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Electrical Students/Apprentice Electricians.

Zoomup
To progress in the industry work is required. Many hours of study equal a good result and good exam passes. Wasted time is wasted progress. There was a young man who was born in the East End of London in Poplar. He came from humble origins. His dad was a bricklayer. He decided to study mechanical engineering. But he was so keen to learn that he also studied at evening classes at the University of London. He studied Electrical Engineering. He was skilled in the electronics of the day. He eventually got work with the G.P.O. (General Post Office) in telephone work. During World War 2 he was called upon, due to a request by Alan Turing, to build the world's first programmable computer to assist in code breaking. Flowers built a computer as a decoder to assist in breaking German codes for the relay based Bombe machine. These codes were German Enigma codes.


Tommy Flowers was the lad's name. Thomas Harold Flowers BSc., DSc, M.B.E. 1905 - 1998.


At the I.E.T's London Savoy Place there is a Flowers' Room, and also a Turing Lecture theatre, both very modern and impressive rooms. The Turing Lecture theatre has many free lunchtime lectures which are every interesting.


So, students, study hard, improve your lot and life, become fulfilled with your achievements and have fun.


Good luck,


Z.
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    One of our registration and standards volunteers, who isn’t active in these forums and I won’t name, came into regular contact with Tommy Flowers at work towards the end of his career. The person has described to me how sad it felt to him that such a great man had been rather “side-lined” on to seemingly minor projects.  


    Beyond a certain level in most organisations politics becomes increasingly prevalent and so often the famous phrase “all great political careers ultimately end in failure” tends to apply.  Much of  Tommy’s great achievement came before he was 40 and like so many of this “golden generation” who enjoyed few of today’s comforts,he dragged himself up by his bootstraps, sought knowledge where he could find it and ultimately helped build the foundations of much of what we take for granted today.  

    So I would simply add to Zoomup’s encouragement - don’t hang around , success isn’t just defined by examination scores and 90% of it is achieved by leaders not loners. “Our hero” was able to attended evening classes to gain a degree, whilst working as an apprentice during the day, something that was unusual even in the “capital of the world” as it then was then, London. Only a scholarship allowed him to stay in school from the ages of 14-16, he was an Electrical Engineer at 20 and an important leader in his 30s. The overwhelming majority of his capability was built in the workplace. Is your work stretching and building your skills and capabilities?             
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    One of our registration and standards volunteers, who isn’t active in these forums and I won’t name, came into regular contact with Tommy Flowers at work towards the end of his career. The person has described to me how sad it felt to him that such a great man had been rather “side-lined” on to seemingly minor projects.  


    Beyond a certain level in most organisations politics becomes increasingly prevalent and so often the famous phrase “all great political careers ultimately end in failure” tends to apply.  Much of  Tommy’s great achievement came before he was 40 and like so many of this “golden generation” who enjoyed few of today’s comforts,he dragged himself up by his bootstraps, sought knowledge where he could find it and ultimately helped build the foundations of much of what we take for granted today.  

    So I would simply add to Zoomup’s encouragement - don’t hang around , success isn’t just defined by examination scores and 90% of it is achieved by leaders not loners. “Our hero” was able to attended evening classes to gain a degree, whilst working as an apprentice during the day, something that was unusual even in the “capital of the world” as it then was then, London. Only a scholarship allowed him to stay in school from the ages of 14-16, he was an Electrical Engineer at 20 and an important leader in his 30s. The overwhelming majority of his capability was built in the workplace. Is your work stretching and building your skills and capabilities?             
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