ICT Putney

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February 2011 - found Bob French (now Robert French) and Tony Sever - or more correctly Bob found me - details are - but firstly a couple of piccies - Vancouver and Robert with (I think) 3rd wife and baby:

On 02/02/2011 07:03, Robert French wrote:

Hi Mike,

I stumbled upon your website. We worked together on the ICT 1301. You know I can still remember most of the instruction set, though now, I occasionally forget my own name. The only member of the old ICT crew whom I have ever run into was Stu Miller. He worked for what was Sperry Univac in the States where he became a vice president.
 
A bunch of us started at the same time (Jan 11, 1963) and all went on course to Denham (300 people and 7 pubs). There was you, me, Bob Simmons, Bunny Harvey, another chap called Bernard whose last name escapes me, Tony Sever, Stu Miller and several others. I got the nickname 'Bilko'. 
 
Do you remember the Chinese restaurant on the other side of Putney Bridge? For a while we went there every day for a cheap lunch. They always had apple fritters or banana fitters for dessert.
 
Since then I have spent a long career in the computer business. I moved to Canada 40 years ago, have been married three times (third time lucky!!) and I have five children, the oldest of which is 42 and the youngest is 8 weeks (yes, weeks!!)
 
What has been happening with you in the 46 years since last we met?
 
Cheers,
Robert French.

I replied.........................

Bob,

Really good to hear from you.... Ahhh... the good old days......

Replies to your email:

Ha-ha.... the 1301 Instruction set - 42 and 37 etc... have you seen the Project that private individuals (ex ICT'ers) have set up where they are running and old 1301 I think in Kent....

http://www.ict1301.co.uk/1301ccsx.htm

Stu Miller I remember him - tall, thin, glasses... I've got a few names/details here -

http://mikecurley-worked.netfirms.com/ICT-Putney.htm

One that you were unsure of - Bernard du Sautoy.... I'd forgotten Tony Sever - didn't he have the speech impediment and his famous line "I have trouble with my arse (R's)".....

Now surely you have that wrong...?? Not Denham - but Cookham near Maidenhead..... What about Shashe Gokhale.. and Joy ??? "the trousers didn't go down too well" - then we were back at Putney with Sally Southgate as instructor.... you recognise that the current Chairman of EMI is Colin Southgate (her husband) - he used to be Sales or something at Putney....

Yes, yes - you, Simmons and I scooting over Putney Bridge to the little Chinese - what a find - I also remember the corn soups as well as the fritters... Cannot remember if this happened then or later.... a lady (learner) had stalled her car at the Putney Bridge intersection.. and she was having trouble re-starting and drivers were honking etc... and a police car near her came on the horn "OK gentlemen - give her some time - we've all been in similar situations..." etc.. and she at that moment managed to start the car in gear and rammed into the police car... and the non switched-off bull-horn was heard to shout "Oh!! Look what the silly cow's done now!!"...

Wow - you have a bit of history... Canada, 3 wives and all those kids/grand-kids??? - congratulations and well done!!

My 46 years...??

Went operating 1301's and 1500's at Putney for a year or two... then to ICT/L offices at Harrow/Slough..... Systems Engineering

Joined 1900 Programming (Software House) in London when it was very small and grew with it - went to South Africa with it - I stayed 4 years (wonderful place) - but during that time 1900P died... I'd met a German lady and married her by this time - we decided to go back to Europe... settled in Bucks endured the 3 Day week and the Miner's strikes - what a crap place to return to!! Joined a couple of ex-1900P mates in a software house Systems 70 - fell out with them after a year or two - went freelancing - Cobol programming initially - best decision I ever made - got paid for every hour I worked - and sometimes I was working 80+ hours per week - brilliant!!

2 daughters (aren't kiddie-winks wonderful??) came along - I was still contracting/freelancing - went to Saudi for a year, did some work in Boston, Mass - spent most of 6+ years on a contract in Edinburgh - by now it was mini's - Data General etc.. then lots of contracts in London/City. Had just got to a good standard of living - Bucks, private road, big house, pool etc.. and wife walked out... we split in 1989, kids were 14/15 so they decided where they wanted to live - one stayed with me in Denham the other went to her mum in Hamburg...

Life settles - 1993 - and I get a call from a mate "would I like a 6 month contract in Hong Kong"?? - I was there within 2 weeks - the contract lasted 2 years (DHL) - and early on I met Janet - a Filippina and we married a year or so ago... She works for DHL - and they transferred her to Singapore 10 years ago - I by that time had retired - so came along as her dependent!

Hong Kong - fabulous place. Singapore a very easy place.. nice and warm, very clean/orderly etc...

By the way - may I post bits of your emails on my web-site - nothing incriminating - but just so others may read etc...

I tell a story about you - hope my rendition is close to the truth - concerning being annoyed by Mormons "collecting for Jehova" - especially on a Saturday late morning after a heavy Friday night out - very grumpy you are - and snatch their proffered coin-box with a slamming of the door and a "Thanks - I am Jehovah"... Or was it all hear-say??

Future plans rely on Janet retiring from DHL in the next 2/3/4 years (its forever going backwards) and we'll move to Manila where she has a couple of houses/apartments - and she'll build a nice house (we have the plot) at the top of an active volcano.... what a good idea!!

That'll do from me... good to be back in touch - where are you in Canada?? Isn't it a bit cold...?? We have 32C just about everyday - and that is fine by me - cooler and I don't like!!

Did Simmons go to Australia...?? - How long did you stay with ICT/L - I seem to remember you being in the software office/building was it on Upper Richmond Road...?? Do you remember Virginia Sammon (Irish secretary to Albert Wright???) - Virgin for short - but not for long!!

Cheers,

Mike C

Between 2nd and 5th Feb - I searched for Tony Sever and found his LiveJournal site - he replied......

5th Feb email from Tony......

Mike, it's good to hear from you.

I expect as much has happened to you in the last 48 years as it has to me.  Briefly, I went up to university in October 1963 to read maths, and then joined ICT permanently when I came down, working for Zvi Herzenshtein.  I stayed with the company through ICL, Dataskil, ICL again, and finally TeamWare Group, and even though the last of these eventually split away, there was an arrangement by which we still paid into the ICL/Fujitsu pension fund, so I'm still paid from Letchworth - or is it Stevenage these days?  (I've been retired over five years now - I'd turned 60 when all but two of the department I was in were made redundant, so I was happy to take the money and run.)

I've been married for nearly 35 years, and have two step-sons from my wife's first marriage: the elder one is a chef who teaches at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York City, and the younger one is a master carpenter

Since you've seen my LiveJournal profile, you'll perhaps have noticed that I'm living in Ealing (I was relocated to Reading in 1967, but managed to get myself relocated back to London in 1970).  Are you still living in (or around) London?  If so and you fancy a get-together (including Bob French if he's around and up for it), do let me know.

Best wishes,
        Tony S.

Hello again, Mike.  I've just done a bit of web-searching myself, and find (if I've got things right) that you're based in Singapore these days - in which case a get-together in London is clearly not going to be on, at least for the moment.  It was good to hear from you though.

Best wishes,
        Tony S.

6th Feb, 2011 from me...

Tony,

I remember Zvi... am I right in thinking he is/was Israeli?? I can remember him being something of a disobeyer of rules?? Or at least being in the Computer room when we (Operators) were running his programs... for some reason I remember him being involved more with the 1500's than the 1300's - true...?? Or am I getting mixed up with Mike Dua (who I am in contact with)....

Congratulations on being retired and getting a good send off from ICL/Fujitsu

More congratulations on being married so long... and the boys.... saw the furniture site - impressive!!

I worked a bit for Dataskil....... around 1973... in South Africa.... I'd joined 1900 Programming in London, transferred with them to Johannesburg, but the whole company failed - and got gobbled up by ICL and renamed Dataskil.... I only stayed for a few months - returning to the UK with German wife and pending 1st daughter... Welcome to the 3 day-week and the Miner's strike - what a bad time!!

You're in Ealing!! I went to school there.... in my day it was Ealing Tech... I think its now a Poly or small Uni... St Mary's Road if I'm not mistaken...

Is it OK to put your email address up in my web-site - or would you prefer.... not??

Good luck,

Mike C

7th Feb 2011......from Bob...

Hi Mike,

How great to reconnect after all these years. Thanks for the link to the 1301 project. I will visit it if I ever go back to England. 
 
Of course it was Cookham - daft of me to forget. I remember Sally and Colin Southgate. He must have his hands full at EMI right now!! It was great to remember the old names, especially Shashi; do you remember that his programs always worked first time? Amazing. 
 
I left ICT in May 1964 to go with my girlfriend to live on a boat in Spain. We were there and in the South of France for five months. When I got back, I needed some quick cash, so I worked selling encyclopaedias for four months then I got a call from Ken Barnes, another old ICT-er. He and David Rodway had started a consulting firm SPL and asked me if I would like to work for them programming in Sweden, so I went there for thirteen months. On returning to England, I continued to work for them at first on the 1301 then the Honeywell 200. I did well with them and at the time I met my first wife. We had two kids Adam and Nicole (I had to get rid of my Jaguar XK150 when the kids came - fact of which I constantly remind them) and I went to work for Rank Xerox. It turned out to be horribly political there but they paid me a fortune and kept giving me raises. Because of the politics, I started to look for a job and the only job I could find that would pay me more money was in Montreal, so in 1971 off we all trooped. The plan was to come to Canada for three years, save money and go back to England and buy a house. That was 40 years ago. 
 
The marriage broke down in 1976 and I had sole custody of the kids (she was an alcoholic). We moved to Toronto and then Calgary and finally, I met a woman in Vancouver and moved here in 1981 to marry her. I have two kids with her, Nik and Alexis. We were together for about 9 years. We both had our own businesses (mine was a systems integration and consulting company) and life was good. Vancouver is a fantastic city: on the Pacific, surrounded by mountains, hot in the summer and rainy in the winter with only the occasional dusting of snow. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world (see attached picture taken last week).
 
When the second marriage broke up (very amicably I might add - we were both ready to make a change) I sold my company, did some consulting for a few years and then started another company with a partner. We put all we had into it and raised a million dollars in financing and then got caught in the high tech meltdown. We lasted until the beginning of 2003. Aaaaaarrrrgh!
 
It was a momentous year for me: I lost the company I was broke and then a good friend died. But... the day after my friend's death, I met my third and final wife. I also embarked upon a lengthy change of profession. While keeping the wolf from the door with consulting gigs, I embarked on the task of becoming a writer. After several false starts I have completed a novel that should sell. It is currently sitting with several agents in New York and I'm hoping that one will bite.
 
2010 was another big year. It started with Vancouver hosting the winter Olympics - a VERY expensive party. Then, after lots of trying, my wife got pregnant. Then I scared the hell out of her by having a heart attack and quintuple bypass surgery, from which I have made an amazing recovery. I am now fitter and slimmer than I have been since the 1960's. Our baby Sam was born in December. So now I have five kids and four grandkids. All live in Vancouver, except for a daughter and granddaughter who are temporarily in Ottawa.
 
I am still working part time while writing and I have no plans to retire. I want to keep writing until I am too old to remember what I wrote the previous day. 
 
The anecdote about the Jehovah witnesses is only part true but your ending is better than mine. I wasn't there for the incident with the police car and the woman driver. Do you remember how the Chinese restaurant had illegal immigrant waiters who hardly spoke any English? I remember one of them quite clearly. He slowly learned more English every day and one day he cracked his first joke. At the end of the meal, he asked, "You want ban'na flitters?" We all showed great encouragement at his English skills and said, "Yes, please." to which he replied, "Solly, no ban'na flitters today."
 
On one last note: you may remember that I was the youngest person programming at ICT. I was only 18 when I started there. I think that I may be the oldest person in the world who was a professional teenage programmer.
 
Let's stay in touch. Please feel free to quote anything form my emails on your website. 
 
Cheers,
Bob (as was), Robert (as is).
 
Robert French
2158 West 8th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K 2A4
Canada
+1 (604) 715-4505
robertf@istar.ca 

7th Feb from Tony......

Hello again, Mike.

Zvi Herzenshtein.  Yes, he is/was Israeli.  The last time I saw him must have been some time in the 1990s when I met him at a Visual Basic conference (or seminar or something of the sort).  I worked for him briefly (1300 series) before going up to university, and then during my long vacations (1500 series and then 1900 series) and after coming down (1900 series, then System 4, and finally 2900 series), on linear programming and then online systems.  After about 10 years of the latter I moved to word processing and office systems, particularly electronic mail.

I've had a look at your Moor Hall and Putney web pages.

I think Sally Southgate was originally Sally Mead (wasn't she the daughter of Cecil Mead?) before she married Colin Southgate (who of course went on to greater things).

I think Shashi Gokhale was spelled like that.

And I think it was Mike Trott rather than Mike Todd (perhaps you were thinking of the film producer).  I remember him reading "Finnegan's Wake".

I used to bump into Bernard du Sautoy occasionally when I was working at Bracknell - he's the only person from the course I met in later life.

It's taken me a couple of days to remember the name Ray Pig(g)ott who I think was also on the Moor Hall course.  I worked with him briefly on a gas towers program, before I was shunted off to work for Charles Postle (whom I met years later when I was hired out to work for [censored] "somewhere in central London"), who eventually passed me on to Zvi.

There was another woman on the course who came from Oxford or at any rate knew about Oxford, but I haven't yet been able to remember her name.  (Maybe it will come to me in time.  I think there might have been a V in her name.  Virginia perhaps?)

The word "rotism" doesn't exist.  Perhaps you were thinking of "rhotacism", but a more accurate word is "la(m)bdacism", meaning  "a faulty pronunciation of the letter r, making it sound like l".

I see Albert Wright is mentioned.  He interviewed me at Putney Bridge House (later Bridge House North) when I came for my aptitude test in October/November 1962.

And Liz Cheesewright.  I'm not sure why I particularly remember her, but she obviously made an impression.

My elder stepson (the chef, Simon Cass) did his training (City and Guilds) at Ealing Tech (which has now become Thames Valley University, as you can see from his profile at http://www.iceculinary.com/career/faculty.shtml).

I think I'd rather you didn't put my e-mail address on your website, but you're very welcome to point to my crossword blog ( http://tony-sever.livejournal.com/).  I had my 15 minutes of fame back in 1981 when I won the Times Crossword Championship, so if I'm known for anything, it's crosswords.

I'm sorry to hear about Maureen Stockwell, whom I vaguely remember.

Best wishes,
        Tony S.

Tony,

Thanks for all the details - I'll take a day or two and update my web-site (its actually taken 3 months!! SOOOooooo busy!!)......

You mention eMail - I can remember the early years of PC's around the time of Apple Lisa and 8086 PC's - I'd build an Application on one PC - maybe install some form of Network and then make the App - multi-user... and I could see that email (even though it didn't really exist) would be a tremendous tool to those users that were on the Network - if only everybody had a PC - BUT... I always said that eMail should or could, never be, the application that justified the installation of a network and purchase of PC's for everybody... I was quite scathing about eMail... but look where it is now...

Yes, yes - Sally Meade, her father and husband Colin etc...

Shashi Gokale - Bob French reckons his programs always worked - first time - can it be true?? I've Googled Shashi Gokhale - surely an easy name to find...?? only to find 4 not very inspiring entries.... I shall soldier on...

Many thanks for Mike Trott!! If I remember rightly - ancient Languages (Greek, Latin etc..) was his forte.... I can remember him coming down to run a program on the 1301's one day - he was giggling and asked me to print out the contents of memory.... then he gave me one punched card and asked me to "run it" - then to print out memory again...... what he'd managed to do (I think I remember one card held 6 instructions...) was to re-arrange memory front to back in just 6 instructions  - at least he was happy!!

Also thanks for Ray Pig(g)ott - I can remember his face - but wouldn't have remembered his name...

The lady "V" - I cannot help with - memory=blank!!

Liz Cheesewright - I know why you remember her - she was good looking and a nice personality!!

Your step-son has worked in some salubrious places - and lived on a boat.... like Branson???

OK - will not post your eMail address nor email details - but will link to your crossword blog....

Ah... there's a thing... my first job (this was before ICT) was for The Times where I worked in their IBM Department, initially on Punched-Card machines, but going for an IBM 1401.... which never materialised..... Every day, departmental managers got a Voucher Copy of that day's edition - and this was back in the days of nothing but adverts on the front-page - and a big photo on the last page. Well... I can remember some of the managers becoming very adept at doing the crossword - sometimes finishing in less than their lunch-hour.... For you to have won the Crossword Competition must put you in the "boffin" class!!

I'll forward Bob French's latest tome - there may be some interesting details...

All the best,

Mike C

10th Feb 2011......Robert mails.......

Hi Mike and Tony,

It is great reconnecting. I remember many of the names that you supplied but I had forgotten. Shashi was short for Sashikant. I found a Shashikant Gokhale on LinkedIn and have requested a contact. I will let you know if he gets back to me.

 
Cheers,
Robert.

14th Feb........from Tony.............

Hello again, Mike.  Lots of interesting stuff there.  I half-remember Stu Miller and Bunny Harvey from the Moor Hall course, but I still haven't remembered the mysterious woman I mentioned (perhaps not Virginia after all if I was confusing her name with Albert Wright's secretary's - I remember "Virgin for short, but not for long").

I also remember the Chinese restaurant on the other side of Putney Bridge.  The "banana fritters" joke developed so that the waiter would ask each of us round the table in turn, and when we'd all individually chosen banana fritters would deliver his punchline with great glee (probably regardless of whether or not there were actually banana fritters to be had that day).  And I remember the apocryphal "police car on Putney Bridge" story - perhaps it really did happen, but before our time.

I can't remember who it was who came up with "I have trouble with my 'r's", but it wasn't me.  If I had to guess, I suspect it might have been Bob Simmonds (sp?) putting words into my mouth.  As a crossword buff (as well as a sufferer from lambdacism), I was quite attuned even then to the possibilities of that particular pun :-).

I've been in touch with Robert (Bob as was) French.  He's clearly had an interesting life as well, though I had to disabuse him of the idea that he might be "the oldest person in the world who was a professional teenage programmer" since I started at 18 as well and must be a little older than him.  However, I suspect there must be lots of other candidates, including John Burleigh (do you remember him?) who was surely under 20 when he started as ICT some time before we did.

Best wishes,
        Tony S.

13th April 2011........from Robert ...................

Hi Mike,

As you may already know, I have recently written a book How to Hire Great Employees. It is a simple step-by step guide that comes out of my years of hiring people for various companies and the experience that I gained working for a recruitment firm. It is anchored in the firm belief that any organization is only as good as its employees.
 

Well, the book has been published by the Employer Help Center Inc. a company owned by myself and my colleague Carlos Obregon.
 

How to Hire Great Employees will show you how to:
 

If you sometimes have to hire people you will find this book a life saver. If any of your friends or contacts, or your boss, have responsibility for hiring, please forward this email to them or better yet, buy them a copy as a gift.

You can buy How to Hire Great Employees by clicking here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I apologize for the ‘form letter’ format.

Cheers,

Robert.

P.S. If you would rather not get emails from me just reply to this one and let me know.

April 14th. 2011 I email......................

On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 11:46 PM, mike curley <djmikecurley@gmail.com> wrote:

Bob,

Congrats - on getting published etc....

Have sent your email on to 8 mates - hope something comes of it...

As I was going through my address book it made me realise - most of the people I now know - are retired!!

Good luck anyway!!

Mike C

April 16th 2011 Robert replies....................

Hi Mike,

Yes I know the retirement factor with the address book. Not only that I recently went through mine and deleted several people who had died. Thanks for passing it on the the living and unretired.

Cheers,
R.

July 2009  - received a piccie of some the Putney Demonstration Team girls - thanks to Maureen White (Stockwell) outside the "The Stag and Hounds" at Binfield

Maureen Stockwell/White, Edwina Richardson/McCombe, Marion Harlow/?, Pat Manaseh/Chandler, Rita Nash/Brown.

(Jan 2003)..Good to find John Harris and Dave Wilgoss after so many years, and many thanks for supplying forgotten names and details....

(December 2004) - found piccies of Dave Wilgoss see below...

Interview was in ICT offices in Park Lane - then working at ICT/L Putney ? From approx: 1-Jul-63  to approx  1-Jan-65

First, to Moor Hall, on a course for about 2 weeks and then to ICT Putney for 1301 Programming Course in Bridge House North ? given by Sally Playfair  / Sally Southgate. Others on the course - Bernard du Sautoy (a recent piccie pinched off the web (he's a Trustee of an Arts Centre in Penzance - couldn't find any email addresses for him though)), Bob French, Bob Simmons,

Then to computer operating in BHN ? firstly on P3/1 ?a card, drum, printer 1301 ? other names were:

On the left 1984, second from right at back.. and this is 1973!! far right at back (click on - to enlarge)

Update!! Update!! - Annual email from Dave Wilgoss - January 2009......

Hi Mike,

Yes I am thank you. I was 70 this year and also celebrated my 50th Wedding Anniversary last week end.

I hope that you and your partner are keeping well and surviving the credit crunch.

We are lucky in the UK we have Gordon (I saved the world) Brown taking care of us. You would not consider taking him in Singapore by any chance?

Blair and Brown have turned New Labour into hard labour.

Compliments of the season to you anyway.

Regards

Dave Wilgoss

 

 

 

Graduated to P3/2 ? a bigger 1301 ? with 6 * 1 inch Ampex Tape Decks.

Then everything moved over to BHS

Thanks to Dave Wilgoss for providing some more names.......

Moved onto 1500

Random memories of those days:

Update, Update!! As at 24 January,2003 - have made contact with Rod and Rita Brown - he used to be something of a 1300 Engineer and she (nee Nash) was (a dead ringer for Wendy Craig) one of the glamorous Demo Ladies - click here to checkout their recent emails. Or visit their very wide ranging web-site "Shedland" which has lots of links and pictures of "historic" computers and their inards!

Update, Update!! As at June 2004 - have made contact with Maureen Stockwell - now Maureen White, living near Bracknell - maureenstockwell@yahoo.co.uk, she's in contact with Rita...

Send me an email - tell me where I've gone wrong - add some interesting snippets - love to hear from you.

Contact details

John Harris johnharris@tfl.gov.uk
Dave Wilgosswilgossd@talk21.com
Rod & Rita Brown (Nee Nash) rodritab@onetel.net.uk
Maureen Stockwell (White) maureenstockwell@yahoo.co.uk
Mike Dua rafd1@attglobal.net

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