Hazel Bertha Hill (21 July 1920 – 28 September 2010) was a British Child Psychiatrist, probably best known for her contribution in changing an

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

specification of firepower to be carried by new

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Hill was born in London to

Frederick William Hill Frederick William "Gunner" Hill (24 February 1889 – 10 November 1959) is best known for his pre-war calculations that showed that the high speed fighters then being developed (notably the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane) would need ...

and his wife Bertha (née Underwood). She was only 13 when she helped her father calculate how many guns the new generation of fighter aircraft would need to bring down enemy aircraft. The pair used

mechanical calculator A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or a simulation like an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators were comparable in si ...

s at the kitchen table of their London home. The new aircraft was to have four guns which fired 1,200 rounds per minute and many thought that this would be sufficient. Her father was not so sure. In June and July 1934 they worked at night to create the evidence that her father's boss needed to justify making a large change in the design. They calculated that 256 bullets in two seconds would be necessary to bring down an enemy bomber at the increased speeds of the new aircraft, and for this eight guns were required. Hazel's son, Robin, said he thinks his mother enjoyed maths because she was partially

dyslexic Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...

and had trouble with spelling. This led to some teachers thinking she was being naughty as she was obviously intelligent. "I think when she did mathematics, she had none of these problems, which is why it appealed to her so much," Robin said. The RAF publicly acknowledged Hill's important role in a BBC documentary. Group Captain James Beldon said: "What a great inspiration to young people today, and young girls in particular, who can look upon someone like Hazel in the 1930s making such an important contribution to our later success in the Battle of Britain, which was vital to this country's survival."

Later life

After school, Hill studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at a university in London and joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

after graduating in 1943. At the end of the war, she became a GP and in 1948 married Chris Baker, who was one of the soldiers she had treated in the war. The couple moved to Wednesbury, West Midlands, where she got a job setting up a child health clinic in the newly formed

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. She later trained as a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

becoming a founder member of the

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...

in 1972. She published research into school phobia,

anorexia Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

and

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. She had four sons: Robin, Richard, Frank and Ted. She died, age 90, in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Hazel 1920 births 2010 deaths Royal Army Medical Corps officers British general practitioners Scientists with dyslexia British scientists with disabilities British psychiatrists 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians