While we’re talking about the Christmas party for the children, which Ian’s talking about, I was organizer for that for I don’t know how many years... The main thing was we had these two entertainers called Naughty Uncle Wally and Aunty Wendy who would come in and they would do the bulk of it. The main problem I had was whether they would turn up... We also had Walt Disney cartoons – this is before television had cartoons on. We used to get those from the Rank Organisation in the Great West Road – they had a place there. You could hire 16mm films, and that’s another little story about the 16mm film projector. Pretty well the only reason we had the 16mm film projector at the Institute was to show the films for the children’s party. I don’t remember it ever being used for any science at all... Mr Jonathan Marsh, Technology, Techniques, and Technicians at the NIMR c.1960–c.2000.
Mr Jonathan Marsh (b. 1942) left Hendon County Grammar School in 1960 and started at the NIMR on 8 August as a Junior Technician in the Division of Chemotherapy. He was allocated to work with Neil Brown. The Head of Department was Dr Hawking. When his A-level results were announced, botany, zoology, and chemistry, he was transferred to the Junior Technical Officer Grade. He obtained a Higher National Certificate in Applied Biology at Brunel College of Advanced Technology in 1964, which also gave ‘licentiate’ membership of the Institute of Biology. In Chemotherapy he worked on variation in the antigenic properties of trypanosomes for Neil Brown. He transferred to the Electronics Section of the Engineering Department in 1965 and worked with John Lewin, who ran the section with responsibility for the provision of bespoke electronic instrumentation needed in the NIMR. He obtained a Higher National Certificate in Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Hendon College in 1969. He worked with John Lewin until 1975, when Lewin left to join the computing section. With Lewin he developed the apnoea alarm, the planimeter, worked for Griffith Pugh on instrumentation for monitoring the athletes at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968, and fulfilled very many other requirements for NIMR research programmes. He then worked with Mike Anson mainly on instrumentation for the audiometer and stopped flow circular dichroism and temperature jump as well as being Head Technician and running the section. During this time his section provided the electronics for the insulin infuser among many other items. He became Head of the Department of Engineering in 1994 and retired from the NIMR in 2002. He was also sometime chairman of the NIMR LJNCC and chairman of the Safety Committee and a member of the MRC Pay and Grading Committee. He was NIMROD social secretary for some time and for many years ran the annual children’s party. He also chaired the MRC Staff Benevolent Fund Association for 15 years and remains a committee member.
