[AISWorld] Press Release - Swiss Rolls, Tea and the Electronic Office

[Centre for Computing History]

Centre for Computing History and LEO Computers Society win Heritage Lottery Fund support 

The Centre for Computing History and the LEO Computers Society are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a £101,000 development grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)* for Swiss Rolls, Tea and the Electronic Office: A History of LEO, the First Business Computer. Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to bring together, preserve, archive and digitise a range of LEO Computers artefacts, documents and personal memories to share the fascinating, yet largely unknown, story of LEO with a new audience. The development grant will enable us to progress our plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later date. 

In the late 1940s, J. Lyons & Co., the country’s largest caterer, made the prescient decision to invest in the computer developments being made at the University of Cambridge and from this collaboration came LEO (Lyons Electronic Office). LEO went on to revolutionise how businesses were run and is now acknowledged as the world’s first business computer. 

The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge works to systematically preserve the rich history of computing so that future generations will be able to understand how computers have transformed the modern world. The Centre recognises the importance of the giant ‘electronic brains’ of the early days of computing and, following a successful LEO Computers exhibition in 2017, realised how much important documentation the Society has about this key moment in history. We immediately resolved to make sure the archive is protected for the long term and, in partnership with the LEO Computers Society, sought funding to raise public awareness and pride in this important, uniquely British heritage.

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The full press release, images and references can be downloaded HERE >>>