The Computer Conservation Society (CCS) is a British organisation, founded in 1989. It is under the joint umbrella of the
British Computer Society
image:Maurice Vincent Wilkes 1980 (3).jpg, Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957.
The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned ...
(BCS), the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
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 (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...
and the
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
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, 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,
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 803
*
Elliott 903 and 905
*
DEC Systems
*
Pegasus
*
ICT 1301 Project
*
Harwell Dekatron Computer
*
Differential Analyser
* HEC 1
;Reconstructions
*
Colossus Rebuild
*
Manchester Baby
The Manchester Baby, also called the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), was the first electronic stored-program computer. It was built at the University of Manchester by Frederic Calland Williams, Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Ge ...
*
Bombe
The bombe () was an Electromechanics, electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma machine, Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages during World War II. The United States Navy, US Navy and United Sta ...
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 Universit ...
Replica Project
*
Babbage's Analytical Engine
;Other projects
* Software preservation
* "Our Computer Heritage" website
*
Tony Sale 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:
* 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 websiteOur 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