Reginald Leslie Smith-Rose

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(2 April 1894 – 19 March 1980) was an English physicist of the National Physical Laboratory who was a world leader in radio direction-finding.

Early life and family

Reginald Leslie Smith was born on 2 April 1894 at 7

Westbourne Gardens Westbourne Gardens, known as Westbourne Park, London, Westbourne Park until the late nineteenth century, are gardens on a triangular plot in Bayswater, London, in the City of Westminster. The gardens are open to the public and maintained by the Ci ...

, Paddington, London, to William Smith, church clerk, and his wife Louisa Copp. He was educated at

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

, London, and went up to

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

on a

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

royal scholarship in 1912 from where he graduated with a first class honours degree in physics in 1914 and was awarded the governors' prize for physics."Rose, Reginald Leslie Smith- (1894–1980)"
Charles Oatley, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2017. Dr Reginald Leslie Smith-Rose.
National Physical Laboratory, 15 January 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2017. By 1919 he had changed his surname to Smith-Rose. He married Elsie Masters, daughter of Sydney John Masters, a restaurant owner, in 1919 with whom he had two daughters.

Career

Smith-Rose undertook post-graduate work at Imperial College before joining Siemens Brothers of Woolwich as an assistant engineer in 1915. He joined the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in 1919. He received his PhD in 1923 and his D.Sc. in 1926. He was superintendent of the radio department at the NPL from 1939 to 1947 after which he was director of the Radio Research Station at

Ditton Park Ditton Park, Ditton Manor House or Ditton Park House was the manor house and private feudal demesne of the lord of the Manor of Ditton, Slough, Ditton, and refers today to the rebuilt building and smaller grounds towards the edge of the town of ...

from 1948 to 1960 where, according to the NPL, he became a world leader in radio direction-finding. He was acting director of the NPL in 1955–1956 and retired in 1960. He was awarded the United States

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

with silver palm in 1947 and made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1952.

Later life

After retirement, Smith-Rose continued to act on behalf of the NPL, travelling widely on their business. His hobbies included walking, swimming, photography, stamp collecting, and reading. He was

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

of his local church. He died in hospital at

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, London, Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Dow ...

, Surrey, on 19 March 1980. He left an estate of £93,740.

Selected publications

*''A discussion of the practical systems of direction-finding by reception''. H.M. Stationery Office, 1923. (With R.H. Barfield) *''Variations of apparent bearings of radio transmitting stations''. H.M. Stationery Office, 1924. *''A study of radio direction-finding''. H.M. Stationery Office, 1927. *''An investigation of a rotating radio beacon''. H.M. Stationery Office, 1928. (With Sydney Ronald Chapman) *''James Clerk Maxwell: A Mathematical Physicist of the Nineteenth Century''. Longmans for the British Council, London, 1948.

References

External links

*https://www.dittonpark-archive.rl.ac.uk/histTime.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith-Rose, Reginald 1894 births 1980 deaths English physicists People from Paddington Alumni of Imperial College London People educated at Latymer Upper School Directors of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Medal of Freedom British philatelists Churchwardens Fellows of the Institution of Electrical Engineers