So Long to Learn

The author grew up in the coastal town of Lymington and after attending the local secondary school in Brockenhurst he joined HMS Conway to train as an officer in the Merchant Navy. He served for nearly ten years as a navigating officer but gradually developed a strong interest in mathematics and science. Eventually, by private study, he was able to come ashore and follow a scientific career. Joining the Atomic Energy Research Laboratory at Harwell in 1957 he became a member of a team involved in building particle accelerators for nuclear structure physics. He was awarded an OBE in 1993 for services to science and exports. This book is an account of his life in a small town in the 1930’s, his early education, subsequent sea career and first attempts to study mathematics and physics. He has completed a second volume which covers his scientific and business career.