Post Office Research Station
Encyclopedia
The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill
, London
, was first established in 1921 and opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
in 1933.
In 1943 the world's first programmable electronic computer, Colossus
Mark 1 was built by Tommy Flowers
and his team, followed in 1944 and 1945 by nine Colossus Mark 2s. These were used at Bletchley Park
to break the Axis Lorenz cipher
.
In 1957 ERNIE
(Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) was built for the government's Premium Bond
lottery, by Sidney Broadhurst's team.
In 1971 Samuel Fedida
conceived Viewdata
and the Prestel
service was launched in 1979.
In 1968 it was announced that the station would be relocated to a new centre to be built at Martlesham Heath
. It was formally opened on 21 November 1975 by Queen Elizabeth
and is today known as Adastral Park
. The old site was released for housing, with the main building converted into a block of flats and an access road named Flowers Close, in honour of Tommy Flowers
.
Paddock
, a two storey World War II concrete citadel was built underneath the Dollis Hill site.
Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, was first established in 1921 and opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
in 1933.
In 1943 the world's first programmable electronic computer, Colossus
Colossus computer
Not to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...
Mark 1 was built by Tommy Flowers
Tommy Flowers
Thomas "Tommy" Harold Flowers, MBE was an English engineer. During World War II, Flowers designed Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help solve encrypted German messages.-Early life:...
and his team, followed in 1944 and 1945 by nine Colossus Mark 2s. These were used at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
to break the Axis Lorenz cipher
Lorenz cipher
The Lorenz SZ40, SZ42A and SZ42B were German rotor cipher machines used by the German Army during World War II. They were developed by C. Lorenz AG in Berlin. They implemented a Vernam stream cipher...
.
In 1957 ERNIE
Ernie
Ernie is a fictional character, a Muppet on the Public Broadcasting Service's long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil...
(Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) was built for the government's Premium Bond
Premium Bond
A Premium Bond is a lottery bond issued by the United Kingdom government's National Savings and Investments scheme. The government promises to buy back the bond, on request, for its original price. They were introduced by Harold Macmillan in his 1956 budget....
lottery, by Sidney Broadhurst's team.
In 1971 Samuel Fedida
Samuel Fedida
Samuel Fedida is a British telecommunication engineer responsible at Prestel for the development of Viewdata.Fedida had the idea for Viewdata in 1968 after reading a publication with the title The Computer as Communications Device. The first prototype became operational in 1974. In 1977 the system...
conceived Viewdata
Viewdata
Viewdata is a Videotex implementation. It is a type of information retrieval service in which a subscriber can access a remote database via a common carrier channel, request data and receive requested data on a video display over a separate channel. Samuel Fedida was credited as inventor of the...
and the Prestel
Prestel
Prestel , the brand name for the UK Post Office's Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979...
service was launched in 1979.
In 1968 it was announced that the station would be relocated to a new centre to be built at Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield...
. It was formally opened on 21 November 1975 by Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and is today known as Adastral Park
Adastral Park
Adastral Park is a science campus based at Martlesham Heath near Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk.When the site opened it was known as the Post Office Research Station, but it was subsequently renamed BT Research Laboratories or BT Labs and later Adastral Park to reflect an expansion in the...
. The old site was released for housing, with the main building converted into a block of flats and an access road named Flowers Close, in honour of Tommy Flowers
Tommy Flowers
Thomas "Tommy" Harold Flowers, MBE was an English engineer. During World War II, Flowers designed Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help solve encrypted German messages.-Early life:...
.
Paddock
Paddock (war rooms)
Paddock is the codeword for an alternative Cabinet War Room bunker for Winston Churchill's World War II government located in Dollis Hill, North West London under the Post Office Research Station. It was constructed in 1939 but only rarely used during the war, with only two meetings of the War...
, a two storey World War II concrete citadel was built underneath the Dollis Hill site.
Notable staff
- John BrayJohn Bray (communications engineer)William John Bray CBE , was a communications engineer and Director of Research at the Post Office Research Station, between 1966 and 1975.-Articles:...
- William W. Chandler
- Allen CoombsAllen CoombsAllen William Mark Coombs was a British electronics engineer at the Post Office Research Station, Dollis Hill...
- Dick Dyott
- James H. EllisJames H. EllisJames Henry Ellis was a British engineer and mathematician. In 1970, while working at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham he conceived of the possibility of "non-secret encryption", more commonly termed public-key cryptography.-Early life, education and career:Ellis was born...
- Samuel FedidaSamuel FedidaSamuel Fedida is a British telecommunication engineer responsible at Prestel for the development of Viewdata.Fedida had the idea for Viewdata in 1968 after reading a publication with the title The Computer as Communications Device. The first prototype became operational in 1974. In 1977 the system...
- Harry Fensom
- Tommy FlowersTommy FlowersThomas "Tommy" Harold Flowers, MBE was an English engineer. During World War II, Flowers designed Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help solve encrypted German messages.-Early life:...
- Arnold LynchArnold LynchArnold Lynch was an English engineer, known for his work on an optical tape reader which was used in the construction of the Colossus, the first electronic computer...
- Frank Morrell
- Gordon Radley
- Stephanie Shirley
- Haakon SørbyeHaakon SørbyeHaakon Sørbye was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is known as a member of the illegal radio group Skylark B...
- Eric Speight