Koppel of course had ‘special access’, and relied upon to populate the
Auergesellschaft with suitably talented employees. This letter also provides a
rare insight into Robert’s opinion of his life in Berlin at the time.
Prinzregenten Strasse,
Berlin, Wilmersdorf
2/2/1913
My dear Hodsman,
Very many thanks for your letter and my sincerest congratulations on
getting Bone’s Job. I suppose you are now a Herr Professor. It must be
jolly nice for you to be in your native town.
I am writing to you with a special object, namely to ask you if you will
come and take a job in Berlin with the Auergesellschaft. Haber telephoned me today and asked me if I thought you would be willing to
take such a job, I told him that you had now left the cyanide firm and
that you were in Leeds in Bones’ place and so did not think you
would, still he is not satisfied and wants to know if you are willing to
come and what your terms would be in that case. So you had better
write to the Herr Geheimerat, Faraday Weg 4, Dahlem, Lichtenfelde
bei Berlin.
I don’t know anything as to what they want you to do so cannot give you
the slightest aid, I was with Haber this afternoon and did not hear
anything about the matter.
I am getting on very well over here and am still not quite a real
German. I suppose you see very little of Coates now you are away
from Birmingham.
Hoping you are quite well.
Yours sincerely,
R. Le Rossignol.
This informal letter shows that Robert was reasonably aware of what was
happening to former Karlsruhe colleagues ‘back home’ such as Hodsman and
Coates. William Arthur Bone was Professor of Coal Gas and Fuel Industries
at Leeds University until 1912 when he left to become Head of Department
at Imperial College. Hodsman was appointed as lecturer at Bone’s old
department shortly afterwards, but certainly not as Robert assumed, ‘Herr
‘Professor’. Hodsman’s previous appointment was in industry in Birmingham
where Coates was a lecturer in the University at the time, Robert naturally
assuming they would have socialised. Hodsman’s ‘native town’ was actually
York but he had graduated from Leeds University and Robert’s comment that
230
D. Sheppard
Auergesellschaft with suitably talented employees. This letter also provides a
rare insight into Robert’s opinion of his life in Berlin at the time.
Prinzregenten Strasse,
Berlin, Wilmersdorf
2/2/1913
My dear Hodsman,
Very many thanks for your letter and my sincerest congratulations on
getting Bone’s Job. I suppose you are now a Herr Professor. It must be
jolly nice for you to be in your native town.
I am writing to you with a special object, namely to ask you if you will
come and take a job in Berlin with the Auergesellschaft. Haber telephoned me today and asked me if I thought you would be willing to
take such a job, I told him that you had now left the cyanide firm and
that you were in Leeds in Bones’ place and so did not think you
would, still he is not satisfied and wants to know if you are willing to
come and what your terms would be in that case. So you had better
write to the Herr Geheimerat, Faraday Weg 4, Dahlem, Lichtenfelde
bei Berlin.
I don’t know anything as to what they want you to do so cannot give you
the slightest aid, I was with Haber this afternoon and did not hear
anything about the matter.
I am getting on very well over here and am still not quite a real
German. I suppose you see very little of Coates now you are away
from Birmingham.
Hoping you are quite well.
Yours sincerely,
R. Le Rossignol.
This informal letter shows that Robert was reasonably aware of what was
happening to former Karlsruhe colleagues ‘back home’ such as Hodsman and
Coates. William Arthur Bone was Professor of Coal Gas and Fuel Industries
at Leeds University until 1912 when he left to become Head of Department
at Imperial College. Hodsman was appointed as lecturer at Bone’s old
department shortly afterwards, but certainly not as Robert assumed, ‘Herr
‘Professor’. Hodsman’s previous appointment was in industry in Birmingham
where Coates was a lecturer in the University at the time, Robert naturally
assuming they would have socialised. Hodsman’s ‘native town’ was actually
York but he had graduated from Leeds University and Robert’s comment that
230
D. Sheppard