The British Computer Society (BCS) and Computing ran their Annual IT Innovation awards event at the Evolution Centre in Battersea Park on Wednesday 8th Nov evening. One prize was for IT Innovation in the Charities Sector and this was won by Plant Heritage with LEO Computers Society and The Centre for Computing History (CCH) as runner up (Highly Commended) for the Virtual LEO I. The event was attended by Peter Byford, Bernard Behr, John Paschoud and Vince Bodsworth of the LEO Computers Society and more will be in the upcoming Newsletter as a Stop Press. Announcement Read all about Virtual LEO I here
LEO Remembered has been substantially revised and added to by Hilary Caminer, of the LEO Computers Society and Lisa McGerty of the Cambridge Centre for Computing History. There was an event on 28th September on Zoom to launch the new book . You can also order copies of the book at the link below at GBP8 plus postage. Please specify quantity and address (especially country) for delivery if you want to order and we will send a cost quotation and instructions for payment.
The LEO Computers Society and partners Centre for Computing History are delighted to announce that their film about LEO, the world’s first business computer has won the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) Video of the Year Award 2022.
LEO, otherwise known as the Lyons Electronic Office, was a pioneering British computer developed in the early 1950s by J. Lyons & Co., famous for tea, cakes and the teashops that were once part of the fabric of British life.
The film was commissioned as part of a lottery-funded project ‘Swiss Rolls, Tea & the Electronic Office’, which is preserving, cataloguing and making accessible the heritage of this remarkable machine so as to raise awareness of this relatively unknown British story.
Judges commented that the film was “an absorbing and textured piece with excellent and evocative archive footage”. It aims to introduce a whole new generation, from secondary school age upwards, to the remarkable story of the birth of a technology that, today, we take for granted.
Lisa McGerty, manager of the project said: “We’re honoured to have had the LEO film we commissioned – and which was expertly made by Richard Hollingham and Jamie Partridge of Boffin Media – recognised as the Association of British Science Writers’ Video of the Year. LEO’s story really is remarkable and it is a privilege for us to work with some of the surviving pioneers on this project, as well established film producers like Boffin. The first LEO computer was an astounding feat not just of engineering but also of vision by a company that had the foresight to recognise just how computers could revolutionise business at a time when computers didn’t really exist. Everyone should know about it.”
The film is freely available to watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzu68nRVwtE. It will be signposted to schools and colleges as part of The Centre for Computing History’s learning programme.
Notes 1. The film has been created by Boffin Media, an award-winning production company specialising in science and space. The Producer is Richard Hollingham and the Director is Jamie Partridge.
2. The LEO Computers Society is committed to promoting and protecting LEO’s history. Membership of the Society is open to all ex-employees of LEO Computers and its succeeding companies, anyone who worked with a LEO computer and anyone with a specific interest in the history of LEO Computers. Among its members are pioneers from the very early days of computing and membership is currently free of charge. Visit www.leo-computers.org.uk. Follow @leocomputers51.
3. Established in 2006, the Centre for Computing History is a charitable heritage organisation with a strong focus on learning. Since opening in Cambridge in August 2013, the Centre has helped people understand how tech has shaped the modern world and revolutionised the way we live, work and play through interactive displays and exhibitions, our schools programme, learning events and workshops, and an astonishing collection of computers old and new. Visit www.computinghistory.org.uk. Follow @computermuseum
4. Using money raised by the National Lottery, The National Lottery Heritage Fund inspires, leads and resources the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund
For further information on the museum, the Society, the LEO project or for images, please contact: Lisa McGerty (lisa@computinghistory.org.uk, 01223 214446 / 07825 794791) or Peter Byford (peter.byford@leo-computers.org.uk, 07944 038489).
Jason Fitzpatrick the CEO of the CCH gave LEO Computer Society members a virtual tour of the exhibits at the Museum on 27th April. The meeting was held on Zoom and recorded for those who wanted to attend but who were not able.
The recording is now available on this Website and can be viewed by following the link above. In addition an updated version of LEOPEDIA as at 30th April has been also uploaded to the Website
The Zoom Video can be viewed by following This Link and the updated LEOPEDIA Here
There was another Zoom on Monday 24 January 2022 at 15:30 GMT. The topic was “Inside the LEO archive” and was led by Luke Thorne, our Archivist at the Centre for Computing History at Cambridge. A recording is available at https://leo-computers.org.uk/Videos/Clipped_LEO_Archive.mp4
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REUNION and LEO Exhibition: Sunday, 10th April 2022
From midday at the Victory Services Club, Marble Arch, London W2 2HF. As usual this will be an opportunity to meet old friends and colleagues and others with an interest in early computing. There will be refreshments and exhibitions of LEO related materials – as well as the usual raffle! Details to follow in the new year.
Tickets (to include a light lunch) cost £27 if bought before 31st January 2022 (£30 thereafter.)
To download a form to send with your application and with payment details click here
September 1951 – At J. Lyons & Co on Wednesday, 5th September 1951 the Bakery Valuations programme was run to completion on real data as an experiment to test the hardware. As noted in Ernest Lenaerts notebook for that date it ran from 3:50 to 5:35 without a fault and was the longest run of any programme at that time.
The BBC programme Antiques Road Trip made a stop off at Cambridge to visit the Cambridge Computer History Museum and interviewed Jason Fitzpatrick the Museum founder. Jason covered many interesting topics including early calculators, EDSAC, LEO and the BBC Micro and ARM chips.
2021 marks LEO’s 70th Anniversary Year – unfortunately the Trustees felt they had to postpone the Reunion from 2021 but replace it with a series of Zoom events to celebrate the events of 1951 (see the post on the new Zoom dates) The new date for the Reunion at the Victory Services Club is Sunday, 10th April 2022
On 15th February 1951, a LEO diary note read: ‘It can be said that on this day, LEO performed its first programme before HRH Princess Elizabeth.’
LEO I was still under development at that time but later in 1951 LEO ran its first programme.
The Society Secretary wrote to the Queen earlier and received this reply a few days ago.
Ernest Lenaerts who was one of the designers of LEO I kept a detailed diary with technical notes and recordings of events left the following entry in his record of 16 February 1951 16-2-51 HRH was no more and no less impressed than I had expected. The information printed by the Teleprinter was unintelligible except of course for the message printed at the bottom which provided some light relief. Fortunately LEO made few mistakes – obviously not subject to stage fright and the Demo went off smoothly. A little more interest was shown I think in the interior of the machine when she saw the complexity of the circuits – how many of this machines like these in existence? Only one other in working condition – No others on commercial clerical problems. This auspicious occasion called for an enormous improve in general tidyness of the lab and I must make an effort to preserve this. My own desk was clear for the occasion – the first time in months. Work on the machine can go ahead again and I have been given a more or less free hand to proceed on which problem I deem the best tackled first. The object will be to bring the machine to full operating condition as soon as possible so that Caminer & Co can get [[weaving]] on some of the programmes that they have kept up their sleeves for so long. The first and most obvious fault to be cleared is the corruption in the Teleprinter which I Think are due to breakthro in the output Unit. Other troubles to be cleared are occasional “1”s being added into the store. These have the effect of spoiling all of the test programmes received from Cambridge ”
Following the successful AGM using Zoom to hold the meeting online we have decided to try to have more regular meetings. The next one is on Mon 08-Mar 2021 10:30 GMT
Thoughts, lessons and anecdotes from over fifty years as a database teacher, writer, and researcher Chris Date LCS member and LEO Computers Employee in 1962
Zoom forum June 18th 2025 at 17.00 BST
Hosted by the LEO Computers Society, and with the invitation extended to anyone interested in the history of Information Technology
About Chris Date:
Chris is an independent author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant specialising in relational database systems. He was one of the first persons anywhere to recognise the fundamental importance of Ted Codd’s pioneering work on the relational model. He was also involved in technical planning for the IBM products SQL/DS and DB2 at the IBM Santa Teresa Laboratory in San Jose, California.
He is best known for his books, in particular An Introduction to Database Systems, 8th Edition (Addison-Wesley, 2004), the standard text in the field, which has sold around a million copies worldwide. He enjoys a reputation that is second to none for his ability to explain complex technical material in a clear and understandable fashion.
The LEO Computer Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
LEO Matters Issue 17, May 2025 has been published and circulated to Members and others. It can be downloaded by following the download link on this page .
LEO Matters Issue 16, November 2024 has been published and circulated to Members and others. It can be downloaded by following the download link on this page .
Books We have three books about LEO available for you to buy directly from us – all proceeds go towards supporting the Society’s ongoing work. Once you request a book we will work out the postage costs for you based on delivery address. 1. Peter Bird’s hardback ‘LEO, The first Business Computer’ was published in 1994 and gives a very thorough history of the origins and development of LEO. £10. I would like to discount this down to £5 as copies are now showing signs of their age! 2. Georgina Ferry’s paperback ‘A computer called LEO’, first published 2003, is a less technical account of the history of LEO set in its social context. £8. 3. ‘LEO Remembered – by the people who worked on the world’s first business computer.’ This is an anthology of over 80 reminiscences by LEO people illustrated with contemporary photographs. We launched our new edition in September 2022 and are delighted that it received excellent reviews. £8.
We are delighted to be able to announce that we have appointed Kate Stockwell to this new position. Kate impressed the selection panel of Lisa McGerty, Peter Byford and Hilary Caminer and is scheduled to take up her post on Wednesday, 12th March.
Kate will be working on the LEO archive at CCH – following on the excellent work carried out as part of the NLHF project by Jude Brimmer and Luke Thorne. This new post has been generously funded by the AIT Trust and is named in honour of Frank and Ralph Land, key figures in the development and marketing of LEO from its earliest days. Kate will be working three days a week, Wednesday to Friday for two years.
Kate shows enormous enthusiasm for archiving work, and has recent highly-praised experience in projects at several Cambridge colleges on a variety of themes. We will ask her to introduce herself to you all in the near future.
In the meantime, we feel it is great news that work on the LEO archive can now resume.
LEO Matters Issue 15, November 2024 has been published and circulated to Members and others. It can be downloaded by following the download link on this page .
