The morning was sunny and serene, the day was Monday 12 September 1948, and I was travelling by train to begin a new life working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough in Hampshire. As the steam-engine puffed along the last few miles from Guildford to the curiously-named North Camp station, I had no idea what was in store, never having ventured into Hampshire before (unnecessary travel had been frowned on during the Second World War). During the previous two years I had been working for a mathematics degree at Cambridge, and it was in the garden of the Cambridge Appointments Board in May that I was interviewed by two ‘Men from the Ministry’ and offered a post in the Guided Weapons Department at the RAE, as an alternative to three years of military service. My interviewers were very pleasant and persuasive, and the alternative was also persuasive: I accepted the post as a temporary Scientific Officer at the excellent salary of £340 a year, though with various deductions.

At first sight, the Royal Aircraft Establishment created a favourable impression, because I had seen nothing like it before. It covered about three square miles and seemed like a small town. Some of the buildings were rather scruffy, but some were quite presentable, and the built-up area was balanced by the extensive airfield. There were about 10,000 people working at the RAE then, and the whole place seemed to be buzzing with activity, the noisiest buzzing being produced by the frequent take-offs and landings of jet aircraft.