October 1933: The Post Office Research Station and the Colossus code-breaking computer

From Ernie to the Colossus code-breaking computer of the Second World War, the British Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill in north-west London was responsible for a host of technological breakthroughs. And reporting on its grand opening in 1933, The Engineer wrote that “it is doubtful… if a more elaborate or better equipped establishment devoted to electrical communication investigations can be found”.

After describing the layout of the Post Office Research Station, which included specially equipped laboratories for research on everything from cable testing to new signalling methods, The Engineer went on to detail some of the key areas of research being undertaken.

The article describes the use of a “microscopical and spectrographic laboratory” to study of materials used in the construction and maintenance of telephone and telegraph apparatus. It talks about new methods of signalling aimed at speeding up the methods of handling telephone calls in trunk circuit and touches on durability tests, “which in the course of a few months subject intricate apparatus used in automatic telephone exchanges to wear equivalent to forty years or more of actual operation”.