of nitrogen.
1
‘Fixation’ was conceived to nurture life. But when young, and
growing innocently towards its destiny, it was ‘radicalised’ to support a
munitions industry that has since sustained countless wars and conflicts.
The monument also stands as testament to the work of the men who
discovered the technology, the ‘fathers of fixation’. One of these was Fritz
Jakob Haber; ‘chemist, Nobel laureate, German, Jew’.
2 Even today, over
three quarters of a century after his death, the reactor is sometimes found
daubed in blood-red graffiti spelling the word ‘Mörder’ (Murderer) as young
German students recall Haber’s role in the first World War.
3 Fritz Haber’s
legacy has polarised opinion in his own country. On the one hand ‘the good
German’, on the other the ‘father of chemical warfare’, and whichever side we
fall it is undeniable that his story has dominated the history of ‘fixation’.
But there is another for whom this monument should equally stand.
A young British ‘Channel Islander’
4 whose work in partnership with Haber
made a profound contribution to the discovery of ‘fixation’. He was Robert
Le Rossignol, and this is his story. It is the story of a kindly man with a simple
uncomplicated philosophy of life. The grace of his nature was such that he
rarely had a bad word to say of anyone. He was a man who walked alongside
the scientific giants of his day. He knew triumph, but also deep tragedy which
he suffered with a quiet dignity. And although his ‘fingerprints’ are to be
found everywhere in the history of the discovery of the technology, history
has abandoned his story, painting him in the shadows on a broad canvas of
Haber’s life. We cannot decant Haber from Le Rossignol, the two men were
partners and friends, and what impacted Haber often shook Robert too. But
if we take our time and gaze deeply enough, standing in the shadows we find
another life, and another quite remarkable man. So, who was Robert Le
Rossignol?
1.2 Early Years and School Days
Robert Le Rossignol was born in springtime, on 27 April 1884 at 17 David
Place, St. Helier, Jersey. Robert was the third son of Augustin and Edith and
the youngest of their four children (Plate 1.1).
When Robert was born his family had lived in Jersey for almost four
hundred years but a common misconception
5 is that they were of Huguenot
descent. ‘Huguenot’,
6 was the name given in 16th century catholic France to
the protestant Calvinist minority which had penetrated all ranks of society,
4
D. Sheppard
1
‘Fixation’ was conceived to nurture life. But when young, and
growing innocently towards its destiny, it was ‘radicalised’ to support a
munitions industry that has since sustained countless wars and conflicts.
The monument also stands as testament to the work of the men who
discovered the technology, the ‘fathers of fixation’. One of these was Fritz
Jakob Haber; ‘chemist, Nobel laureate, German, Jew’.
2 Even today, over
three quarters of a century after his death, the reactor is sometimes found
daubed in blood-red graffiti spelling the word ‘Mörder’ (Murderer) as young
German students recall Haber’s role in the first World War.
3 Fritz Haber’s
legacy has polarised opinion in his own country. On the one hand ‘the good
German’, on the other the ‘father of chemical warfare’, and whichever side we
fall it is undeniable that his story has dominated the history of ‘fixation’.
But there is another for whom this monument should equally stand.
A young British ‘Channel Islander’
4 whose work in partnership with Haber
made a profound contribution to the discovery of ‘fixation’. He was Robert
Le Rossignol, and this is his story. It is the story of a kindly man with a simple
uncomplicated philosophy of life. The grace of his nature was such that he
rarely had a bad word to say of anyone. He was a man who walked alongside
the scientific giants of his day. He knew triumph, but also deep tragedy which
he suffered with a quiet dignity. And although his ‘fingerprints’ are to be
found everywhere in the history of the discovery of the technology, history
has abandoned his story, painting him in the shadows on a broad canvas of
Haber’s life. We cannot decant Haber from Le Rossignol, the two men were
partners and friends, and what impacted Haber often shook Robert too. But
if we take our time and gaze deeply enough, standing in the shadows we find
another life, and another quite remarkable man. So, who was Robert Le
Rossignol?
1.2 Early Years and School Days
Robert Le Rossignol was born in springtime, on 27 April 1884 at 17 David
Place, St. Helier, Jersey. Robert was the third son of Augustin and Edith and
the youngest of their four children (Plate 1.1).
When Robert was born his family had lived in Jersey for almost four
hundred years but a common misconception
5 is that they were of Huguenot
descent. ‘Huguenot’,
6 was the name given in 16th century catholic France to
the protestant Calvinist minority which had penetrated all ranks of society,
4
D. Sheppard