Jaenicke however leapt at the opportunity to interview one of Haber’s
‘oldest and most trusted’ employees, eager to learn of anything Robert could
recall even if it were only his impressions of Haber’s powerful personality, and
in his reply of 02 September (again translated by this author) he arranged to
call Robert from London when he and his wife arrived there for their
vacation.
September 1
st 1959,
Dear Herr Doktor Le Rossignol,
It is a pleasure for me to have a personal meeting
with just yourself and your gracious wife. My wife and I
cordially thank you for your kind invitation.
Even if you don’t really have any new facts about
Haber that you can make known, my wife and I - as part of
his former team - will be happy to hear what you thought
of his impressive personality. As one of Haber’s oldest and most trusted employees, your opinions stand
well above others as a competent referee for this
period in Haber’s life.
In addition, I would like the opportunity to get to
know about the other chemists there.
I will call you from London, to explore when our visit
would be most suitable.
With the best regards …
Robert and Emily subsequently arranged to receive Dr. and Frau Jaenicke at
St Helier on 16 September 1959, and Jaenicke’s transcript of their lively and
extensive conversation is a ‘gem’—and quite contrary to Robert’s inclination in
his letter of 30 August. But despite the transcript being catalogued in the Max
Planck Archives, and therefore freely available for the past twenty-five or so
years, it has remained biographically dormant. However, it is a missing link in
the story of ‘fixation’. Here at last is some of the story told by one who was at
the heart of the matter, and even though Ralph Chirnside’s Obituary of Robert
described his friend as ‘kindly’, never speaking ‘ill of anyone’, Robert’s account
of his time with Haber is occasionally acerbic, sometimes sarcastic, but perceptive, frank, often comical and even fifty years after the event still largely fresh
in his mind. In the comfort of his own home, with the passing of many of the
players in the story of ‘fixation’ and accompanied by Emily in convivial conversation with the Jaenickes, Robert ‘opened up’. In the evening sunshine of his
life he ‘came out of Haber’s shadow’, told his side of the story and expressed
opinions and observations that would otherwise have been lost to us. That day
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
469
‘oldest and most trusted’ employees, eager to learn of anything Robert could
recall even if it were only his impressions of Haber’s powerful personality, and
in his reply of 02 September (again translated by this author) he arranged to
call Robert from London when he and his wife arrived there for their
vacation.
September 1
st 1959,
Dear Herr Doktor Le Rossignol,
It is a pleasure for me to have a personal meeting
with just yourself and your gracious wife. My wife and I
cordially thank you for your kind invitation.
Even if you don’t really have any new facts about
Haber that you can make known, my wife and I - as part of
his former team - will be happy to hear what you thought
of his impressive personality. As one of Haber’s oldest and most trusted employees, your opinions stand
well above others as a competent referee for this
period in Haber’s life.
In addition, I would like the opportunity to get to
know about the other chemists there.
I will call you from London, to explore when our visit
would be most suitable.
With the best regards …
Robert and Emily subsequently arranged to receive Dr. and Frau Jaenicke at
St Helier on 16 September 1959, and Jaenicke’s transcript of their lively and
extensive conversation is a ‘gem’—and quite contrary to Robert’s inclination in
his letter of 30 August. But despite the transcript being catalogued in the Max
Planck Archives, and therefore freely available for the past twenty-five or so
years, it has remained biographically dormant. However, it is a missing link in
the story of ‘fixation’. Here at last is some of the story told by one who was at
the heart of the matter, and even though Ralph Chirnside’s Obituary of Robert
described his friend as ‘kindly’, never speaking ‘ill of anyone’, Robert’s account
of his time with Haber is occasionally acerbic, sometimes sarcastic, but perceptive, frank, often comical and even fifty years after the event still largely fresh
in his mind. In the comfort of his own home, with the passing of many of the
players in the story of ‘fixation’ and accompanied by Emily in convivial conversation with the Jaenickes, Robert ‘opened up’. In the evening sunshine of his
life he ‘came out of Haber’s shadow’, told his side of the story and expressed
opinions and observations that would otherwise have been lost to us. That day
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
469