The Postcard
A postcard bearing no publisher's name. On the back of the card is printed:
'Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
The Palm House, designed by
Decimus Burton and erected
1844 - 1848.'
The card was posted in Leatherhead using a 2d. stamp on Thursday the 29th. November 1951. The postmark states 'Civil Defence - Join Now.' The card was sent to:
Mrs. Elliott,
St. Margarets,
254, Carshalton Road,
Sutton,
Surrey.
The message on the divided back was as follows:
"I expect you have
visited these gardens -
they certainly are a
wonderful sight in the
Spring.
I hope Phil will forgive
me for not having written
to her, but I will shortly
do so.
Hope you are all OK,
Much love to you all,
William and Joyce."
The Leo Computer
So what else happened on the day that William and Joyce posted the card?
Well, on the 29th. November 1951, the LEO computer ran the world's first commercial computer program.
It computed bakery valuations relating to the costs of ingredients used in bread and cakes., for J. Lyons and Co.'s tea shops in the U.K.
Mary Coombs was employed in 1952 as the first female programmer to work on LEO, and as such she is recognized as the first-ever female commercial programmer.
The Foundering of the Lady Kathleen
Also on that day, the Norwegian ship Lady Kathleen was driven ashore in Riga Bay. The concrete ship was on a voyage from Helsinki, Finland to Riga, Soviet Union.
She broke in two on the 1st. December 1951 and was a total loss.
-- Concrete Ships
Concrete ships are built primarily with ferrocement (reinforced concrete) hulls, reinforced with steel bars. This contrasts against more traditional materials, such as steel or wood.
The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating costs.
(Ferrocement ships require thick hulls, which results in either a larger cross-sectional area that impairs hydrodynamics, or leaves less space for cargo.)
During the late 19th. century there were concrete river barges in Europe, and during both World War I and World War II, steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS Selma.
Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during the Great War, but during 1944 and 1945, concrete ships and barges were used to support U.S. and British invasions in Europe and the Pacific.
Since the late 1930's, there have also been ferrocement pleasure boats.
-- Concrete Barges in the Pacific Theatre
Concrete barges also served in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945. The Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Mail, reported as follows on the 5th. February 1945:
'Largest unit of the Army's fleet is a BRL, (Barge,
Refrigerated, Large) which is going to the South
Pacific to serve fresh frozen foods – even ice
cream – to troops weary of dry rations.
The vessel can keep 64 carloads of frozen meats
and 500 tons of fresh produce indefinitely at 12°F.
Equipment on board includes an ice machine of
five-ton daily capacity and a freezer that turns out
more than a gallon of ice cream a minute.
Three of the floating warehouses, designed for
tropical warfare, have been built of concrete at
National City, Calif., and cost $1,120,000 each.
In the crew of the 265-ft. barges are 23 Army
men.'