Announcements of deaths and obituaries
Mary Josephine (Jo) Davies , maiden name McCann), D.O.B. 1961 – ?? Started as a LEO II Programmer at Wills, married Keith Davies a member of the Wills programming team, but left Wills to become a LEO lll Programmer and later LEO marketing. Became partner of Colin Tully until his death. Peter Byford remembers her on his own LEO III programming own LEO lll programming course in 1961.
Mary Josephine (Jo) Davies: Read More »
Bob Day – Died 2018. Bob was recruited in 1960 by Leo Fantl to join the newly formed LEO/Rand Mines collaborative venture in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bob, of Afrikan descent, was one of a handfulrecruited, all of high quality joining within that first period. Bob stayed in a senior role until his retirement.
Leo Fantl writes “Bob Day was a typical South African. With an outstanding secondary education record, he joined the Post Office as a technical apprentice, and completed his training as the top performer for the whole country. Bob is mainly Afrikans but totally bilingual . When he took our appreciation course, he had never done any programming, but I still remember his hostile stare during my lectures –and how I leaned over him while he was writing his test, to see if he was actually writing sense. He got 100 per cent.’ (User-Driven Innovation, p.300)
John Godwin writes: “In the nineteen sixties LEO III/2 at the Johannesburg bureau was the first commercial multi-processing machine in the country. Along with Leo Fantl and their colleagues they (Bob Day and Joe Crouch) changed the way the Mines and other large companies ran their businesses. Today everyone is a computer expert, but then they really were. I am glad I knew them, true trail blazers”.
Leo Fantl – 1924-2000 Came to UK in June 1939 as a refugee from Czechoslovakia. Joined RAF age 18 and received technical training. Recruited by Lyons as Technical Trainee in the Planning Department in 1949, but was transferred to the LEO enterprise in 1950 to join Derek Hemy as a pioneer programmer. Despite a lack of formal training became a first rate mathematician involved in developing mathematical software and doing ground-breaking work in the problem created by rounding errors. Played major role in most of the early LEO applications including the tax tables for the UK Inland Revenue. In 1960 he was seconded to work on LEO’s first overseas venture, the joint establishment with Rand Mines of a LEO III computer bureau in Johannesburg. He spent much of his remaining career managing the computer operations of Rand Mines by then the sole owners of the bureau. A brief biographical sketch can be found on page 202 of Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer.
Leo Fantl
Pat Fantl, (Cooper), born in USA, came to England, joining LEO Computers as a programmer in 1955 the third women to join the LEO group after Mary Blood and Betty Newman (who became her sister-in-law). As part of LEO Fantl’s payroll team, contributing to a series of applications including those of Ford Motor Company, Stewarts and Lloyds and Kodak. Joined Leo Fantl in South Africa becoming his wife after Leo lost his first wife Frieda in a motoring accident.
Pat Fantl, (Cooper): Read More »
Gordon Foulger – 1942-2011 After graduating from Queen Mary University with a degree in General Science he became a LEO programmer seconded to work on GPO programs, including the Giro and telephone billing. He became a database specialist and consultant as his career evolved.
http://www.gordonfoulger.co.uk/obituary.php
Bob Gibson – born 1927, died August 2016. He trained as electronic engineer as part of National Service. After working as an electronic research engineer in Civil Service, recruited by LEO as trainee maintenance engineer. Took responsibility for training customer engineers and rose to oversee all LEO training as well as managing engineering maintenance services, and personnel. Briefly left LEO to become a management consultant but returned to become head of customer support services for EELM. Completed career with ICL as manager Large Projects before setting up his own consultancy. Retired 1988 and published book on Project Management. Gained a reputation as a safe pair of hands for complex and difficult assignments. One of the stalwarts whose contribution played a key role in the success of LEO.
John Gosden – 1930-2003 Joined LEO as a programmer in 1953 after taking a degree (pass) in Mathematics at Cambridge University and made rapid progress with his understanding of software. Played a key role in the design of systems software for LEO II and LEO III. Left LEO in 1961 to emigrate to the USA for a sterling career in computing including acting as advisor on computer matters to the US Government. An obituary was published in The Times newspaper in the Lives in Brief Section on January 8th 2004. John Gosden, computer programmer, was born on March 9, 1930. He died on December 18, 2003, aged 73. John Gosden had a long and distinguished career in computer technology and applications, in the United States and Great Britain. After studying mathematics at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1953 he joined the J. Lyons organisation as a trainee programmer. Its small Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) team was engaged on the final trials of the payroll programme for the Cadby Hall bakeries. The LEO system was then equipped with only the most rudimentary systems software, which gave the programmers little assistance. The group of experts were the first to harness emerging computer technology to practical business management, and LEO became known as the world’s first office computer. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lives-in-brief-3hlnmnxmvj9 Resurrection, Issue 33. Spring 2004, published an obituary written by David Caminer, http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res33.htm#f A biographical sketch of his career can be found on pages 203 and 204 in Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer. http://www.leo-computers.org.uk/gosdenobit.html
Kit Grindley – born in Clapham< London, April1929, died October 26th 2018 in Sydney Australia. Kit Grindley after graduation from LSE in 1956, started as a Management Trainee in Lyons in 1956 and was a part of the LEO team of LEO I and LEO II programmers. Kit developed ideas about a language for expressing requirements he called Systematics as a result of his LEO experience. He studied for a PhD at the London School of Economics and was awarded with a PhD for his research into Systematics in 1972, supervised by Frank Land. He enjoyed a successful and varied career as a computer professional, This included compiling an annual review of the chief issues faced by CIOs when working as a Director for Urwick Diebold, a subsidiary of Urwick-Orr and Partners, acting as a consultant for Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), publishing a number of books on computer management including Systematics, editing the Journal IT Reviews working for and being awarded a PhD (1972) by the London School of Economics, followed by being appointed to, first a Professorial Fellowship at the LSE sponsored by F International, whose founder Dame Stephanie Shirley writes about his role in the company in her autobiography Let IT Go, and encouraged his research into Systematics setting up research unit for that purpose. and later by a part-time chair in Systems Automation sponsored by PWC also at the LSE. His academic career included a stint as Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney. His wife Liz notes of his LEO years: “(those who) knew him during those crazy, exciting and trail blazing years. He was such an exceptional person and we are all lucky to have loved him. Such a great brain and so many talents.” These crazy activities included running with the bulls in the annual Pamplona bull running festival, and getting injured in the process. His books on IT Strategy and Systems methods were acclaimed by his readers. His death is noted in the Sydney Morning Herald – see
Link to SMH obituary: http://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/smh-au/obituary.aspx?n=christopher-grindley&pid=190608434
John Grover – Born December 1924, died 2000. After National Service in the RAF where he gained his pilot’s wings, joined Lyons as a Management Trainee in 1947 working on Bakery Accounts. Recruited to the new LEO team as a programmer in 1950, took responsibility for a number of the early LEO applications Including the world’s first business application, the valuation of bakery output. David Caminer paid this tribute to John Grover. “John played an invaluable part in out very very small team. He followed the methodology that we laid down unswervingly and made it possible to get it firmly established as newcomers were drawn in. He was a fine trainer and many of the young men and women who were recruited learned the new discipline working under him.” He left LEO in 1956 to join Derek Hemi at EMI working on the EMIDEC. A short biographical sketch can be found on page 204 in Peter Bird’s LEO: the World’s First Business Computer. http://www.computerconservationsociety.org/resurrection/res24.htm#d
Peter Guest b.1934, died 1995 aged 61, LEO Maintenance Engineer
Margaret Guest, his widow writes: Peter’s education badly disrupted during Wartime, leaving Wm. Penn School, Peckham, London aged 16 in 1951. Attended Woolwich Polytechnic 1951-55 for part time day release, obtained ONC in civil engineering while working for Sir Murdock MacDonald & Partners as a trainee draughtsman. Further HND studies but National Service in RAF intervened including training in communication hardware preparing to be a wireless operator and then posted to Aden where he worked for the Commonwealth Air Forces Communications Network with the rank of Corporal. Came back and worked for Vickers Armstrong at a factory in Crayford, Kent. At the time he joined they were building a valve computer for Powers Samas, the PCC, which had an immense number of problems and not many people capable of solving them! He left when the PCC was going to be superseded by a future design done by ICT.
Early 1960 (the year we were planning to marry) Peter was employed by LEO in London (for a very small wage for the first 6 months) while getting a good grounding in all aspects of this new invention; engineering, testing, commissioning, etc. He was sent out to maintain computers at Ford Dagenham (LEOII/4) and Ilford Films (LEO II/9)
while we lived in a caravan on the outskirts of Romford. He was also training on LEO 111. At the time the head office of LEO Computers was in Bayswater.
Then, about 1964, after LEO amalgamated with English Electric, we moved to the South Coast where he was sent to commission a new English Electric computer for Lloyds Bank at Durrington, Worthing, while also troubleshooting other installations in London and the South Coast.
After the merger with English Electric he spent a lot of time up in Kidsgrove on the KDF9 commissioning and troubleshooting.
Our next move was to Long Ashton, on the outskirts of Bristol where he was Assistant Service Manager. Later becoming Area Manager working on computers for Wills Tobacco and an important (I think Government) installation in Dorset. Later appointed Area Manager for West London and the Western Home Counties.
In 1967, when Marconi split its computer interests from English Electric, another move to Widford, Chelmsford, to work for Marconi who were embarking on a programme to produce the Myriad 1 and design the Myriad 11.
He was also involved in the System 430 for English Electric-LEO (the first integrated circuit design) which caused many problems because of the high reliability requirements necessary for the Military and Traffic Control for which it was intended. He was then Manager overseeing design, production, quality control, budgets, planning and responsible for 45 employees. It was a very stressful time for him.
Then there was a period of uncertainty, with a merger of Marconi with GEC looming..
This made up his mind to move again, to MDS Data Processing, Teeside, Durham.
Peter first joined MDS as Quality Control Manager. MDS was an international company, main Plant being in Utica, north of New York State and another in Germany and he made regular visits to both locations. After all this travelling he decided to stay more local, so worked for local companies; Redifon, Comark and MBM near Brighton, before finally freelancing as a Business Consultant working from home.
He sadly died of Cancer aged 61. Memoir
