The Computer Conservation Society (CCS) is a British organisation, founded in 1989. It is under the joint umbrella of the

British Computer Society Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in inf ...

(BCS), the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

and the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

Museum of Science and Industry.

Overview

The CCS is interested in the history of computing in general and the conservation and preservation of early British historical computers in particular. The society runs a series of monthly public lectures between September and May each year in both London and Manchester. The events are detailed on the society's website. The CCS publishes a quarterly journal, ''Resurrection''. The society celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2014. Dr

Doron Swade Doron Swade MBE is a museum curator and author, specialising in the history of computing. He is especially known for his work on the computer pioneer Charles Babbage and his Difference Engine. Swade was originally from South Africa. He has ...

, formerly the curator of the computing collection at the London Science Museum, was a founding committee member and is the current chair of the society.

David Morriss David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Rachel Burnett, and Roger Johnson are previous chairs, also all previous presidents of the BCS.

Projects

The society organises a number of projects to reconstruct and maintain early computers and to conserve early software. For example: ;Restorations *

Elliott 401 Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom. It traced its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott (1780 or 1781-1853) in London around 1804. The research ...

* Elliott 803 * Elliott 903 and 905 * DEC Systems *

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

* ICT 1301 Project * Harwell Dekatron Computer * Differential Analyser * HEC 1 ;Reconstructions *

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

Rebuild * Manchester Baby * Bombe Rebuild *

EDSAC The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC) was an early British computer. Inspired by John von Neumann's seminal '' First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC'', the machine was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the Univer ...

Replica Project * Babbage's Analytical Engine ;Other projects * Software preservation * "Our Computer Heritage" website *

Tony Sale Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

Award for computer conservation and restoration

Locations

London Science Museum: * Ferranti Pegasus (Not currently being displayed working) Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester: * Manchester Baby * Hartree Differential Analyser

The National Museum of Computing The National Museum of Computing is a museum in the United Kingdom dedicated to collecting and restoring historic computer systems. The museum is based in rented premises at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and opened in 2007. ...

: * Colossus * Harwell Dekatron or WITCH * ICL 2966 * Elliot 803 * Elliott 905 * EDSAC Replica Bletchley Park Trust: * Bombe Currently not on public display: * ICT 1301 (Currently in storage at The National Museum of Computing) * Elliott 401

References

External links

CCS website

Our Computer Heritage
– a project led by the CCS {{authority control Scientific organizations established in 1989 Information technology organisations based in the United Kingdom History of science organizations History of computing in the United Kingdom BCS Specialist Groups Science Museum, London 1989 establishments in the United Kingdom