Admiralty Research Laboratory
Encyclopedia
The Admiralty Research Laboratory, or ARL, was a research laboratory that supported the work of the UK Admiralty
in Teddington
, London
, England
.
During the First World War, the Anti-Submarine Division of the Admiralty had established experimental stations at Hawkcraig (Aberdour) and Parkeston Quay, Harwich
, without-stations at Dartmouth
and Wemyss Bay
, to work on submarine detection methods. The Admiralty also established an experimental station at Shandon
, Dumbartonshire, working with the Lancashire
Anti-Submarine Committee and the Clyde
Anti-Submarine Committee, which subsequently moved to Teddington in 1921, becoming the Admiralty Research Laboratory. Its main fields of research expanded to include oceanography
(it housed the National Institute of Oceanography, 1949-1953); electromagnetics and degaussing
; underwater ballistics; visual aids; acoustics
; infra-red radiation; photography and assessment techniques. It moved to Teddington so that it could benefit from the expertise of the National Physical Laboratory
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
During the First World War, the Anti-Submarine Division of the Admiralty had established experimental stations at Hawkcraig (Aberdour) and Parkeston Quay, Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, without-stations at Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
and Wemyss Bay
Wemyss Bay
Wemyss Bay is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde falling within the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'...
, to work on submarine detection methods. The Admiralty also established an experimental station at Shandon
Shandon, Argyll and Bute
Shandon is a village 4 miles north-north west of Rhu on the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Formerly in the county of Dunbartonshire, it developed alongside other similar settlements in the area from a hamlet to a fashionable residential area for wealthy Glasgow merchants.West Shandon House,...
, Dumbartonshire, working with the Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
Anti-Submarine Committee and the Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
Anti-Submarine Committee, which subsequently moved to Teddington in 1921, becoming the Admiralty Research Laboratory. Its main fields of research expanded to include oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
(it housed the National Institute of Oceanography, 1949-1953); electromagnetics and degaussing
Degaussing
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, an early researcher in the field of magnetism...
; underwater ballistics; visual aids; acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
; infra-red radiation; photography and assessment techniques. It moved to Teddington so that it could benefit from the expertise of the National Physical Laboratory
National Physical Laboratory, UK
The National Physical Laboratory is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London, England. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.-Description:...
Notable Employees
Notable people who worked at the ARL included:- Francis CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
(from 1940-1947) who helped to design magnetic and acoustic mines - Martin BealeMartin BealeEvelyn Martin Lansdowne Beale FRS was an applied mathematician and statistician who was one of the pioneers of mathematical programming.-Career:...
(from 1951-1960) who developed techniques for mathematical optimisation - Edward LeeEdward Lee (scientist)Edward Lee was a British scientist, inventor, and civil servant. He was the builder of Britain's first infrared spectrometer, and later served as Director of the Admiralty Research Laboratory.- Education :...
- Jack GoodI. J. GoodIrving John Good was a British mathematician who worked as a cryptologist at Bletchley Park with Alan Turing. After World War II, Good continued to work with Turing on the design of computers and Bayesian statistics at the University of Manchester...
(1959-1962) - R. V. JonesR. v. JonesR. v. Jones, [1986] 2 S.C.R. 284 is an early leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the freedom of religion under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the right to security of person under section 7.-Background:...
(1938-1939) - Charles Drysdale (superintendent 1921-1929)
- Cyril HilsumCyril HilsumCyril Hilsum CBE FRS FREng HonFInstP is a British physicist and academic.-Life:He entered Raine's Foundation School in 1936 as the middle of three brothers, leaving in 1943 after being accepted into University College London, where he did his Bsc. In 1945 he joined the Royal Naval Scientific...
(1947-1950) - Peter WrightPeter WrightPeter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...
(during the Second World War; degaussing specialist) - Albert Beaumont WoodAlbert Beaumont WoodAlbert Beaumont Wood OBE DSc was a British physicist, known for his pioneering work in the field of underwater acoustics and sonar....
- Jack Darbyshire (1943 -1945) Mathematician, Physicist and Oceanographer, "Group W"