The Schoolgirl Who Helped To Win A War
The title of this post, is the same as a programme to be shown on the BBC News Channel, this weekend.
Seeing the trailers on the BBC this morning, I am reminded of my mother, who was my mathematical parent. The girl in the story is Hazel Hill, who was the daughter of Captain Frederick William Hill, who worked on armaments research.
My mother would be a few years older than Hazel and won a scholarship to one of the best girls schools in London at the time; Dame Alice Owen’s, which was then in Islington.
I get the impression, that contrary to perceived opinion, that in the 1920s and 1930s, girls with aptitude were well-schooled in practical mathematics.
I’d be very interested to know, where Hazel Hill went to school.
I shall watch the programme.
The Battle Against COVID-19
There is one factor ignored in all the discussion.
Any scientist, medic, engineer or even politician, who in say ten years is generally shown to have contributed greatly to defeating COVID-19 will achieve life-long fame.
Look at how the country still holds Camm, Mitchell, Royce, Watson-Watt and above all the Few in awe for the Battle of Britain!
There are two big differences this time.
- In 1940, we were saving Britain, this time we could be saving the whole world!
- This time too, we’re not alone!
And all of us have our part to play! However small!
A Flypast Over London
I took these pictures as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew over the City of London today.
The fourth picture shows the area where I was standing on the walkway across the Barbican.
It is a good place to see any flypast that is going over Buckingham Palace, as the pilots use the three distinctive towers to line up for their trip across London. This Google Map shows Central London.
Flypast Route Over London
The Barbican is illustrated by the red arrow and Buckingham Palace is at the bottom left hand corner.
The procedure used by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was explained, when one of the pilots was the guest of Test Match Special on BBC Radio.
When asked what you do if there is an engine failure, the pilot stated that there is only the Thames.
