Scholarship in Business Computing

The scholarship was set up to honour the achievements if David Caminer under the aegis of The LEO Computers Society . The Scholarship is funded through the generosity of the Association for Information Technology (AIT) and its Trustees, and is valued at £5000 per annum. The scholarships will be available to students who have demonstrated excellent academic potential. Applications are welcome from students who have fulfilled the admission criteria and been offered a place to study for a postgraduate degree based in the School of Engineering and Information Science. A student will only be entitled to one award during his/her period of study with Middlesex University. The first students were selected in 2011. See http://www.scholarship-search.org.uk/grants/the-david-tresman-caminer-postgraduate-scholarship-in-business-computing-supported-by-the-leo-foundation-and-ait-trust-at-middlesex-university/hc_edufin.page_pls_user_sch_dets/16180339/220707/sch_id/58303/page.htm

The 2014 award winner Tope Ashiru writes:

“Receiving the Scholarship is mind blowing! It has restored me back on track and reinvigorated my career aspirations. My academic progression almost took a dark turn in the light of my father's prolonged illness which eventually took his life. I had thought it was all coming to a dramatic halt for me but the Scholarship came to the rescue! Now I can focus on finishing with a first class.”

2016 Middlesex University David Tresman Caminer PhD Scholarship.

The research leading to a PhD will investigate the role of LEO in the evolution of business computing with special emphasis on the philosophy which motivated a company in the food industry to build the world’s first business computer. The project supervisor is Dr Giuseppe Primiero of the Computer Science Department. The scholarship is funded by a grant from the AIT. See http://www.mdx.ac.uk/news/2016/03/first-ever-business-computer-to-be-researched-at-middlesex-university and http://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research-degrees/research-studentships/david-tresman-caminer-studentship-for-the-history-of-computing and tinyurl.com/j3oh6ow.

Annex

Index to documents etc. in 9 boxes of papers plus a box of journal articles and cuttings.

From DTC’s house in Sheen, catalogued January 2016 and added to May 2017

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX 1

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No.	date	Description of Document	pages	comment
1	Undated	Manila folder: ‘Timing a LEO Job based on L5’	5
2	1951/2	List of Talks for Winter Session 1951-52 and programme for discussion groups	4	Looks like a lovely piece of memorabilia
3	1952	Manila folder: Layman’s Guide Drafts - Draft of Chapter 26 Input. Chapter 11 – The Coordinator - plus some flow diagrams	Approx. 10
4	Dec 1953	Manila folder: LEO II Test Programme M1/3 Technical material including lots of diagrams and flow-charts	30 plus
5	1953-4	Manila folder: Inland Revenue specs. and tables with some handwritten notes and flow diagrams. DTC and unrecognised handwriting.	Approx. 10
6	5.1.54	Manila folder: Tea-blending Paper and diagrams	Approx. 15
7	10.12.54	Manila folder: Tea Blending Control – Emergency system Method summary plus charts	4 plus charts
8	1955/6	Manila folder: Development – Long term records. Copies of correspondence with Lord Halsbury, Managing Director NRDC and memo to DTC and John Pinkerton from Mr Simmons on a further draft	20-30
9	April 1957	Manila folder: Executive Course. Several copies of drafts and papers by DTC/PMG on: Parts Stores Jobs, Repetitive sequences, Costing and Production Control	Each 4-5 pages
10	29.01.1959	Paper: Stewarts and Lloyds Seminar Choosing an Application by DTC	14
11	Undated ? as above	Paper: How to Prepare a Statement of Requirements for a Computer Application	4
12	March 1960	Paper: How to Make an Appraisal by DTC – appraisal of a computing job	7	Looks potentially useful to researchers
13	Undated, ? pre 1971	Booklet: Preparing for a Computer Management Consultants Association	8 A5	Looks potentially useful to researchers
14	29.11.1963	Memo re Computer Appreciation Course for Top Civil Servants	3
15	26.2.1964	Memo: Sales Consultants Course From Mr Gibson to 20 people including DTC, Messrs Aris, Comish, F Land, etc.	3 plus several lists re catering!
16	4.7.1969	ICL binder: A Comparative Study of the Basic Language and the Synthetic Option Proposals for ICL’s New Range	Half inch thick	Marked SECRET
17	Dec 1969	Paper: ICL: New Range Organisation Aside Memoire Note by MLNF on a report of an investigation of possibilities for convergence of MU and ICL New Range Specifications	Approx 20
18	?1970s	ICL binder: ICL New Range Marketing Plan: Vol 3 Customers in the 70s	1 inch thick
19	06.10.1971	ICL binder: ICL Business Plan: Report to New Range Working Party October 13^th 1971	14 plus appendices
20	23.9.70 29.9.70 Undated Undated Dec 76 21.7.71 9.11.71	ICL folder: containing NRPO Studies – memo by DTC to Mr L Lightstone, Director-Sales Short Description of New Range – Mike Forrest Note on New Range Data Management System – DTC Features of New Range Note from John Pinkerton re Paper by Professor M.V.Wilkes plus the paper and a comment on it by DTC Outline Business Plan (John Aylett) and comments by DTC in October Long-term Developments to 1900- note from DTC to Alan Bagshaw Short Description of New Range – Mike Forrest	3 8 9 10 17 4 3	Marked SECRET
21	1973	ICL Bound booklet: Pocket Guide to System B	17 – but very small – less than A5
22	6/11/74	Paper: Science Museum – History of the Computer Industry. From BM Murphy Controller, Public and Parliamentary Affairs at the Science Museum asking for perusal of their draft chronology on the occasion of the new gallery on computers and computing.	18	Possibly a useful insight?
23	10/12/1976	Contract between Cap Sogeti Systems and ICL Belgium Plus further details of contract	5 plus annexes 25
24	Feb. 1977	ICL Binder: The EEC Project Information Package	10	All about how to pack before leaving and tips on arrival in Lux!
25	May 1977	Papers: Letters from R F Evans to EEC re Demonstrations to be carried out before delivery of 2980 System.	10
26	01.05.77 – 31.10.77	CAP Sogeti: Estimation Preliminaire pour une premiere tranche des travaux de conversion	16	In French
27	11.5.77	CAP Sogeti: Conversion des Applications C.C.E	23	In French
28	Jan 1977	Paper: EEC Study Progress report by J Prades	8 plus time flow chart
29	1977	Paper: A sizing for the EEC 2980 By L. Cohen	35	Highly Confidential – not to be copied
30	June 1977	Red binder: EEC Project- various memos etc. re June 18^th Get-together.	Approx. 20	Mostly social re menus etc.
31	9/9/77	Kirchberg Bulletin: Journal of the EEC Project	8	Mostly social
32	March 1978	Early Programming Activity at the University of Cambridge – First draft of paper by Martin Campbell-Kelly, Dept. of Maths and Computer Studies, Sunderland Polytechnic	55 plus appendices
33	April 1999	EDSAC 99 A bound paper on the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the running of their first program on 5 May 1949. Chronology mentions LEO.	75	This seems a very useful archive document. It may be widely available already, but potentially useful for research.

Also a copy of Information Professional April/May 2004 the IEEE

No obviously relevant articles!!

________________________________________________________________

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 2

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	17.6.1953	Flow-charts – Tracings of simple flow-charts. ‘Chocolate’ account and ‘Savings’ account	4
2	18.10.54	Report – Tea Blending – analysis of job, including pricing .	73
3	11.55 – 2.56	Handwritten pages of info re LEO II - order constants, patterns and working locations plus handwritten set of operating instructions and error locations	20plus	Handwriting not recognised
4	22.1.1958	Draft Report: LEO Computers Ltd for C.A.V Ltd - - amended to read ‘Kodak’	Approx 20	Complete with timings and costings
5	5.3.1963	Memos from DTC and Frank Land– comparison of policies and practice between LEO and English Electric	Approx 10	confidential
6	July 1966	Report: The flow of medical information in Hospitals - study commissioned by the Nuffield Hospitals Trust, undertaken by English Electric LEO Marconi Computers Ltd.	Huge file with flow charts – about 1 and a half inches thick	A very early example of systems, now probably very sophisticated but can still go horribly wrong
7	1967	Advertising brochure for EEC System 4 – glossy and illustrated	14
8	28.3.1977	Cap Sogeti Premiere tranche des travaux de conversion	16	In French
9	18.11.77	2900 Systems Acceptance Activity Chart SYSAC 4	Large flow chart
10	Around 1977	Article: ‘A European Success story’ typescript	5
11	1979/80/82	ICL Technical Journal – Vol 1 Issue 2, Vol 2 Issue 2, Vol 3 Issue 2 – 2 copies	Small bound booklets
12	September 2001	Papers on the theme: ‘The World and Business Computing in 2051’ entries for the NCC Prize 4 papers from Scotland, Israel and USA predicting the future!	About 6- 20 pages each – one includes a powerpoint

___________________________________________________________________________

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 3

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No.	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	1948	Lectures – a Lyons series of lectures on Electronics organised by John Simmons	Approx. 20
2	1951	Notes: Introduction to Programming 3 Sessions for LEO Technical staff	Approx. 15	Exercises and solutions
3	1954/6	Inland Revenue Correspondence between LEO and Inland Revenue staff and Tax tables		DTC notes that standard charge per hour has been reduced from £75 - £50 as machine is more highly utilised.
4	2/53 – 9/57	Thick file of LEO Computers Limited Trading Analyses	2 inches thick!	Some interesting annotations
5	3/5/1956	Folder: Job Requirements Littlewoods Mail Order Stores Ltd Stock Control	58
6	Up to Dec 1956	File; ‘Other Computers’ Includes info on other early computers and notes on visits and a colloquium at Cambridge, May 1952, notes on NPL etc	1 inch thick	This looks very good! Note from DTC July 1957 ‘My impression is that IBM have a long way to go before they will be in a position to offer the planning and programming service that customers in this country are tending to demand.’
7	1960s	Draft Lecture notes by DTC - all handwritten! What a computer can do, Selecting a computer application, marketing	1½ inches
8	Nov/Dec 1964	Report and recommendations following visit to RCA by DTC, DJ Blackwell and ACD Haley	Approx 100	Marked confidential
9	1967	English Electric Computers folder: The CAV integrated system – reprinted article from Data Systems by Laura Tatham	4
10	1967	English Electric Computers booklet: System 4 Program trials system	20
11	1967	English Electric Computers booklet: System 4-30 Software	18
12	2/3/78	Flow chart: 2900 Systems acceptance activity chart	1
13	22/8/78	EEC Contract No EEC/H/07 between the EEC and ICL Belgium	¾ inch
14	1/10/79 – 20/12/79	DTC Day file: Luxembourg matters
15	1/1/80 – 24/3/80	DTC Day file: Luxembourg matters	2 inches thick!
16	12/7/1979	Report: on ‘Normal Running Demonstration’	1½ inches	v.technical – much in French
17	14/1/80	Report: on the performance of the CIRCE applications during 2980 Normal Running Demonstrations of 3rd – 15^th December 1979 with notes	About 30	Some notes in French
18	Around 1980?	Report by DTC: On line data bases of the Commission of the European Communities	Approx 12	2 copies
19	May 1980	Addendum to Contract between EEC and ICL Belgium	5

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 4

Mostly EEC Luxembourg Project

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No.	date	Paper	pages	comment
0	Jan – July 1970	DTC Day file	2 inches thick
1	Dec 1971	ICL New Range Introduction Strategy – submission to DTI	36	Secret
2	Dec 1971	ICL New Range Introduction Strategy – submission to DTI supplement	10	Secret
3	1972	Profile of DTC as Manager of New Range Support Organisation and Job Charter	2	Includes photo
4	1974	Various papers – on overtime pay, pricing also Lessons of a Conversion Study on New Range	About 20
5	21.2.1975	Papers for Computing in Government seminar at St Leonards on Sea, including papers delivered	Approx. 50
6	September 1975	File of Reliability papers for 2900	1½ inches
7	February 1976	Systeme CRONOS pour la gestion des series chronologique	41	In French
8	13.8.1976	File of papers on 2900 Marketing and System 4 User Group	About 20
9	Jan 1977	2900 Configuration Summary	4
10	19.2.1977	Bound report CAP Sogeti on Conversion	200?	In French
11	28.2.1977	File of papers on Communications Facilities for EEC	About 70
12	March 1977	Correspondence between Central Computing Agency and ICL re ‘Value of 2900’	10
13	March 1977	Mixed file: on EEC contracts	1 inch thick
14	April 1977	File of papers on EEC liaison re 2900	About 30 plus	Focus on site preparation
15	November 1977	Five Year Plan : Bridging Services Organisation	Approx 50	Including flow charts on New Range
16	Nov 1977	File of papers on negotiating with EEC re computer in Luxembourg	50
17	December 1979	Report on the ‘Final Normal Running Demonstration’	1½ inches	Possibly duplicate of file in Box 2
18	23.5.1980	Contract: EEC Contract no EEC/H/09 ‘The Provision of a 2976 Computer Facility’	Approx 30
19	Jan 1977	File of notes and papers relating to EEC project incl a network project paper	1 inch thick
20	Jan – April 1977	File of notes and memos relating to EEC project engineering and hardware issues incl diagrams and a full sheet of proposed layout of M/A room	1 inch thick	Input from Gilbert Foix, ICL France, Luxembourg
21	Sept 77 – June 1980	Kirchberg Bulletin – complete set of Journal of the EEC Project for all ICL participants	1 inch thick	Includes business and social aspects of the project

___________________________________________________________________________

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 5

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	September 1982	Report to Software Administration and Revenue Board	Approx 20
2	March 1983	File of notes and transparencies: software orders, revenue an margins	1 inch thick
3	1983	NZ Post Office – file of technical papers	Approx 25
4	1983	Correspondence file on NZ Post Office project and DTC’s contract	12
5	1/9/83	Agreement for Supply, Installation and Maintenance of Data Processing Equipment and the provision of software and associated services between the Postmaster of NZ and IC (NZ) Ltd.	86
6	1983/4	File of letters about NZ Savings Bank matters incl some diagrams	1 inch thick
7	2000	Planning file for 50th anniversary celebrations – memos and action lists	2 inches thick
8	2001	PR file on the 50th anniversary containing many chronologies of early computing and articles	Nearly one inch thick	Potentially very useful!

_________________________________________________________

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 6

Very early stuff- feels like handling history!

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	unknown	Typescript of Chapter 7 Analysing Clerical work for LEO – annotations in handwriting by DTC	50 plus	No clue as to what the whole document was nor other bits of it!
2	1951 -3	File of notes, some handwritten of meetings re use of LEO – incl Simmons to Geoffrey Antony Salmon re use of LEO, and notes on timing and start dates of various jobs – incl payroll, teashops, etc and Premium Bonds	10
3	August 1952	Trial Technique – a technical paper with sets of results	10
4	June 1953	Flow charts on A4 tracing paper	10
5	April 1953/June 1952/May 1951	Paper: Checking errors in printed output by use of codes and duplicate printers, Use of a self-checking code on LEO (John Pinkerton) Checkable code for printed results (DTC) Self-checking codes (TRThompson)	Approx 15	References to coding used by EDSAC
6	June 1954	More on checking – Suppression of 15 character on programme tape, Matrices, , conversion of long numbers	Approx 15
7	1954	LEO loading hours -for payroll, teashops, Orchard House, tea blending, wholesale bakery, ice cream and bakery	approx 15
8	February 1955	Outline flowcharts for Wholesale Bakery Invoicing	5 charts
9	9.5.1955	File: How the Synthesis orders are used, incl tables and flow charts	Approx 20
10	Sept 1955 – Jan 1956	File on payroll charges including long lists of jobs and times	10
11	1956 - 1963	Northampton College of Advanced Technology, Islington, London – Flyers on various lecture series including computing. Text of Lecture: The Application of Electronic Digital computers and calculators to Accountancy, Costing and Managerial control, Lecture by DTC with Leo Fantl on application of digital computers to chrystallography	Approx 20	Very interesting indeed for anyone looking at early education in this field. The College is now part of City University which was founded in 1966. Perhaps they might be interested?
12	October 1956	File of papers on: Journey planning for ice cream delivery, computer application discussions, stock control -The Tea stores Job,	20-30	Includes a punched card and some record slips for tea blend job
13	October 1956	The Electronic Office – a bound collection of articles assembled by the Liverpool and Merseyside Branch of the Office Management Association after their conference in April 1956. Includes contribution from DTC ‘Experience of a General Purpose Computer’ and by Oliver Standingford on ‘Using a Computer service’ and ‘Multum in Parvo’ - his summary of papers and discussions at the conference.	?30	Very interesting indeed – should be useful for anyone looking at this period in the uptake of computers. HJTC has held on to this pro tem
14	17.4.1957	Journal Proof – text of ‘ A Discussion on the Use of Electronic Processing Equipment’ held at the Royal Statistical Society – contributors from HM Treasury, DTC, Rolls Royce, Gallup Poll – points raised by Mr Berners-Lee (Ferranti)	Galley-proofs 8 pages
15	1958 - October 1960	File of papers: Work-loads of staff 1958, Mathematical Section workload 1958, Meeting with Shell-Mex Oct 1960	Approx 12
16	February 1959	Mixed file: Notes of lecture to HM Treasury, Feb 59, notes on tour of Wills in Nov 59, List of Principal Secretaries who attended talk on data processing Jan 64	Approx 12

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX No: 7

Catalogued by hjtc January 2016

No	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	August – Dec 1969	Day file
2	August – Dec 1970	Day file
3	January – April 1972	Day file
4	May – August 1972	Day file
5	Jan – July 1974	Day file
6	July – Dec 1975	Day file

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX 8

Catalogued by hjtc May 2016

No	date	Paper	pages	comment
1	Aug 1950	Manilla folder: Calculating Reciprocals ‘Modification of Orders whose addresses are specified relative to locations in other stages of the programme or to any other prescribed location’	20
2	Jan 1951	Manilla folder: Programming general. Some articles and lecture notes. E.g. Supervisors Manual. The technique of Office Management	40 ish
3	Jan 1951	Manilla folder: Trainees notes. Clerical work in relation to Materials and production		Relates to cake bakery
4	Jan 1951 and Nov 1954	Manilla folder: Test programmes. Tests, faults etc.	10-12	Charts on patterns etc.
5	Oct. 1951	Manilla folder: EDSAC Sequences	10
6	1952-3	Manilla folder: Programme Errors . Mostly handwritten and with list of types of errors.	10
7	1/11/51	Manilla folder: Subroutine technique. Typescript of a draft with some pages in DTC’s handwriting.	20 plus
8	May 1952	Manilla folder: EDSAC Micro-programming. Notes on a colloquium at Cambreidge on EDSAC II	2
9	August 1953	Manilla folder: Initial Input Orders : Notes by DTC on Programme reading, Programme Input Method	10
10	June 1954	Manual costs under LEO and orthodox systems. Detailed breakdown of all costs	20 ish
11	1955/56	Manilla folder: Inland Revenue PAYE Schedule D – details of work on tax tables. Visit of TRT to Somerset House.	20 ish
12	1955, 56, 57 mixed	Manilla folder: Lectures – General. Typed and handwritten by DTC.	1 Inch thick	e.g. Some remarks on Data Processing on LEO. An Introduction to Programming etc.
13	April 1957	Blue Leo Computers folder: Leo Computers Ltd Training Course for programmers and Operators	15 pages	Timetable for course – and course outlines.
14	April 1957 – 196316	Manilla folder: Assorted lecture notes and letters regarding training.		TRT, DTC,
15	April 1958	Blue Leo Computers folder: North Thames Gas Board Rental accounting Job Plan	1 inch thick	Section : How LEO does the job. Includes some handwritten notes.
16	July 1958	Blue folder: EDSAC Notes on a colloquium July 1958 and on John Pinkerton’s visit to EDSAC	20 ish
17	Sept 1958	Manilla folder: Invoices this quarter. Itemised bills for computing work done – labour and materials.	Half inch
18	Oct. Nov 1958	Manilla folder: Leo Computers Ltd Invoices. Itemised bills for work done at Elms House fro other firms – e.g British Oxygen, Fords etc.	20 ish
19	January 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Limited Sales Procedures Job Plan Volume I
20	January 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Limited Sales Procedures Job Plan Volume II
21	April 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Limited Production Procedures Job Plan Volume I	1 inch thick
22	April 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Limited Production Procedures Job Plan Volume II	1 inch thick
23	May 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Report for Renold Chains Limited Prepared by JP Halpin	50 pages approx.
24	July 1959	Blue Leo Computers folder: Eagle Star Insurance Co Ltd Specification for level premium group pension scheme take-on and renewals Volume II LEOII/1 Landscape format – detailed data for inputting.	I inch thick	Has specimen pages and pro-formas/
25	July 1961	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Ltd. Pilot scheme for production procedures Job Plan : Volume One	Three-quarter inch
26	July 1961	Blue Leo Computers folder: Renold Chains Ltd. Pilot scheme for production procedures Job Plan : Volume Two	Quarter inch	Mostly flow charts
27	July 1963 onwards	Manilla folder: New computer systems – memos on New families of computers with costs by JMMP , CW Woodall	20 plus

_________________________________________________________

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX 9

Catalogued by hjtc: June 2017

No	date	Paper	Approx.pages	comment
1	12.10.51	Check routines – checks to programmes, part hand-written. Manilla folder	C20	Incl a memo from August ‘49
2	20.6.52	Planning a Programme – Job (C 14)	15
3	12.53	Tea shop orders (very detailed)	15	Insight into food in the 50s – list of all products
4	6.54	L.2 Tea shop orders	20	Management info. – lists of major alterations
5	54-55	Leo Initiation Course – syllabus. timetables and content with programming e.gs	30
6	11.55	Systems Research Method Summary L.5 Wholesale bakery invoicing. Weekly routines – details of despatch methods.	20
7	1955	Wholesale Bakery Invoicing L.5 Method summary	Half inch!	specimens, detailed charts, some samples
8	undated	LEO Requirements of a clerical job L5 Wholesale Bakery Invoicing. Specimens and schedules. Revision 1. Specimen folder		Hand –written samples of forms.
9	8.55	LEO Job Requirements Statement . L5 Wholesale Bakery. Direct sales by reps. Invoicing		Includes proformas
10	9.55	Ice Cream Journey Planning and Sales Statistics 8/9/55 (Green folder)	10	Specimen charts
11	12.56	I.T.C (Imperial Tobacco) John Gosden’s report re visits to Bristol. V detailed. Also details of a Mathieu paper cutting machine		Smells of tobacco. Includes charts.
12	55-56	Teashops orders – detailed costing	20	Specific savings cited.
13	4.56	Tea-buying Control . L4 Job Requirements		A very clear and neat dossier
14	undated	Tea Blending Job Requirements. Specimens and charts
15	56-60	Management minutes. Anthony Salmon/Simmons/TRT/Tony Barnes/ DTC/John Pinkerton	1 inch thick
16	57-58	LEO Trading Analysis Detailed budgets on forms
17	12.59	Programming Progress report. New Jobs – lists of firms using LEO II	20
18		Setting LEO to Work – Programming a Job (Pay roll)	30
19	9.62	LEO III Training Courses. CLEO I Exercise on batting averages for a cricket club.	15	Includes pro-formas
20	11.63	J Lyons and Company Personnel and Training Bulletin (pale green folder)	8	Moral thoughts on training
21	1964	New Range Product Planning Integrating LEO III with KDF 6 and 9

LEO papers in Sheen: BOX 10

Catalogued by hjtc: June 2017

No	date		Paper			Approx.pages	comment
1	unknown		The Layman’s Guide to LEO – author not stated. In a black leatherette binding			25	With diagrams
2		1955		Wholesale Bakery Invoicing L5A Main Daily Job Specimens	6
3		1955		Wholesale Bakery Invoicing L5B Daily Cash Balance Specimens
4		1955		Wholesale Bakery Invoicing L5C Compilation of Cash Colletion Lists Specimens	6
5		February 1956		Draft Job Specification L1 Payroll			Unbound copy
6		March/April 1958		Summary of Visits made in the USA by DT Caminer and JMM Pinkerton
7		January 1959		Report for The Dunlop Rubber Company
8		January 1959		The Renold Chain Company Ltd Sales Procedures Job Plan Volume 1
9		April 1959		The Renold Chain Company Ltd Production Procedures Job Plan Volume 1
10		February 1959		Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Specifications for Payroll Part I Sections and Notes
11		February 1959		Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Specifications for Payroll Part II Schedules and Specimens
12		July 1959		British Oxygen Gases Ltd Edmonton Works Job Plan Volume II Control Jobs	1 inch thick		Bound blue folder with charts
13		July 1959		C.A. V. Ltd. Specification for Payroll E56
14		October 1962		Kayser Bonder Ltd. Specifications for Retail Outlet. Accounts and Statistics
15		Undated ?1968		American Diary John Aris Dates seem to point to 1968 but not stated anywhere.	unbound

_________________________________________________________________________-

PAPER CUTTINGS, JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES – AND PRINT-OFFS

(non-originals listed in italics)

List compiled by hjtc Jan 2016

Date/Issue	Title	Relevant content
June 1983	Newsdesk – the newsletter of ICL New Zealand	Item on winning the NZ Savings Bank business
1993	ICL PLC Corporate Report 1993	24 page glossy sales brochure
November 1999	Computer Weekly Supplement IT@2000 – 50 years of information technology	Timeline lists 1951 LEO performs the world’s first commercial calculation for Lyons and Co in the UK Article (4 pages) by Nicholas Enticknap ‘Not just another good idea – the invention of digital computing – photo of LEO and other early computers Article ( 7 pages) by Julie Vowler ‘We’ve come full circle’ – a brief history of the IT department – section on LEO, contributed by Frank Land
Feb 2000 Volume 10 Issue 1	IMIS Journal* HC has original	Back to Basics –interview with DTC on programming discipline 4 pages – 4 copies
10/8/2001	Evening Standard	Article PCs celebrate 20 years on the beat by Ross Davies photo of DTC
31/5/2001	The Times supplement Tomorrow’s Today	2 page spread p 20-21 on Development of computer from LEO I to a (sort-of) tablet! Includes picture of LEO I
20/8/2001	Financial Times	Article ‘The lion that failed to roar’ Leo. The first business computer gained little recognition says Fiona Harvey
Autumn 2001 Vol VII No 3	Convergence - The Wall Street Journal’s magazine of Digital Business	David Caminer analyzes what went wrong with one of the world’s first computers, the LEO by Richard L. Hudson 1 b page
Feb 2002 ISSN 1366-6851	Project Manager Today (2 copies)	Photo of LEO I on Cover The Day LEO Roared – DTC on the world’s first business computer (3 pages)
Dec 2002 Vol 13 No 6	Computing &Control Engineering Journal	LEO and the Computer Revolution by DTC – text of Pinkerton Lecture (8 pages)
Feb 2003	IEEE Computing and Control Engineering Journal	A Modern Real-time Software Design Tool – Applying Lessons from LEO by Ferdinand Wagner an Peter Wolstenholme 5 pages
May 2004 Vol 5 No 5	Journal of the Association for Information Systems	The legacy of LEO – lessons learned from an English Tea and Cake Company’s Pioneering Efforts in Information Systems by Richard O. Mason Typescript of ‘final version’ of text – 44 pages also Photocopy that gets v faint by the end! Approx 20 pages
unknown	Typescript of Review	‘Carry on LEO’ Review of ‘A Computer Called LEO’ by Georgina Ferry by Antony Bryant, Leeds Metropolitan University
Unknown: post 2003	Data ?? Possibly Data Management	Article ‘This mad – What, me worry? A history of LEO among an article on how operating systems grow out of control. Photo of DTC and John Simmons by Ivo Vegter 3 pages
2007	BCS - Celebrating 50 Years Illustrated booklet	Chapter ‘Birth of an Industry and the BCS’ features Maurice Wilkes, photo of LEO I and potted history of LEO. Quotation by DTC ‘Maurice Wilkes is one of the heroes of our nation and one of the most uncelebrated.’

Memorabilia etc.

1985	Newspaper – The Times?	Death announcement for John Simmons
?	Envelope	Collection of LEO programming sheets

Obituaries and Tributes Financial Times (Alan Cane)	Switched .com (Will Safer)
The Independent (Martin Campbell-Kelly)	Booksellers Association (Martyn Daniels)
The Daily Telegraph	IT History Society
The Times	Scotts news.blogspot.com
The Guardian (Frank Land)	BBC Radio 4 ‘Last Word’
The Jewish Chronicle	Computing (Iain Thomson)
The Richmond and Twickenham Times	Twinings Tea
The Liverpool Daily Post	Centaurs Rugby Club
The New York Times (Douglas Martin)	Electronicsinfoline.com
The Atlanta Journal Constitution	Computeach
The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nova Scotia	Computing- Letters to the Editor (R.Sarson)
The Day, Connecticut	Wikipedia
The LEO Society website (Frank Land)	The Test Bed- Personal Computer World
Vnunet.com (Iain Thomson, San Francisco)	Fujitsu - ICL pensioners (Frank Land)
Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St Paul	Chicago Tribune
Ameblo, Japan	The Eponymous Pickle (Franz Dill )
Guardian Blogs	Funeral piece (Hilary Caminer)
Gadsden Times

Table of Contents

BOOKS

Books about LEO

ARTICLES, REVIEWS and other PAPERS

ARCHIVES –LEO DOCUMENTS AND ARTEFACTS

UK (and online) Archives

http://conferences.theiet.org/pinkerton/

International Archives

Museums

OBITUARIES and BIOGRAPHIES

ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORIES

LEO Computers Society: Oral History Project

OTHER MEMOIRS, REMINISCENCES AND COMMENTS

MEDIA COVERAGE

FILMS

LEO AWARDS and PRIZES

Annex