on the CAT valves, I do not believe Le Rossignol ever looked at another lamp
problem! …’ By the mid 1930s, driven by the demands of radio and television broadcasting, short wave wireless telegraphy, and the rapid
long-distance communication required by both ships and aircraft, commercial
transmitting valves were available which were comfortable with inputs up to
500 kW … and the world was transformed.
15.7 And Finally …the Decade Comes
to a Close
During the decade, Robert established himself as an important member the
GEC Research Staff but his life was not all work. The 1920s was also a time
to attend to family after all the uncertainties and worries of life in Germany.
Living at 7 St John’s Road, Harrow, in the Parish of the Church of St John
the Baptist, Greenhill, it was a time for the family to relax a little more. Emily
it seems settled comfortably into the social life of her new country being
found for example at the annual Eton–Harrow cricket matches, whilst for the
boys, John Augustin and Peter Walter, their education became a priority
which Robert and Emily addressed—for Peter at least
81
—by means of
Brighton College. Founded in 1845, today the College is one of England’s
top independent schools and pupils there often secure places at the UK’s most
esteemed universities, particularly ‘Oxbridge’. For Robert however, the choice
of Brighton College may have had an additional provenance. From 1892 to
1895 the Rev. Robert Halley Chambers was headmaster at Brighton, but he
had previously been headmaster to Robert’s brothers, Austen and Herbert, at
Victoria College (1881–1892) prior to G. S. Farnell taking the appointment,
(Chap. 1). Brighton therefore may have been well known to the family and
Peter became a pupil there during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The decade therefore ended well for Robert, but Germany entered his life
once more; this time in terms of an invitation to contribute to a special issue, a
‘festschrift’, of the German Journal Die Naturwissenschaft (Chap. 8) on the
occasion of Haber’s 60th birthday in December 1928. For Haber, by now a
portly, cigar smoking character, the previous few years had been turbulent. An
increasingly difficult marriage to Charlotte—much of it his own making—had
led to divorce the previous year. After the divorce Haber’s sister Else, whose
husband had recently died, moved into his Dahlem villa and became devoted
to him. Charlotte and the children, Eva and Lutz, spent their time at their new
home in central Berlin, funded by Haber as part of their separation agreement.
15 The Post-war Years 1919–1930
353
problem! …’ By the mid 1930s, driven by the demands of radio and television broadcasting, short wave wireless telegraphy, and the rapid
long-distance communication required by both ships and aircraft, commercial
transmitting valves were available which were comfortable with inputs up to
500 kW … and the world was transformed.
15.7 And Finally …the Decade Comes
to a Close
During the decade, Robert established himself as an important member the
GEC Research Staff but his life was not all work. The 1920s was also a time
to attend to family after all the uncertainties and worries of life in Germany.
Living at 7 St John’s Road, Harrow, in the Parish of the Church of St John
the Baptist, Greenhill, it was a time for the family to relax a little more. Emily
it seems settled comfortably into the social life of her new country being
found for example at the annual Eton–Harrow cricket matches, whilst for the
boys, John Augustin and Peter Walter, their education became a priority
which Robert and Emily addressed—for Peter at least
81
—by means of
Brighton College. Founded in 1845, today the College is one of England’s
top independent schools and pupils there often secure places at the UK’s most
esteemed universities, particularly ‘Oxbridge’. For Robert however, the choice
of Brighton College may have had an additional provenance. From 1892 to
1895 the Rev. Robert Halley Chambers was headmaster at Brighton, but he
had previously been headmaster to Robert’s brothers, Austen and Herbert, at
Victoria College (1881–1892) prior to G. S. Farnell taking the appointment,
(Chap. 1). Brighton therefore may have been well known to the family and
Peter became a pupil there during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The decade therefore ended well for Robert, but Germany entered his life
once more; this time in terms of an invitation to contribute to a special issue, a
‘festschrift’, of the German Journal Die Naturwissenschaft (Chap. 8) on the
occasion of Haber’s 60th birthday in December 1928. For Haber, by now a
portly, cigar smoking character, the previous few years had been turbulent. An
increasingly difficult marriage to Charlotte—much of it his own making—had
led to divorce the previous year. After the divorce Haber’s sister Else, whose
husband had recently died, moved into his Dahlem villa and became devoted
to him. Charlotte and the children, Eva and Lutz, spent their time at their new
home in central Berlin, funded by Haber as part of their separation agreement.
15 The Post-war Years 1919–1930
353