LCS Newsletter, short format, from April 2016. The editor is unidentified.

Transcript :

Leo computers society
NEWS IN BRIEF
April 2016

New AIT-funded research doctorate at Middlesex University to focus on research into LEO

Generous funding from the AIT (Association of Information Technology Trust) has resulted in a doctoral scholarship being offered at Middlesex University. The three year postgraduate research project, funded by a £45,000 grant, will cover, as the University states ‘the history and philosophy of computing, focussing on the LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) I developed by the catering firm J. Lyons and Co and its later versions LEO II and III developed by the Lyons subsidiary LEO Computers Ltd.’
The scholarship is named in honour of David Tresman Caminer, one of the pioneers of the LEO Computer, who was given an Honorary Doctorate by Middlesex University in 2006.
The postgraduate scholarship will start in autumn and the role is currently open for applications.

http://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research-degrees/research-studentships/david-tresman-caminer-studentship-for-the-history-of-computing

The initiation of the doctorate follows a period during which Middlesex University has been awarding AIT-funded Masters degrees, focussed on business computing. This year’s scholarship holder, Rabia Arif is helping run the video booth today and we have heard the excellent news that a former scholar, Almaas Ali , having been awarded a distinction for her degree studies, is now working at Middlesex University herself.

Memorial stone to commemorate LEO 1 and its successors near Cadby Hall

Thanks to a generous donation from Tony Morgan, the Society is organising for an engraved granite stone to be placed in the pedestrianised Lyons Walk, West Kensington, near the site of the now-demolished Cadby Hall. The stone will be laid for us by
Hammersmith and Fulham Council and we are Planning an ‘unveiling’ celebration once we have a clearer idea of the completion date –
possibly in the early Autumn. Watch the newsletter for details.

Oral History project steps up its aim of capturing the history of LEO through the memories of Society members

Following the successful ‘capture’ of the stories of many of our pioneers, Mike Tyzack, our current project co-ordinator is organising our team of interviewers to record the memories of more early users. Mike is keen to hear from any members who would like to participate in this important work – as interviewees, interviewers or editors.

Exciting New LEO Archive Project established

February 1st saw the inaugural meeting of a newly-formed group aiming to create a permanent record of Leo’s history. As members may know, there are currently collections of this history stored in various places both in the UK and abroad, but up to now, no centralised catalogue nor any clear policy about future archiving. This is about to change. Under the chairmanship of Colin Williams from the University of Warwick, and working with colleagues from Warwick and Middlesex Universities, the LEO Computers Society is now embarked on an ambitious project to build a comprehensive record. The Modern Records Centre (MRC) at Warwick is firmly committed to providing a home for LEO records and to digitising many of them. This will greatly benefit future researchers. They will also archive our oral history records. The group plans to communicate its work through conferences and publications- and we will update you of its progress through the Newsletter and the website.
All this work will need very significant resources and one of the first tasks of the working group will be to seek external
funding. Any Society member with ideas about such funding or interested in contributing to this project is asked to speak to Frank Land, Chair of our History sub-group or to any committee member.

Website developments

Our website, managed by Bob Stevenson, is the Society’s main method of communication. We are planning to introduce a couple of new features over the coming months. Firstly, at the suggestion of one of our members, we are initiating an online, informal archive of ‘objects’ relating to LEO - any items that you think will interest others. Secondly, we are about to launch an online forum, designed to allow ‘conversations’ between members on LEO-related topics.
Keep an eye on the website for further news and speak to Bob Stevenson if you have any suggestions for future developments.

Coming soon – Annual LEO lecture

The LSE (Department of Management) working with the LEO Computers Society is launching a public, annual LEO Lecture, to commence later this year. Suggestions for eminent people who might be invited to give such a prestigious lecture would be welcomed. Please get in touch with Frank Land or any committee member with ideas.

Computer Education – theme of our next Newsletter

Computer Education and the important task of imparting the history and development of computing to a new generation is the theme of our next Newsletter, edited by Bernard Behr. The articles will be focussed on primary, secondary and tertiary education and will cover Hardware, and both Systems and Application software.
Whilst LEO was not itself involved in providing services for educational institutions it did have particularly comprehensive and successful in-house training programmes covering all the requirements of the organisation. Special emphasis was on Engineering, Operating, Programming and Systems Analysis. In this way it created a unique template for itself, thereby cementing its future success.

New articles being published about LEO

Ralph Land has written an article on ‘LEO in the Soviet block’ which is shortly to be published in the Communications of the AIS.
Colin Williams’ article ‘Of Bunkers, Bytes, and Cakes’ can be seen on http://softbox.co.uk/pub/Of_Bunkers,_Bytes_and_Cakes_Web.pdf An abridged version is printed in the March 2014 issue of Cyber Talk Magazine, Issue 4.

Provenance :
Donated to the LCS archive by Peter Byford.