Wikipedia

Joan Curran

For the American artist, seeJoan Wadleigh Curran.

Joan, Lady Curran(bornJoan Elizabeth Strothers;26 February 1916 – 10 February 1999) was a Welsh physicist who played important roles in the development ofradarand theatomic bombduring theSecond World War.She devised a method of releasingchaff,a radar countermeasure technique credited with reducing losses among Alliedbombercrews. She also worked on the development of theproximity fuseand the electromagneticisotope separationprocess for the atomic bomb.

Joan Curran
Joan Curran at Newnham College
Born
Joan Elizabeth Strothers

(1916-02-26)26 February 1916
Swansea,Wales
Died10 February 1999(1999-02-10)(aged 82)
Glasgow,Scotland
Alma materNewnham CollegeofUniversity of Cambridge(B.A., M.A.)
Known forInvention ofchaff
Work onproximity fuses
SpouseSirSamuel Curran(m. 1940)
AwardsHonorary degree ofDoctor of Lawsby theUniversity of Strathclyde
Scientific career
InstitutionsCavendish Laboratory
Telecommunications Research Establishment
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In 1954 she became a founding member of theScottish Society for the Parents of Mentally Handicapped Children.

Early life

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Joan Elizabeth Strothers was born on 26 February 1916 inSwansea,Wales, the daughter of anoptician,Charles William Strothers, and his wife, Margaret Beatrice, née Millington.[1]She was educated at Swansea Girls' High School, and in 1934 won an open scholarship toNewnham College,Cambridge.[2]In 1935, she rowed for theladies' university eight,[3]in the first realWomen's boat raceagainstOxford.[4]She gained anhonours degreeinphysics,[5]which was not awarded because it was before women were allowed Cambridge degrees.[6]In her seventies, in 1987, she was honoured with the degree ofDoctor of Lawshonoris causaby theUniversity of Strathclyde.[5]

Strothers, who "had the scientific equivalent of gardening green fingers",[2]was awarded a government grant to study for a higher degree, and elected to go to theCavendish Laboratoryat Cambridge, where she joinedSam Curranin a team under the direction ofPhilip Dee.[2]She soon established a reputation for "extreme dexterity and being outstandingly neat and skilful in the deployment of equipment."[2]In 1939, Dee proposed that the team spend a month at theRoyal Aircraft EstablishmentatFarnborough Airfield.They arrived on 1 September 1939. Two days later,Britain declared war on Germanyand thus entered the Second World War.[7]

Second World War

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Instead of returning to the Cavendish, the team moved toExeter,where Dee and three others worked on developing rockets as anti-aircraft weapons, while Strothers and Curran joined a group under John Coles working on the development of theproximity fuse.[7]Strothers was based atLeeson HouseandDurnford School.[8]She and Curran developed a workable fuse, which was codenamed VT, an acronym of "Variable Time fuse". The system was a small, short-range, Doppler radar that used a clever circuit. However, Britain lacked the capacity to mass-produce the fuse,[7]so the design was shown to the United States by theTizard Missionin late 1940.[9]The Americans perfected and mass-produced the fuse.[10]In due course, these proximity fuses arrived in the United Kingdom, where they played an important part in the defence of the kingdom against theV-1 flying bomb.[7]

ALancasterdropping chaff (the crescent-shaped white cloud on the left of the picture) overEssenduring a thousand-bomber raid

Strothers married Curran on 7 November 1940. Soon afterwards they were transferred to theTelecommunications Research EstablishmentnearSwanage,where Sam worked oncentimetric radar,while Joan joined the Counter Measures Group in an adjoining lab.[11]It was with this group, at Swanage, and later atMalvern,that Joan devised the technique that was codenamed Window, which is also known aschaff.[12]She tried various types of radar reflectors, including wires and sheets, before settling on strips oftin foil1 to 2 centimetres (0.39 to 0.79 in) wide and 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long that could be scattered from bombers, thus disrupting the enemy's radar.[13]Window was first employed inOperation Gomorrah,a series of raids onHamburg,and resulted in a much lower loss rate than usual.[14]As part ofOperation Taxableon 5–6 June 1944, Window was dropped byAvro Lancastersof617 Squadronto synthesise a phantom invasion force of ships in theStraits of Doverand keep the Germans unsure as to whether the brunt of the Allied assault would fall onNormandyor in thePas de Calaisarea.[15]R. V. Joneslater declared: "In my opinion, Joan Curran made an even greater contribution to victory, in 1945, than Sam."[2]

In early 1944 the Currans were part of a group of British scientists invited to go to the US to take part in theManhattan Project– the Allied project to develop anatomic bomb.[16]They joined theBritish Missionat theBerkeley Radiation Laboratoryin California, headed byMark Oliphant,[17]a distinguished Australian scientist that Joan knew from the Cavendish Laboratory.[7]Oliphant also acted asde factodeputy toErnest Lawrence,the director of the Radiation Laboratory.[17]The mission of the laboratory was to develop the electromagneticisotope separationprocess to createenriched uraniumfor use in atomic bombs.[18][19]

While at Berkeley, Joan gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Sheena, who was born severely mentally handicapped.[2]They later had three sons, all of whom went on to complete aPhD.[1]

Later life

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After the war ended, Sam took up an offer from Dee to become Professor of Natural Philosophy atGlasgow University.[18]InGlasgow,the Currans, together with a few friends, in 1954 set up theScottish Society for the Parents of Mentally Handicapped Children(Enable), which eventually grew to 100 branches and more than 5000 members. Later, when Joan was a member of theGreater Glasgow Health Boardand theScottish Special Housing Association,the needs of thedisabledwere always at the forefront of her mind, and she did much to promote their welfare. She took a close interest in the work of theCouncil for Access for the Disabledand helped improve the range of facilities, especially for disabled university students.[2][5]

Sam worked at theAtomic Weapons Research EstablishmentatAldermastonon the development of the Britishhydrogen bombfrom 1955 to 1959. He returned to Glasgow in 1959 as principal of theRoyal College of Science and Technology.When it became theUniversity of Strathclydein 1964, the first new university in Scotland in 384 years, he became its first Principal and Vice Chancellor.[20]While her husband was Principal, Joan founded the Strathclyde Women's Group and became its president.[5]Joan Curran was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Strathclyde in 1987.[21][22]

During the war thePolish 1st Armoured Divisionhad been based in Scotland, establishing ties between the community and Poland. Joan promoted a special relationship with theTechnical University of Lodz,and also devoted care and attention to the children's hospital of that city. Later she established the Lady CurranEndowment fundfor overseas, particularly Polish, students.[2]

Sam died on 25 February 1998.[1]While gravely ill with cancer in 1998, Joan unveiled amemorial plaqueinBarony Hall,Glasgow, to commemorate her husband, and it was announced that the walled garden atRoss Priory,onLoch Lomondside,was to be named in her honour, and the Joan Curran Summer House would be built there.[2]Joan died on 10 February 1999, and was cremated at the Daldowie Crematorium. Her daughter, Sheena, three sons and three grandsons survived her.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^abcdFletcher, Bill. "Joan Elizabeth Curran, Lady Curran (1916–1999)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71958.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  2. ^abcdefghiDalyell, Tam (19 February 1999)."Obituary: Joan Curran".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2022.Retrieved14 March2015.
  3. ^NCBC Captain's log book (1935). Newnham College archives.
  4. ^"The BNY Mellon Boat Races - Origin".Boat Race Company.Retrieved15 March2015.
  5. ^abcdFletcher, Bill (16 February 1999)."Lady Curran".The Herald.Glasgow.Retrieved14 March2015.
  6. ^Chambers, Suzanna (31 May 1999)."At last, a degree of honour for 900 Cambridge women".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2022.Retrieved14 March2015.
  7. ^abcdeFletcher 1999,p. 98.
  8. ^Latham & Stobbs 1999,p. 196.
  9. ^Zimmerman 1996,pp. 119–120.
  10. ^Brown 1999,pp. 174–180.
  11. ^Fletcher 1999,pp. 99–100.
  12. ^Jones 1978,pp.40,291–292.
  13. ^Jones 1978,pp.291–292.
  14. ^Jones 1978,pp.300,301,302.
  15. ^Bateman 2009,pp. 67–69.
  16. ^Turner, Robin (8 January 2015)."Swansea scientist Joan made a huge difference to the world and should not be forgotten".Wales Online.Retrieved3 May2015.
  17. ^abGowing 1964,pp. 256–260.
  18. ^abFletcher 1999,pp. 100–101.
  19. ^"Joan E. Curran".Atomic Heritage Foundation.Retrieved21 February2021.
  20. ^Fletcher 1999,pp. 102–103.
  21. ^"Curran, Joan Elizabeth, Lady Curran, 1916-1999, scientist - University of Strathclyde Archives".atom.lib.strath.ac.uk.Retrieved21 February2021.
  22. ^"Archives & Special Collections, Strathclyde".stratharchives.tumblr.com.Retrieved21 February2021.

References

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Further reading

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