Churchill And The 'Boffins' Of The First World War

In this talk, writer, historian and television producer, Taylor Downing, will consider the role of some of the scientists who worked behind the scenes during the First World War.

Churchill's enthusiastic backing of scientists and new ideas during the Second World War is well-known but his support for innovation can also be seen as far back as the First World War in his career at the Admiralty and - later - the Ministry of Munitions. Downing will take a closer look at the scientists - the first 'boffins' - who built on the great advances of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from aviation to code-breaking and from medicine to engineering.