LATEST ADDITIONS
22 AUGUST 2018 Summary of Royal Research Ships (under "Life at Sea')
Recollections of EXPO'98 Lisbon by Colin Pelton (under "People")
20 JANUARY 2019 Review by Tony Rice of "Ocean Science and the British Cold War State" by Samuel A
Robinson describing the founding and early days of NIO.
20 JANUARY 2019 Reconstruction of some early electronics including John Swallow's 1955 float circuit
18 FEBRUARY 2019 The NIO site during WWII. An article about the development of naval radar by some
famous scientists.
23 FEBRUARY 2019 Blog post by Rob Bonner about Phil Moran's funeral.
16 OCTOBER 2019 Upload of a Cruise report from Discovery CR100 (1979) Download from section on
"Life at Sea"
15 DECEMBER 2019 Upload of an article about the workshop facilities at the Wormley site during WWII
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THE LABORATORY
For 42 years from 1952 to 1995 the small community of Wormley in the leafy countryside of southern England was the home of the major UK effort in deep-sea ocean science. "OCEANS WORMLEY" was its telegraphic name.
THIS WEBSITE
This web site has material relating to the people who worked there at the National Institute of Oceanography, the institute of Oceanographic Sciences and the IOS Deacon laboratory and the contributions they made to science and technology. A group of around 100 former staff and others interested in the history of the laboratory were kept informed by a series of Newsletters. These newsletters are not being continued but links to the Newsletters are provided below.
December 2010 : June 2011 : December 2011 : August 2012 : December 2012
This web site will continue to link these people and publish their recollections.
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Contents
The ex-Admiralty building soon after it became the home of NIO
The origins - Why Wormley?
In the darkest days of WWII a group of far-sighted individuals planned the establishment of a multi-disciplinary research institute. It would be formed from two existing groups. The scientists of the Discovery Investigations had studied the ecology of whales and related ocean biology and physical oceanography in the Southern Ocean. Group W of the Admiralty Research Laboratory at Teddington were learning about surface waves with a view to improving the prediction of wave conditions for amphibious landings.
In the darkest days of WWII a group of far-sighted individuals planned the establishment of a multi-disciplinary research institute. It would be formed from two existing groups. The scientists of the Discovery Investigations had studied the ecology of whales and related ocean biology and physical oceanography in the Southern Ocean. Group W of the Admiralty Research Laboratory at Teddington were learning about surface waves with a view to improving the prediction of wave conditions for amphibious landings.
The new group, the National Institute of Oceanography, came into being on April 1st 1949 and gained its Royal Charter on 9 October 1950. Its Director was Dr George Deacon, FRS a chemist who had worked on the Discovery Investigations and had been leader of Group W.
Caption. Some of the Group W scientists photographed at ARL Teddington in the early 1950s just before their move to Wormley.
L-R Back Row: Norman Smith, Frank Pierce, Cyrl Williams, Rick Hubbard, D.W. “Dick” Privett, Lawrence Baxter. (Note Frank Pierce was absent and his photo was added to an unknown body).
Front Row: Jim Crease, M.J. “Tom” Tucker, Henry Charnock, George Deacon, Ken Bowden, Jack Darbyshire.
The selection of a new permanent home for the NIO considered a number of locations: alongside the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, in Liverpool at the Tidal Institute, at Hythe on Southampton Water and a redundant Admiralty building in the grounds of King Edward’s School, Witley that from September 1941 had housed part of the Admiralty Signals Establishment (ASE). It was this latter site in Wormley, Surrey that was selected. It had the advantage of already being a research laboratory and was close to Witley Station on the Portsmouth to Waterloo railway line.
The NIO scientists started to occupy site in Surrey in early 1953. They were employees of the Royal Naval Scientific Service (RNSS) and were given the responsibility of running, and programming of the Royal Research Ships Discovery II and William Scoresby (the latter up to 1953). At Deacon’s insistence, the NIO was to be multi-disciplinary covering physical, chemical and biological oceanography as well as geology and geophysics.
Caption. Some of the Group W scientists photographed at ARL Teddington in the early 1950s just before their move to Wormley.
L-R Back Row: Norman Smith, Frank Pierce, Cyrl Williams, Rick Hubbard, D.W. “Dick” Privett, Lawrence Baxter. (Note Frank Pierce was absent and his photo was added to an unknown body).
Front Row: Jim Crease, M.J. “Tom” Tucker, Henry Charnock, George Deacon, Ken Bowden, Jack Darbyshire.
The selection of a new permanent home for the NIO considered a number of locations: alongside the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, in Liverpool at the Tidal Institute, at Hythe on Southampton Water and a redundant Admiralty building in the grounds of King Edward’s School, Witley that from September 1941 had housed part of the Admiralty Signals Establishment (ASE). It was this latter site in Wormley, Surrey that was selected. It had the advantage of already being a research laboratory and was close to Witley Station on the Portsmouth to Waterloo railway line.
The NIO scientists started to occupy site in Surrey in early 1953. They were employees of the Royal Naval Scientific Service (RNSS) and were given the responsibility of running, and programming of the Royal Research Ships Discovery II and William Scoresby (the latter up to 1953). At Deacon’s insistence, the NIO was to be multi-disciplinary covering physical, chemical and biological oceanography as well as geology and geophysics.
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The staff list at the time of the move to Wormley (March 1953) and views of the laboratories
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Growth and name changes.
(A full description of the NIO between its foundation and 1973 can be found in “Of Seas and Ships and Scientists-the remarkable history of the UK’s National Institute of Oceanography” published in 2010 by Lutterworth. ) Over the years the staff numbers increased and in 1966 a second block was built that housed a new library, conference room, administrative offices, a large warehouse with archives in its basement and on the ground floor a wave/towing tank. Later the original building had an additional floor built on the roof and huts were added in the grounds for additional office space. |
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Numerous organisational changes occurred following the transfer of NIO from the RNSS to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in 1966. These were associated with changes in government policy and fluctuations in funding. In the 1980s there was a major change following the 1971 publication of the Rothschild report on research funding. The Institute (now the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences) secured a major contract for research into the feasibility of the disposal of high level radioactive waste in the deep ocean. The staff increase associated with this led to the purchase and occupation of a former poor law institution at Hambledon. The Institute also secured a contract from the US Geological Survey to survey the 13million km2 US Exclusive Economic Zone using the Institute’s GLORIA towed side scan sonar (1984-1991).
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Many strands led to the move of the lab from Wormley in 1995. Much of the drive for the move came from John Woods who from 1986 to 1994 was Director of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences for NERC nad had earlier held the Chair of Physical Oceanography at Southampton University. In 1985, the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, with Henry Charnock as one of its advisors, called for stronger collaboration between Southampton University and IOS and this led to planning a joint venture between NERC and the University bringing together IOS the Research Vessel Services at Barry and Southampton University’s Departments of Oceanography and Geology.
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The GLORIA US EEZ survey area (yellow). Survet-ys were conducted from the chartered RV Farnella
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Funding was approved by 1990. As a precursor to the move a group of physical oceanographers (the James Rennell Centre for Ocean Circulation) was established in the Chilworth Science Park Southampton as the focus of the UK contribution the the World Ocean Circulation Experiment.
The Southampton (now National) Oceanography Centre in Empress Dock - looking south down Southampton Water
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The Discovery flag being lowered by Sir Anthony Laughton (left) assisted by Dr David Webb (Sept 23 1995).
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The Wormley site was subsequently sold for residential development and the buildings were demolished.
Major organisational events timeline
1949 NIO founded Apr 1st. Dr George Deacon FRS appointed Director.
1953 Staff move into Wormley building in February.
1962 New RRS Discovery commissioned.
1963 Whale Research Unit moves to Natural History Museum
1963-4 International Indian Ocean Expedition
1965 Natural Environment Research Council created and becomes NIO's governing body
1966 New block of building opens
1971 Deacon retires as Director, succeeded by Henry Charnock
1973 NIO absorbed into the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences on June 1st
with Institute of Coastal Oceanography and Tides- Bidston and the Unit of Coastal Sedimentation -
Taunton.
1978 Henry Charnock resigns as Director and moves to University of Southampton succeeded by Tony Laughton.
1979 Research on radioactive waste disposal starts
1982 Visit by Duke of Edinburgh May 20
1985 UCS Taunton closes, some staff relocate to Wormley and Bidston.
1987 IOS Wormley and Bidston labs separate. Wormley lab becomes IOS Deacon Laboratory.
1988 Laughton retires as Director – succeeded by Colin Summerhayes.
1990 Offshoot of Marine Physics group established in Southampton as James Rennell Centre.
1991-2 RRS Discovery major refit – lengthened, operational endurance and science party size increased.
1995 Wormley lab closes Sept 23rd – staff transfer to the Southampton Oceanography Centre or take early
retirement.
1949 NIO founded Apr 1st. Dr George Deacon FRS appointed Director.
1953 Staff move into Wormley building in February.
1962 New RRS Discovery commissioned.
1963 Whale Research Unit moves to Natural History Museum
1963-4 International Indian Ocean Expedition
1965 Natural Environment Research Council created and becomes NIO's governing body
1966 New block of building opens
1971 Deacon retires as Director, succeeded by Henry Charnock
1973 NIO absorbed into the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences on June 1st
with Institute of Coastal Oceanography and Tides- Bidston and the Unit of Coastal Sedimentation -
Taunton.
1978 Henry Charnock resigns as Director and moves to University of Southampton succeeded by Tony Laughton.
1979 Research on radioactive waste disposal starts
1982 Visit by Duke of Edinburgh May 20
1985 UCS Taunton closes, some staff relocate to Wormley and Bidston.
1987 IOS Wormley and Bidston labs separate. Wormley lab becomes IOS Deacon Laboratory.
1988 Laughton retires as Director – succeeded by Colin Summerhayes.
1990 Offshoot of Marine Physics group established in Southampton as James Rennell Centre.
1991-2 RRS Discovery major refit – lengthened, operational endurance and science party size increased.
1995 Wormley lab closes Sept 23rd – staff transfer to the Southampton Oceanography Centre or take early
retirement.