LEO editor, Author at LEOPEDIA EDITORIAL SYSTEM

Frank Land and Ralph Land – Even before LEO I was created both Frank and Ralph Land showed a keen interest in Business at LSE where they were students wrote a review of a book (Business Cycles and National Income) for the Clare Market Review ( an LSE Student Journal) in November 1951. See below to download and read the review in a scanned document. Clare Market Review November 1951

For those interested in the content of the original book this is now freely available in electronic form at Business Cycles and National Income

CMR 1 (Merged)Download

Frank Land , Ralph Land Review of the book ” Business Cycles and National Income” by Alvin H Hanson: Read More »

Frank Land (with Hilary Caminer) – Reminder of a celebration. On the 30th
November 2021 The partnership between the Centre for Computer History (CCH) and
the LEO Computers Society (LCS) with funding from the National Lottery Heritage
Fund celebrated the 70th anniversary of the world’s first live business application –
Bakery Valuations – by J Lyons & Co on their LEO computer at their HQ at Cadby Hall.
The celebration included the launch of the LEO Film made by Boffin Media with lottery
funding and available for viewing at …, , presentations by Peter Byford, Dame Steve
Shirley and Frank Land ….
The Film is intended for younger view to get an appreciation of the early days of
business computing and the pioneering work of the LEO team. To view the Film and
respond to a feedback survey please click on the following ….and send your own
comments to Frank Land for posting to LEOPEDIA.

Frank Land (with Hilary Caminer): Read More »

Gavin Clarke describes the significance and development of LEO by Joseph Lyons and company. The link below is to the Article in the Register. Please note that when you access it first your view will be limited but if you register you will be able to read the whole document and see the images.

See https://www.theregister.com/2013/03/27/geeks_guide_leo/

Gavin Clarke writes about Blighty’s revolutionary Cold War teashop computer – and Nigella Lawson. Read More »

Mavis is named after Mavis Hinds. Mavis worked on all the earliest computers used by the Met Office to develop Numerical Weather Prediction from a theory into an operational process.

She started working on the Lyons Electric LEO 1 which was owned by the Lyons catering company, followed by the Ferranti Mark 1 computer at Manchester University. Her team worked on it by night whilst university academics, including Alan Turing, used it during the day.

Her work and that of her team proved that computers could be used to produce fast, accurate weather forecasts, and paved the way for the Met Office to purchase its first computer, which was nicknamed ‘Meteor’. This was then followed by ‘Comet’, which produced the first operational forecast by Numerical Weather Prediction on 2 November 1965.

See https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2024/historic-met-office-figures-included-in-2024-25-storm-names

Mavis Hinds, programmer for the Met office named for 2025 Storm. Read More »

LOLA was a consortium of London local authorities which absorbed the computer interests the London Boroughs Management Services Unit (LBMSU) in who had acquired the last LEO III in 1967. It was in use until 1974 when IBM developed a LEO emulator to allow easy transfer of the workload to a 360/50 acquired by LOLA.

See https://www.lola.org.uk/leo-computer.html

LOLA London Online Local Authorities. Read More »

February 2023

Richard Sharp reviews LEO Remembered.

LEO Remembered edited by Hilary Caminer and Lisa-Jane McGerty, published by Leo Computers Society, Second edition, 2022, available here.

Review

LEO Remembered – a Review by Richard Sharp (AIT) Read More »

The AIT Trust have provided funding for a new archivist to work at the Centre for Computing History for 2 years on their extensive and unique LEO archive. The new post is named in honour of 96-year-old twins Frank and Ralph Land, both of whom worked on LEO in its early days, dedicating themselves since retiring to ensuring LEO’s pioneering work is widely recognised in the history of computing.
Press Release

Cambridge Network: 96-year-old twins inspire welcome boost to LEO heritage: Read More »

Retiring LEO III/43 360 28 January 1977

LEO-III-43-360-shutdown-1-copy-1 Download

Allan Harvey Read More »

You can read the article at ITNOW Volume 66 in the event there is a paywall there is a brief summary below as well as the original Press Release.

A project celebrating the world’s ﬁrst business computer took a highly commended second place in the BCS IT Industry Awards’ charities category. The project explores the Lyons Electronic Oﬃce (LEO) — a machine remembered as the world’s ﬁrst business computer and that, more importantly, kept tea and cake ﬂowing across the UK during the early 20th century.
Backed by the National Lottery and produced jointly by the Leo Conservation Society and the Cambridge Located Centre for Computing History, Virtual LEO 1 brings to life the original LEO computer. See more about Virtual LEO I here
The article additionally notes the short documentory film telling the LEO story produced as part of the project and available for public viewing on You Tube, and itself an award winner Viewable Here
The original Press release is on the LCS Website Here

Cooper, M, MBCS: Baking the First Business Computer, ITNOW, Volume 66, Issue 1, Spring 2024 Read More »

At a meeting held annually to reward achievements in the IT industry the LEO Computers Society (LCS) and the Centre for Computing History (CCH) were awarded 2^nd place (‘Highly Commended’) in the charities category of the BCS’s UK IT awards. This was for the successful Virtual LEO l application.

Published in the Computer Conservation Society Journal Resurrection Issue 104 Spring 2024
The Original Press release can be viewed Here

McGerty, Dr Lisa, and Byford, Peter – A Virtual Experience of LEO I Published in Resurrection the Journal of the Computer Conservation Society Read More »