Kevin Murrell

A Virtual Talk by Kevin Murrell

In the brave new world in post-war England, Harwell Atomic Energy Establishment built a digital computer to assist their teams of mathematicians in endless series of calculations. The machine was subsequently donated to the College of Technology in Wolverhampton where it kick-started computer education.

The Harwell Dekatron Computer, or WITCH as it is also known, eventually found its way to the National Museum of Computing where it was restored to full working order.

Kevin will talk about its charmed history, how it managed to survive intact for so long, its chance re-discovery, the search to find all the pieces and the detailed restoration that took place when it arrived at TNMOC.

This computer, with it’s charmed life, now continues to demonstrate the operation of a computer to a new generation of engineers, programmers and many recent virtual visitors.