LEO editor

Graham Briscoe LEO III , IBM 360 and Phoenix Insurance.  –  Recollections

My first computer experience was with Tube Investments in the Midlands working in the early 1960s on an IBM 1401 for their Steel Tube Division, then supporting as a Company Systems Analyst a conversion onto an IBM 360 system – initially a /20 then a /40.
                     In mid 1970s I moved to Phoenix Assurance who had had a LEO III working out of Norbury – and when the company moved its HO to Bristol in 1974 I joined them and supported a conversion to an IBM 370 series…..it was reported at the time that this installation had the only ever paper tape input ( ex LEO ) into an IBM 370 series machine. (Editor:  Mike Tyzack notes that Centrefiles 360/50 also had paper tape input). The LEO machine was number LEO III/33 – and the installation is currently with the National Computer Museum in Scotland – but without any of the connecting cables – all the various “boxes” are present. Between closing Norbury and the IBM 370 kicking in BriEditor:stol – Phoenix used the NDPS LEO machines in their Centre in north Bristol – but that is another story….. 
                     In 1973 Phoenix Assurance ( Bristol ) ( now integrated and ” lost ” in Royal Sun Alliance = RSA ) was converting from a LEO III to an IBM 370 series – ( at the time the only IBM 370 series which had paper tape input – ie ex LEO ) and as part of the conversion from LEO ( and a Data Processing Department relocation from Norbury to Bristol ) – Phoenix were using the National Data Processing Service ( NPDS )  LEOs ( ex Post Office ) in Bristol for parallel running. When NPDS went on strike ( OK the first time as they continued running external work ) for the second time and NPDS ” blacked ” external work   – we ” raided ” at night their data tape store to ” rescue ” our main data tape files – which were then taken to eastern Europe ( probably Czech Republic ) and Australia ( ?? ) to run our insurance renewals on an existing LEO III. Following which the conversion to the IBM 370 was a bit rapid for the renewal print suite…….!!!  ( Who remembers John K Norman  ( JKN ) and Dick Cooling who organised the furniture removal van for our tape collection ? ) 
                     The Phoenix LEO III/33 to IBM 360 systems conversion took place in 1973 and this computer files conversion work was above my pay grade then…I was supporting Phoenix Corporate Services Department design the process and procedures ( as an Organisation & Methods Analyst ) for the relocation of their Administrative Head Office in King William Street across from the Bank of England ( the original Phoenix Clock and a giant stone phoenix is still above the entrance hall / door of a Japanese bank ( Dawia ? ) to Bristol. 
                     During my own research on an Institute of Administrative Management 1960s computer training package I came across Peter Bird – who was, at that time, researching his own Lyons history book. I met him in Reading and we swopped a few stories – particularly the Phoenix Assurance conversion from a tape input LEO III to an IBM 360 ( I understand that the Phoenix 360 was the only 360 with paper tape input ! ), and the impact of the Bristol National Data Processing Service (NDPS) of the GPO to whom Phoenix had outsourced one of its two LEO machines work load during the conversion and whose staff then went on strike, and on the second strike staff blacked all external work as well. Phoenix Data Processing management hired a furniture van – and with the help of a set of keys supplied by NDPS management – stole back our complete set of master tapes. Some were then sent to an eastern Europe organisation ( ? ) with a LEO to print off our monthly renewals – otherwise Phoenix could have lost the insurance renewal business !! I also recall talk of sending some tapes to Australia ( ? ). Finally – some parts of the last planned six months of the LEO tape conversion project were squashed into two weeks – in order to get the Phoenix General and Life / Pensions renewal production and printing facility up and running in Bristol. https://www.dropbox.com/s/qrjgnwhk39hgtlt/Graham%20Briscoe%20memoir.doc?dl=0

See also obituary of John Denys Neale above.

Tom Brooks  Joined LEO as a programmer in 1963 as his first job after graduating.  After learning Intercode and later CLEO became working with Renold Chains and subsequently on a number of Post Office applications.  After his days working with LEO became involved with the Marconi Myriad. He reports on the first experimental use of braille on Leo III at the Post Office led to more frequent use of Braille and how one of the programmers involved, Norman Verrill, in 1969, set up the “British Computer Association of the Blind”.   They are the oldest computer association for blind and partially sighted people in the world.  By the time that the British Computer Association of the Blind was set up, the first System 4 machines could also support braille.  I have asked a friend for some details of the use of braille on those System 4s around the year 1970 to illustrate the continuity of development. John Paschoud adds: “I don’t know if I can add much to the Blind Programmers story.  I never actually met any (of the blind programmers), and I think it must actually have been when I was Ops SDPO at Barbican NDPS Computer Centre (which was trials and EE System4, rather than production and LEO326, with most of the programmer teams based at Docos House a short distance away).  But they were very similar to the barrel line-printers on the 326s at Charles House, Kensington CC.  The process involved fitting a rubber sheet about 0.5mm thick between the hammer array and paper, and removing the ink ribbon, so that printing dots in Braille code would leave raised dots on the paper.  Then adjusting the hammer force carefully so they didn’t actually puncture the paper.

• I used the same technique a few years later, on a much later timesharing mainframe (a DECSystem-10) because a completely blind little boy joined the Cub Scout pack where my wife was a leader.  So we found software to translate the text of some of the Cub Scout Handbook into Braille, and I made a Braille-print kit for our lineprinter and ‘borrowed’ it for a few evenings.”
• His more extensive reminiscences are archived CCH or can be obtained from Frank Land at f.land@lse.ac.uk

Broken Link above

Peter Byford:  LEO entered a team for the Lyons Pennant sports day competition open to all Lyons groups.  They won the competition in 1962 and again in 1964. A group photograph showing Peter Byford holding the Pennant is shown on page 98 of the first edition of LEO Remembered. A photograph of the 1964 Pennant is attached

LEO Reunion 19^th October 1984 – The Rugby Club, Hallam St., London

120 people, all ex-staff of Joe Lyons own computer company, met to renew old acquaintances and to celebrate old memories of the World’s first commercial computer LEO l and its descendants LEO ll and LEO lll.
      All five of the surviving LEO directors had been contacted. John Simmons, the man who proposed the original venture, is now in his eighties and was unable to attend, however he sent his best wishes.
      Anthony Salmon and Tony Barnes also sent their good wishes but could not attend. Other apologies were received from as far afield as Canada, Germany and Hong Kong.
      John Pinkerton and David Caminer were the two directors who did attend. They worked for ICL up until their respective retirements. It was interesting to find that one third of those present were current employees of LEO’s successor, ICL. Amongst ICL “personalities” was Ninian Eadie who has survived the STC takeover as a director (note: STC took over ICL in 1984 but this only lasted a few years until Fujitsu bought the company).
      The committee had gathered some memorabilia which was on show. Also showing was a short LEO promotional film borrowed from the ICL archives.
      The BBC “chip shop” got wind of the event and were there to interview some of the

old-stagers. The resulting programme was broadcast on Saturday, 27th October 1984. A copy of the programme will be provided for the LEO Reunion archives.
      Dr. Pinkerton had been the electronics engineer recruited to build LEO l in 1949 and became Technical Director of LEO Computers Ltd. when it was formed in 1954. He retired from ICL earlier this year.
      A presentation to mark his 35 years in the “Computer Industry” was made by the organising committee. This consisted of an engraved pen and a specially designed card signed by all present.
      Bottles of wine (Chateau LEOville, Jean LEOn Cabernet Suavignon and Minervois (Minerva Road was the LEO factory) were given as prizes to:

                    Furthest traveller to the Reunion – Roger Thorpe (Newcastle)
      Earliest starter at Lyons or LEO     – Ernest Lenaerts (1947)
      Longest server with LEO etc.         – Fred Barnett (1954 – present time)
      Lucky number tickets                     –  Jim Hamilton and Ralph Land

Photos of the event were taken by ICL news, copies of these were available from the treasurer at the time.

To keep in touch for the next Reunion (April 1987) please write to the secretary. There are 275 names on the current mailing list. https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkn5tm8uhxpg2p2/LEO%20Reunion%2019th%20October%201984.docx?dl=0

• Tony Carrol Operator at Wills Tobacco.  My involvement with LEO started when I was a schoolboy. I had taken my “O” levels and was going into the 6th form but I wanted to mix Classics and Science and was told in no uncertain terms that this was not possible. I could not just do Science as the only chemistry exam I passed was by ignoring the H2O s etc and just concentrated on the maths. I thought this was NOT chemistry. So I ended up doing Classics which did not suit me. Through a friend of my mother’s I went for a job as a statistician but did not get it (thank goodness) and then I heard that there ware vacancies for trainee computer operators in W. D. & H. O. Wills. This sounded interesting and I was fortunate to be taken on and started in September 1959 ( on £265 per annum ). I rapidly progressed up to Shift Leader and stayed doing that role until 1969/70 the boss of the department (Bob Brett, with whom I am still in touch today) wanted to move me to Systems and Programming. And so I moved, thoroughly enjoying that time, and stayed in IT until I retired for the second time in 2003(?).

One interesting occurrence happened on 10th July 1968, but cannot be part of my talk on LEO, was that our computer (a KDF9 by this time) was flooded to a depth of about two feet. As luck would have it, the workload on another KDF9 had just been transferred onto an IBM 360 (?) and this empty KDF9 was only about 7 or 8 miles from our site. We used it for one month, burning out the motor on a brand new printer in that month, and then returned to “our” KDF9 which had been successfully returned to life with, I believe, only two new boards. I also remember that we only lost a few mag tapes.

Linda M Chapman (nee Robertson)  “I worked in Hartree House as a junior programmer between 1963 and 1965. I have memories of the excellent training and supervision which far exceeded anything else which I came across in my 30 years as a programmer

Helen Clews (nee Garsed)  I joined Leo Computers on 24^th September 1962, starting with the five-week basic course at Hartree House. From October 1962 to early 1963 I was in the mathematical programming section at Minerva Road, Acton.  In early 1963 I was transferred to the Training and Technical Writing section at Hartree House where I worked on writing manuals and organising and lecturing on training courses – mainly on Intercode and CLEO; but later we developed a senior programming course covering software such as The Master Programme and Compilers.  The regular courses were at Hartree, but a few were on customers’ premises.  I particularly remember giving a course at the GPO offices in the Barbican at the time when the Barbican Centre and flats were being built. I moved to Radley House in South Ealing when the Training Department was re-located there.  I can’t remember the date but guess it was in 1964.  Whilst there I continued to organise and lecture on courses in a much-expanded department.

In June 1965 I married Richard Clews, a senior programmer and systems analyst with LEO, and we went on his three-year contract to Australian Computers in Melbourne, where a branch of English-Electric-LEO-Marconi was being established.  I trained the staff of Australian Computers on programming the new System 4 machine, and was sent to New Zealand with two others from the Sydney office to give a ten-day course for the NZ Post Office, who had just bought a machine (I can’t remember exactly, but I think they bought two LEO 111s) (Editor: Sale did not succeed).   Soon afterwards, EELM merged with ICT to become ICL.  I left the company in October 1966 to teach Maths. in a local secondary school for the remaining two years of our stay in Australia.  We returned to the UK in January 1969.  Richard worked for ICL for most of the rest of his working life.  I taught at a grammar school in Chesham, Bucks., mainly concentrating on Maths., but for a short time I taught AS level computer studies, which included a component on the history of computing.  I was teaching LEO as history!  My transfer back to Hartree House was the start of my happy time with LEO.  It was a wonderful place to work and I very much enjoyed organising courses and doing technical writing.  With so many recent graduates being recruited, it was like university, but with money.  I started buying books and records from Whiteleys, we had picnics in Kensington Gardens and in the summer after work we could walk across the gardens to queue for tickets to the Proms several times a week.  Magic! https://www.dropbox.com/s/rz9or0qq7xh3mgv/Helen%20Clews%20nee%20Garsed%20Recollections.docx?dl=0

Alistair Cochrane – LEO II     I was an operator for several years on the Leo machine at Stewarts and Lloyds in Corby. Attached is a piece I wrote some years ago for the local heritage centre regarding the running of the weekly payroll for the steel works and tube works on the Corby site.  See Dropbox

https://www.dropbox.com/s/31snysnmb3qg08k/Alistair%20Cochrane%20Memoir.docx?dl=0

Doug Comish:  Sporting Reminiscence
Information about Lyons Sports Day activities: I did take part in one of them but having got changed into football kit the opposition failed to turn up!
However I can recall one interesting cricket match we played at Sudbury.
The Programming section challenged the rest of LEO and I was appointed Captain of the  side.We batted first and I managed to contribute a few runs.When our opponents batted,they gradually approached our total and lost wickets on the way. They had one guy who could hit the ball very hard to deep midwicket and the situation was reached that their last pair were together and they needed about ten to win.I considered myself a safe pair of hands and so I moved myself to deep midwicket in case their batsman offerred an opportunity for a catch.
They ultimately got to within two runs of our total and their batsman went for his favourite shot and connected. I saw the ball all the way into  my hands and to my dismay right out of them!!

But it was a good match

Mike Cowlard, Reminiscences of a LEO Operator
        Left School with two O levels (Maths and English.  Joined GPO as Clerical Officer.  Always good with figures quickly promoted.  Advised that he might get faster promotion outside GPO noted adverts for computer jobs.  Tried Heinz and Lyons doing well in aptitude tests.  Offered job by Peter Bird, then operations manager of the Lyons LEO operation.  Joined Lyons as Operator in May 1968.  His 50 years in computing comprised Operator/Shift Leader/Shift Supervisor – Leo II/III,  managing the crazy Autolector.  Migrated to IBM – Operator/Shift Leader/Shift Supervisor/Programmer/System Analyst.  For full text of Mike’s reminiscence see https://www.dropbox.com/s/9qub4z79qs3l6wz/Mike%20Cowlard%2C%20Reminiscences%20of%20a%20LEO%20Operator.docx?dl=0