Introduction
Bernard Lovell will forever be remembered for the development and construction of the iconic radio telescope at Jodrell Bank which dominates the skyline of the Cheshire plains. However, Lovell must also be recognised for his significant contribution to the war effort and the development of airborne radar during World War II, which had a dramatic effect upon the success of the German U Boat campaign. Bernard Lovell was a fascinating character and was effective not just as a scientist but also as a communicator and influencer, who was able to get things done despite challenging financial and political pressures. He was also one of the few prominent scientists who was able to maintain a strong religious belief and to reconcile this with his scientific discoveries.
Early Life and Education
Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell was born on 31st August 1913 and lived in the village of Oldland Common, on the outskirts of Bristol with his parents Gilbert and Laura (nee Adams). His father was a tradesman who ran a small radio repair shop and petrol station and was also a Methodist lay preacher. Lovell was brought up with a strong religious belief, as well as a passion for cricket and music – he regularly played organ at the church services and also played cricket for the local team, passions which he would retain for the rest of his life. His desire to play cricket was undoubtedly inspired by his mother who was captain of the Oldland Common Women’s Cricket Team.
Lovell attended Kingswood Grammar School, and would later go on to win a Scholarship in the Faculty of Science in the University of Bristol. His interest in science was originally stimulated at school by the visit in 1928 of A M Tyndall, Professor of Physics at Bristol University, who projected an electric spark across an incredibly large gap, an event which captivated and inspired the young student. After having gained a first-class honours degree at Bristol, he was awarded a grant from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) to undertake a PhD degree, researching the electrical resistance of thin films of alkali metals deposited on glass surfaces.
In order to broaden his research, Lovell eventually decided to accept an Assistant Lecturer post at Manchester University in 1936, despite originally thinking that Manchester was too dark and wet, and that he would much rather play cricket at Bristol! He would however go on to work under Professor P.M.S Blackett FRS (also a member of the Manchester Lit & Phil), who was a world authority on cosmic ray physics at that time. Lovell was involved in undertaking experiments with the automatic counter-controlled cloud chamber in order to detect cosmic ray showers.
Key Contributions Achievements during WWII
In August 1939, Lovell was ordered by Blackett to abandon his research and to join a team of scientists that were being assembled in order to develop radar in support of the war effort. It was during this early period that Lovell noticed certain echoes in the radar from aircraft that, although deemed irrelevant and transient by his fellow scientists, he thought could be echoes from radiation left by cosmic ray showers – he would return to the study of these after the war. The team of scientist soon became the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), who were developing airborne radar equipment, and Lovell’s role involved the design of the antenna systems. The systems developed at this time, when installed on Royal Navy vessels, were able to detect echoes from surfaced submarines, and eventually went into service in 1941. Subsequent developments of this technology, eventually deployed on Wellington aircraft, would play a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic, resulting in massive losses of U-Boats by the German Navy, which had previously been wreaking havoc with the British supply convoy ships. The pressure to develop this technology at speed, the challenges of lack of resources, and the conflicting technologies of the Americans and British exerted a huge strain on Lovell and his colleagues, who had to resort to cutting through the chaos, administrative and inter departmental conflicts in order to deliver results.
The war clearly challenged Lovell’s religious, moral and scientific sensibilities which was demonstrated by his later prescient quote: “The fate of human civilisation will depend upon whether the rockets of the future carry the astronomer’s telescope or a hydrogen bomb.” A portent of the nuclear arms proliferation and thankfully the James Webb Telescope (JWT).
Jodrell Bank and his Impact on Manchester
After the war Lovell again returned to Manchester to become a Lecturer in Physics at the University of Manchester, and here he was encouraged by Blackett to pick up his research into the echoes left from the ionisation produced by cosmic ray showers. Using ex-army radar equipment, he attempted to set up receivers in the University Physics Department quadrangle. However, due to the city centre interference, he soon decided to relocate to Jodrell Bank which was owned by the University Botany Department, and effectively started the field known as Meteor radio astronomy. The key question that Lovell was able to resolve was whether or not meteors originated from interstellar space or from within our own solar system. Lovell’s observations concluded definitely that the latter was the case.
Lovell’s first large-scale radio telescope, a fixed 218 ft diameter arrangement built of scaffold poles, with a 216 ft mast to hold the radio receivers, was built in 1948. Lovell, along with colleagues including Robert Hanbury, detected radio sources from other galaxies, by tilting the mast by 15 degrees. This led Lovell to believe that a fully movable/directional radio telescope would be essential for the development of radio astronomy. This resulted in the construction of the iconic Mark 1, or 250 ft telescope which is today known as the Lovell Telescope.
The story of the design and construction of the 250 ft telescope, which started in 1949, is further evidence of Lovell’s determination and perseverance. The original cost estimate for the telescope was £50,000-70,000, which was to be funded by the Manchester University and DSIR. Unfortunately, by 1952 the forecast costs had risen to £330,000. At this point the project was under fire from MPs, the Treasury, and even colleagues, and newspapers had dubbed the telescope as “Lovell’s Folly”. It seemed likely that the project would be cancelled, and the University would face financial ruin. Lovell’s determination would however prove decisive – he lobbied the government directly, stressing the telescope’s strategic importance during the Cold War (especially for tracking missiles and satellites), he also approached the Morris Motors founder and philanthropist Lord Nuffield of the Nuffield Foundation, which provided a lifeline grant to keep construction going. Lovell’s big break came in 1957 when the Russians launched their space probe, Sputnik. At this stage the telescope was sufficiently ready and was the only telescope in the world capable of tracking the Sputnik launch rocket. This made Lovell an international hero and resolved any financing issues. When the telescope was completed in 1958 the final cost was over £700,000, ten times the original estimate.
In hindsight these costs proved to be a sound investment when considering the achievements of the Lovell Telescope. It was used in the first radar studies of the Moon and planets, and it also went on to: –
- help identify quasars, mysterious ultra-luminous sources billions of light years away – a discovery that revolutionised cosmology.
- provide long-term monitoring of pulsars which provided crucial evidence for Einstein’s general relativity (e.g. orbital decay of binary pulsars).
- provide backup communications for NASA’s Apollo missions to the Moon, adding reliability to the lunar programme.
- secretly track Soviet rocket launches and space probes.
- provide the West with key information about Soviet capabilities during the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).
Connection to the Manchester Lit & Phil
The Manchester Lit & Phil has been tremendously fortunate to have had such a successful and active member as Bernard Lovell. In addition to being a member, he also delivered a number of lectures – “Radio Astronomy” in 1951 and “The New Science of Radio Astronomy” in 1958, just after the Lovell Telescope became operational. He was of course a recipient of the Society’s highest award, The Dalton Medal in 1959, in recognition of his immense contribution to science.
His other great achievements included, amongst other things, the award of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE, 1946), Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS, 1955), being Knighted (KB, 1961), President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1969-71).
Balancing Scientific achievement and Religious belief
Lovell’s deeply religious upbringing and faith never conflicted with his scientific career, indeed he saw his work and scientific discoveries as “unveiling the magnificent method and grandeur of God’s creation.” He famously stated: “The details of the evolutionary process . . . are a magnificent fulfilment of the divine purpose.”
Given these quotes it is clear he was probably a Theistic Evolutionist i.e. one who believes in God but accepts the scientific evidence for evolution, seeing it as the mechanism by which God created life. His scientific work directly fuelled his religious beliefs. His appreciation of the vastness and beauty of the universe along with a deep understanding of the complexity and fine tuning necessary in order to allow the emergence of life on our planet probably led him to believe in a concept of intelligent design by God, while still maintaining his belief in the evolutionary process.
Even before pictures of the Earth were taken from various space missions, Lovell saw the Earth as a tiny, fragile “pale blue dot” in the vastness of space, and he felt a deep sense of responsibility in that mankind are the “guardians of a very precious spark of life” in a potentially barren universe. He saw science as the study of God’s creation and as such this enabled him to reconcile his beliefs and his work, thereby driving his passion for scientific discovery.
Family and Cricket
Bernard Lovell was a deeply religious family man, who married his wife Joyce in 1937 and who went on to have 5 children, and 14 grandchildren. He had a passion for music, nature and particularly cricket! After settling in Cheshire he joined Chelford Cricket Club, soon becoming captain and was a very effective bowler, particularly on Chelford’s sloping pitch! Playing cricket on Saturday afternoons was an effective distraction from radio astronomy. He also loved spending time at Old Trafford watching Lancashire, and would eventually become the President, and put his scientific mind to devising aids to help umpires make difficult decisions. He also proposed systems for measuring light levels, including light meters which showed both umpires and the public the light conditions.
Conclusion: Legacy and Inspiration
Bernard Lovell was an incredibly talented and successful scientist, and his success must be in no small part due to his tenacity and strength of character. Only a very single minded and determined individual could have overcome the political and financial obstacles he encountered during the war and with the construction of the Lovell Telescope. It must also have been incredibly difficult to pursue his war time responsibilities with such vigour given the obvious conflict this would have presented to his moral and religious beliefs. However, it is most impressive that he managed to hold so steadfastly to his religious convictions during a period of unparalleled scientific discovery, particularly in the field of Cosmology of which he was one of the subject’s brightest stars.
Jon Sime, member of Manchester Lit&Phil
Image Credit: Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester