and his support of BASF’s ammonia synthesis that maximised his royalties,
his involvement in gas warfare, a ‘toxic brand’ that came to dominate his
memory, the suicide of his wife Clara—a parallel tragedy being suffered later
by Le Rossignol where chemistry again played a part—and the devastation of
Europe laid firmly at the door of Germany’s industrialisation of the ‘Haber’
process. The final chapter describes Le Rossignol’s war, his internment and
his release to Berlin, the work he did there during the war and the concerns of
His Majesty’s Government in the UK regarding this work. The chapter
concludes by discussing Le Rossignol’s financial arrangements with Haber,
and the considerations of the Swedish Academy regarding the 1918 Nobel
Prize for Chemistry.
Part III covers the years from 1919 until Le Rossignol’s death in 1976. It
contains five chapters. The first of these covers the years from 1919 to 1930,
including Le Rossignol’s return from Germany, his unexpected interest in
airships, the creation of the GEC Laboratories, the migration of the technology of ‘fixation’ out of Germany to France, the UK and the USA, the
‘engineered’ award of an individual Nobel Prize to Haber, the furore which
followed the award, Le Rossignol’s involvement with the cooled anode
transmitting (CAT) valve and his contributions to that technology over the
decade. During this time, Le Rossignol met Haber on a number of occasions
both in Germany and the UK, and the chapter also discusses what we know
of their financial arrangement which ended in 1924. The next two chapters
cover the years from 1930 to 1949. The deaths of Le Rossignol’s sons Peter
Walter and John Augustin are dealt with here, along with further developments of CAT valves, Le Rossignol’s contribution(s) to the BBC Droitwich
super-broadcasting station which opened in 1934 and his role at the GEC
during the Second World War. The latter revealing how the British government was intimately bound to its scientific and industrial base during the
war. The final two chapters deal with Le Rossignol’s retirement with his wife
Emily at Penn, Buckinghamshire, their remarkable benevolence, and the
memories of family and others who can still recall the couple’s time there.
Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, UK
Deri Sheppard
Preface
xi
his involvement in gas warfare, a ‘toxic brand’ that came to dominate his
memory, the suicide of his wife Clara—a parallel tragedy being suffered later
by Le Rossignol where chemistry again played a part—and the devastation of
Europe laid firmly at the door of Germany’s industrialisation of the ‘Haber’
process. The final chapter describes Le Rossignol’s war, his internment and
his release to Berlin, the work he did there during the war and the concerns of
His Majesty’s Government in the UK regarding this work. The chapter
concludes by discussing Le Rossignol’s financial arrangements with Haber,
and the considerations of the Swedish Academy regarding the 1918 Nobel
Prize for Chemistry.
Part III covers the years from 1919 until Le Rossignol’s death in 1976. It
contains five chapters. The first of these covers the years from 1919 to 1930,
including Le Rossignol’s return from Germany, his unexpected interest in
airships, the creation of the GEC Laboratories, the migration of the technology of ‘fixation’ out of Germany to France, the UK and the USA, the
‘engineered’ award of an individual Nobel Prize to Haber, the furore which
followed the award, Le Rossignol’s involvement with the cooled anode
transmitting (CAT) valve and his contributions to that technology over the
decade. During this time, Le Rossignol met Haber on a number of occasions
both in Germany and the UK, and the chapter also discusses what we know
of their financial arrangement which ended in 1924. The next two chapters
cover the years from 1930 to 1949. The deaths of Le Rossignol’s sons Peter
Walter and John Augustin are dealt with here, along with further developments of CAT valves, Le Rossignol’s contribution(s) to the BBC Droitwich
super-broadcasting station which opened in 1934 and his role at the GEC
during the Second World War. The latter revealing how the British government was intimately bound to its scientific and industrial base during the
war. The final two chapters deal with Le Rossignol’s retirement with his wife
Emily at Penn, Buckinghamshire, their remarkable benevolence, and the
memories of family and others who can still recall the couple’s time there.
Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, UK
Deri Sheppard
Preface
xi