Note from Bernard de Neumann
On the Marconi computer front I will locate my old notes and start to write out my memories. However I am finding that, on reading some of the other stuff that MOGS has compiled, many more memories are being stirred up, and I feel sure that the same will be true for others of you.. I remember Digby Worthy very well - he was famous at Oxford Uni for discovering that the introduction of a small quantity of condensed milk into a bicycle tyre inner tube made it self-sealing in the event of a puncture! No one could quite imagine how he made this singularly practical discovery! His reports on TAC and programming always made interesting reading. He was always an interesting bloke to talk to with interesting ideas. I don't really know what happened to him later at MRSL, but he was made redundant, after a long and useful career in Marconi. I met him again after that and he seemed utterly bewildered.
See "National Archive for the History of Computing: Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company Ltd: Working Papers and Reports (University of Manchester)" for some of Digby's work.
A listing of material available from TMOC
There is also an excellent reference to Digby in the The National Museum of Computing section on TAC
Note from Roy Simons
Digby had a short and very sad career as a teacher of mathematics at Brentwood School after he left the Company.
Note from Steve Kay
I was provided with this photograph by Digby's son. On the back it states: "MARCONI Copyright No. 1900M May be reproduced subject to acknowledgement"
The couple on the right are Digby and Jill Worthy. Does anyone know what the function was and who the others in the photograph are?
TNMoC Talk on Digby Worthy and the Marconi TAC
I (steve_kay@ieee.org) will be presenting a talk over Zoom entitled "Digby Worthy and the Marconi Transistorised Automatic Computer" at 4pm on Sunday 25th April 2021.
Here is a link to the Event on the TNMoC website: https://www.tnmoc.org/events/2021/4/25/digby-worthy-and-the-marconi-transistorised-automatic-computer
I may also be running the talk again in May 2021.
There are other talks available that may be of interests to MOGs - plus online virtual guided tours of the museum.
Comments (5)
Ian Gillis said
at 2:21 pm on Feb 11, 2016
Page checked
David Emery said
at 7:58 pm on Apr 27, 2016
There seem to be various reports by Digby in the University of Manchester library:
http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/ead/search?operation=search&fieldidx1=bath.personalName&fieldrel1=exact&fieldcont1=worthy%20w.%20digby%20fl.%201960s-1970s%20computer%20programmer
Steve Kay said
at 3:39 pm on Apr 27, 2018
I recently learned that Digby, in around 1939 while while a pupil at Pocklington School in Yorkshire, built a Differential Analyzer out of Meccano. I have been in contact with the "Old Pocklingtonians" who have said they will search their archives for more information and possibly a photograph. So far they have been able to tell me that he was a Prefect and Swimming Team Captain. Does anyone have a photograph of him during his time at Marconi? Even a group photo with him included?
Steve Kay said
at 11:47 am on Aug 16, 2020
I am currently preparing a "Story" for the TNMoC Google Arts and Culture page (https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-national-museum-of-computing) about the Marconi TAC similar to those for Women in Computing and Colossus that are currently on the page. I want to include information on Digby Worthy and his wife Moira (nee Woodhead) who also worked on the project. Unfortunately, I have no photograph of either of them. There are photographs of the Fur Hat team and Digby (and Moira?) could be in one or more of them. Does anyone know?
Ian Gillis said
at 12:28 pm on Aug 16, 2020
Steve - I've nothing to hand, but have passed your query on to our ex-employees group and will let you know if it bears fruit…
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