Clive Randall Cook OBE

My father Clive Randall- Cook - OBE

I wish we did but we do not not descend from Captain Cook -
None of James Cooks children or his siblings children lived to produce Cook descendants

Biography. Clive Randall- Cook Awarded the OBE 11 June 1966

Clive was son Percy David RANDALL COOK and Kate Figg and the eldest of their two children born 11th April 1909

He was married Marguerite Sylvia Shearer on 30 September 1939. (whose grandmother was a Pomeroy hence the inclusion on this website)

They had three children - Ann J in 1943, Jean F in 1945 and Peter D in 1949

Clive trained as an electrical & electronic engineer at Rugby, and when working for EMI was head-hunted at the at start of the war, to work as a civilian attached to War Admiralty. Eastney Portsmouth as part of Watson Watts team developing RADAR.

He transferred to ASRE, Admiralty Scientific Research Establishment, Witley in Surrey in 1942, at the same time the noted astronomer, Fred Hoyle, with whom he retained communication for many years.

At Witley there was research being undertaken on radio counter measures against "LOP-gap". There designs were being developed for control systems and projectiles which would increase its susceptibility to radio jamming.

He passed examinations to be Associate Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in April, 1950 and in that year he moved to the Signal Scientific Research Establishment, (Black Down) Haslemere.

In 1952 he transferred to Portsdown in Hampshire , Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE) Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE)

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA)at the Admiralty Research Establishment.

During this time he set about developing his most significant invention - RACON - This became a Trinity House project and is now in Science Museum.

His last invention , in the late 1960's was a personal alarm system using phone line which shortly before his death he took, without benefit of a patent , to show his old colleagues at Decca. The idea was dismissed out of hand.

As children his life was mysterious to us. My sister and I suspect he was seconded to Military Intelligence but we simply do not know.
There were his' lecture' tours of universities in the US in 1948 ( when he couldn't tell us what he was doing but could present open lectures to students) and things like visits into Germany at the height of the Cold War .

On one occasion he arriving home in a naval helicopter that landed on the nearby golf course and on another time he was mysteriously whisked off in chauffeur driven limos- to Whitehall for de briefing. He carried the rank of Commander when on naval bases or on board ship and Wing Commander in RAF. he told me that during the war he carried a Pink security card which, he said, had the same clearance as Churchill, how true that is I have no idea.

His final move was to GCHQ, Benhall Cheltenham in 1958 where he took up a research post at GCHQ the British intelligence agency that has two missions: signals intelligence (Sigint) at Benhall and Information Assurance at Oakley. Before he retired he was offered post of Chief Scientist but declined.

He was awarded an OBE for his services to science in 1966 and received it, oddly enough, on the same day Peter Sellars one of our most brilliant comedians, got his CBE.

Ultimately his working life remains pretty much a mystery to his family, although in 2010 things began to emerge for the locked box of the 30 year secrecy rule.

Confirmation of his Admiralty role here...Civil Officers serving under the Admiralty 1939-1945

A Racon Beacon for Reception by Civil Marine Radars - author - C. Randall-Cook (Admiralty Signal and Radar Establishment )

In about 1946 work was begun both in the United States and in the United Kingdom on the development of radar beacons which could be used to make certain required points more conspicuous and to increase their detection range.

Two basic types of beacon were considered: ramarks, which are intended to give bearing information only and which appear on the PPI as a bright radial line passing through the position of the ramark, and racons, which give range as well as bearing information. The range information is given by die beacon transmitting one or more short pulses, the first of which appears on the PPI at the correct range and bearing of the beacon.

Admiralty Signal Establishment Extension, Witley: report on possible radio countermeasures against "LOP-gap", an illustration showing how various details in design of control system and projectile would increase its susceptibility to radio jamming

Covering dates 1947

Availability Open Document, Open Description, Normal Closure before FOI Act: 30 years

Former reference (Department) ACSIL No.ADM/47/359

Held by The National Archives, Kew

Scope and content

Admiralty Signal Establishment, Haslemere: report on HMS VANGUARD ( seen here ) trials and observations of radar and W/T equipment by members of ASWE staff

Covering dates 1947

Availability Open Document, Open Description, Normal Closure before FOI Act: 30 years

Former reference (Department) ACSIL No.ADM/47/410

Held by The National Archives, Kew

an article on the History of Radar HERE

Working on lightships such as South Goodwin, Tongue the Bar lightship around the coastline and on aircraft carriers he helped establish radar & ship to air navigation.

This was one of the few occasions when we heard anything about his work when he told us of being tossed about on a lightship in a force 7 gale whilst trying to install his device at the top of the ship's mast.

RACON of the Tongue Lightship

Racon was Clive's invention and the patent was purchased from him for 12/6. He always maintained that it was called RACON because of first two letters from his name and then for navigation. Until the invention of GPS was still used by Merchant Marine and the US coastguard

HMS VANGUARD

Timeline

Clive Randall Cook, born 1907 trained as an electrical/electronic engineer at Rugby,

1924- 27. The Regent Street Polytechnic.

1928-30. BHT

1930-33. A Swiss sanatorium with TB

1933-39. EMI

1942 He transferred to RNSS Witley in Surrey in 1942, when Fred Hoyle did. At Witley researching possible radio countermeasures against "LOP-gap", were researched, and designs for control system and projectile would increase its susceptibility to radio jamming were developed.

1947 Royal Naval Scientific Service SSRE Haslemere (Black Down) and the Signal Scientific Research Establishment . After the war he was transferred to Admiralty Research Establishment Portsdown.

1952 - Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE) Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE) Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA)

Civil Officers serving under the Admiralty 1939-1945

1957 - 1968 Foreign Office GCHQ Benhall Cheltenham working on his own invention, Racon, as Principle Scientific Officer.

1966 awarded the OBE.

1968 to 1970 retired Consultant

He died in June 1983

Sept 1939 Register

9 The Warren , Carshalton U.D., Surrey 'Windy Corner'

Percy David Randall Cook B 3 Mar 1883 Financial & Property Broker Married

Kate Cook wife 13 Feb 1882 Unpaid Domestic Duties

Joan H R Mewes Dau 30 Aug 1911 " " "married to Bernard Mews photographer

Clive Randall-Cook 11 Apr 1908 Electrical Engineer Graduate - married 30 Sept 1939

Clive & Marguerite - Clive skating with son Peter at Tewkesbury one winter Ballon House Winchcombe, Glos
Balloon House was the family home from 1959- 1969 with our dark green 1959 Riley Pathfinder outside. The garage & the room above were converted into a mews retirement cottage in 1969.

The double width garage accommodated the hearse with stables behind for the horses . The house been built by Edward Oakley a builder and undertaker in C18th ; a long room above the garage was originally used as an undertakers workshop with double doors above the entrance used to lower the coffins out.

FOOTNOTE.

We remember the military sacrifices and heroics but we forget about what the British citizens went through. Around 40,000 civilians were killed, 46,000 injured, and more than a million homes destroyed and damaged

My parents lived in Southsea between 1939-42 and as kids we were told about their experiences of being bombed . They moved 7 times between 1939 and 1942 moving from Southsea to E. Cosham because my father was working out of the Marine base at Pompey for the Admiralty's Royal Signals & Scientific Service, on the team developing Radar.; he was relocated in 1942 to RSSS at Witley near Guildford - 40 miles outside London so I only saw the bomb damage in Portsmouth when we returned to the area in the 1951.

What I hadn't realised properly was that in Portsmouth alone the bombing killed 930 people with 1,216 hospitalised and a further 1,621 injured. Almost 10 per cent of the city's 63,000 homes were destroyed and approximately 6,000 were damaged. Almost 69,000 houses suffered some form of minor bomb damage.

My researches into my Cook family history -

In 1973 just before Clive retired from Government employment, he received a letter from the Chief Scientist regarding the personal alarm device he had invented. Having taken it to Decca & had the idea turned away as not workable, it must have been an unkind cut to realise that because he worked for GCHQ it was not his, it was the government's.
The personal alarm system, identical to his specifications was produced by National Research & Development Corporation, NRDC.

My parents lived in Portsmouth during WWII My mother's address book lists all the addresses they live in between the time they married in the end of September 1939 and 1942 when they moved nearer London.

First in Southsea, Eastern Villa Rd, Asham Rd, then St Helen Park Cres whilst Pa was working for the War Admiralty at Eastney as a research scientist working of Radar.

Early 1940 they moved to Havent Rd, Cosham, 5 months later Carmarthan Ave, East Cosham, 4 months after that East Cosham Rd then in late 1942 away to Tillinbourne in Shalford when he transferred to ASRE Witley.

Years ago I tried to track these houses . but the bombing did for a lot of them I think.

In 1951 we returned to the Portsmouth area and live at Cowplain, Idswoerth Rd close to the Waterlooville Golf Course. A lovely spot for kids to grow up in - miles of heathland to explore & a large wood to play Robin Hood in!!

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse