NATIONAL LIFE STORIES AN ORAL HISTORY OF BRITISH SCIENCE Dr John Glen Interviewed by Dr Paul Merchant C1379/26 © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk This interview and transcript is accessible via http://sounds.bl.uk . © The British Library Board. Please refer to the Oral History curators at the British Library prior to any publication or broadcast from this document. Oral History The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB United Kingdom +44 (0)20 7412 7404 [email protected] Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this transcript, however no transcript is an exact translation of the spoken word, and this document is intended to be a guide to the original recording, not replace it. Should you find any errors please inform the Oral History curators. © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk The British Library National Life Stories Interview Summary Sheet Title Page Ref no: C1379/26 Collection title: An Oral History of British Science Interviewee’s surname: Glen Title: Dr Interviewee’s forename: John W Sex: M Occupation: Physicist Date and place of birth: 6/11/1927; Putney, London Mother’s occupation: Father’s occupation: ‘Day Publisher’, Times Newspaper Dates of recording, Compact flash cards used, tracks (from – to): 28/7/10 (track 1-3); 29/7/10 (track 4-10) Location of interview: Interviewee’s home, Birmingham Name of interviewer: Dr Paul Merchant Type of recorder: Marantz PMD661 Recording format : WAV 24 bit 48kHz Total no. of tracks: 10 Stereo Total Duration: 8:12:10 Additional material: Small collection of digitised photographs, referred to in recording. 9 page document ‘Some Reminiscences About My Life’ Copyright/Clearance: © The British Library Board. No access restrictions. Interviewer’s comments: © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk John Glen Page 1 C1379/26 Track 1 Track 1 Could I start by asking please when and where you were born? I was born in a nursing home in Putney, London, on the sixth of November 1927. Thank you, and could you tell me something of the – something of your mother? My mother … maiden name was Ethel May Armour … she was one of – I think it was seven siblings, she was the penultimate one and … she was born I think in 1890, that’s a thing which I could look up and check, about then, she used to live in Kingston Vale on the edge of – of Richmond Park where her father was the publican of the local inn, her mother died when she was two of food poisoning, contracted after eating a shellfish at – at I think Great Yarmouth. Her father married again, in fact he married his barmaid and so my mother was brought up in that household. She went to a school called Ryde House School, she then worked in various places, she got to know somebody who was related to I think the Whiteley family of the store but he was killed in the First World War, she worked at The Times office which was where she met my father who also worked at The Times office. Was father was exempted I think on health grounds from service in the First World War, so survived. Is that the sort of thing you want to know about her? Yes, perfect, thank you. And could you tell me something of your – of your father’s parents, you’ve told me a little bit about your mother’s. Yes, my father’s parents were Arthur Wallington Glen and Laura nee Tilly who were I think second cousins once removed, my grandfather was a builder, he had a house in Davey Street in London and a country house rather oddly known at The Cottage ‘cause it was quite big, at Virginia Water … my father as I say – well he went to Archbishop Tenison School and he worked at The Times office, in my childhood, when I went up to the office and things like that, he was the day publisher of The Times newspaper, that is to say he was the person who arranged how the paper got out to the wholesalers. This is your – your father was it? © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk John Glen Page 2 C1379/26 Track 1 My father, yes. And your – your parental grandfather, he was – he was a builder? Yes. Your paternal grandmother? My father, I know he was – she was just his wife. Ah, okay. [Laughs] I don’t think married ladies had professions in those days. And did you – did you spend time with these grandparents to any extent? Only one of them do I really remember, my maternal grandfather died when my mother was twelve leaving her with her stepmother … I’ve already said that his – his wife died when my mother was two and her younger sibling was a half sibling, and my grandfather died – I’m not quite sure how old I was but about three and I – I don’t now remember him, though I do remember an occasion when I visited my grandmother who lived with her daughter who had a private hotel in Queensborough Terrace off Bayswater Road, London, and being apparently distressed at seeing my Great Uncle John and thinking it was my grandfather who I knew was dead, and I’m told I was distressed, but I don’t remember grandfather myself. So there was only one grandparent whom I really remember and that was my paternal grandmother, Laura. What could you tell me about her as a person or about time spent with her or … Well there’s a picture of her reading a Beatrix Potter book to me, sitting in the garden of our house, at that time we lived in Barnes. And as I say, she lived in London with this daughter of hers who ran this – a private hotel. After that there was a fairly awkward time because I think the family wanted my parents to – to have her in their house and I think my © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk John Glen Page 3 C1379/26 Track 1 mother was reluctant to do that and she in fact lived in rented accommodation near us until she eventually died. Do you remember being read Beatrix Potter to or – No. You simply remember the photograph – Of course not. Of it, yes. I remember a photograph of her doing that. Yes. I do remember I talked to her and she gave me various bits and pieces about family history and so on which I still have and have used to try and trace back family history, so, you know, and I remember her talking about things like Dickens’ death and things like that, yeah. Thank you. [06:11] Could you describe your mother sort of physically as a – a – as a person as – in terms of dress and appearance and style? Well I mean … she was when younger quite – quite pretty, I can actually show you a photograph of her, these are their passports in the – in about 1920 [flicking through papers], there she is. Ah. © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk John Glen Page 4 C1379/26 Track 1 In 19 – about 1920. Yes. In her twenties. I see, thank you. And is – presumably that is how you remember her as a child, is it or – Well, no, no, she was a bit older than that, obviously, this was 1920, I was born in 1927. Oh yes [laughs]. But I remember her as – yes … the fashions of that time were not all that helpful were they, I mean cloche hats and things like that which I remember her wearing, that’s [flicking through papers] my father at the same time … Uh-huh, thank you. I’ve obviously got other pictures but those are the ones which are immediately to hand in the study here … [looking through something in background]. [07:41] I’d have a suspicion that my mother was always under this sort of impression that my father was the second best, I think after the First World War with the large number of men who’d been killed, there must have been a feeling that you had to take [laughs] what you could get. Hmmm, how did you get that impression? … By attitude and of course also by her feelings about this young man who’d been killed in the war, but I mean I’m – I think they were relatively contented – marriage, but I – I just got that impression, that’s all I can say. © The British Library Board http://sounds.bl.uk John Glen Page 5 C1379/26 Track 1 Hmmm, okay thank you. [08:32] And could you tell me about time spent with your mother before the age that you first went to school, so the sorts of very early relationships? Ooh, I – my – I don’t have many memories of that sort of time, I’m – mainly what I know is what I’ve been told of what I did, if you see what I mean, I think I just about remember going to the nursing home, Miss Read who ran the nursing home I was born in was actually my godmother, they made – asked her to be my godmother and we kept continuously in touch with her and indeed she was at my marriage, and when we’d finished with the pram we gave it to her nursing home and I – I sort of remember travelling in the pram for the last time, I’m told we had neighbours opposite, a Mr and Mrs Best, Tommy Best was an accompanist for recital singers and I was – they had a big black dog called Nipper and I – I as a child, sort of pram aged child, was given dogs – biscuits to feed to the dogs and after we’d got home they discovered I’d kept all the black ones in the pram because I thought they were rather special, but what can I remember about … I can remember going with – walks on – along to – to Barnes Common which had sort of resonances with me with the sort of A.A.