William Roy Piggott
Encyclopedia
William Roy Piggott was a student of Sir Edward Appleton who transferred a large group of German specialists from Austria into the British Zone of Occupation in Germany in 1945. He edited the still valid official booklet of reduction rules for ionospheric soundings with Karl Rawer
and was engaged in international activities during the International Geophysical Year
(IGY) and for a long time afterwards.
. Seriously contaminated, he switched over to the Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge with studies of the ionosphere
and of Shortwave
propagation, then for many decades at Radio Research Station Slough, again under Sir Edward. In order to collect German scientific results in his field, when he was ordered to dissolve the relevant German organization, he came to Austria where the German group had arrived. Despite his orders, he decided to save that group for Britain by transferring it into the British zone of Germany. Pretending an order of Sir Edward he assembled about 100 lorries and relevant British military personal to drive the group unnoticed over two frontiers of occupation zones into the British zone of Germany. Military radio supervision, however, seized his communications and attributed these erroneously to a manoeuvre in the russian occupation zone.. The matter was estimated to be serious and was brought up to Sir Winston Churchill
, who was amused by this. Piggott was dismissed with a reprimand.
Piggot was actively engaged with the IGY as a member of an ionospheric "World wide soundings Committee", which for the first time produced international rules for reducing ionospheric records (ionogram
s). With Karl Rawer
, he edited these rules with explanations in an official, still valid edition of the International Union of Radio Science
. During several decades, "Uncle Roy" patiently advised the station personal. Later Piggott concentrated his interest on the ionosphere in the polar regions. He became the chief scientist of the Royal Society
's British Antarctic Survey
, and visited that organization's Halley Bay station and intensively studied the data it obtained.
Karl Rawer
Karl Rawer is a German specialist in radio wave propagation and the ionosphere who developed the analytical code to determine suitable frequency ranges for short wave communication by which the German forces successfully built-up their long distance communications during World War II.After studies...
and was engaged in international activities during the International Geophysical Year
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
(IGY) and for a long time afterwards.
Biography
Before the Second World War, Piggott was experimenting in nuclear physicsNuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
. Seriously contaminated, he switched over to the Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge with studies of the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
and of Shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
propagation, then for many decades at Radio Research Station Slough, again under Sir Edward. In order to collect German scientific results in his field, when he was ordered to dissolve the relevant German organization, he came to Austria where the German group had arrived. Despite his orders, he decided to save that group for Britain by transferring it into the British zone of Germany. Pretending an order of Sir Edward he assembled about 100 lorries and relevant British military personal to drive the group unnoticed over two frontiers of occupation zones into the British zone of Germany. Military radio supervision, however, seized his communications and attributed these erroneously to a manoeuvre in the russian occupation zone.. The matter was estimated to be serious and was brought up to Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who was amused by this. Piggott was dismissed with a reprimand.
Piggot was actively engaged with the IGY as a member of an ionospheric "World wide soundings Committee", which for the first time produced international rules for reducing ionospheric records (ionogram
Ionogram
An ionogram is a display of the data produced by an ionosonde. It is a graph of the virtual height of the ionosphere plotted against frequency. Ionograms are often converted into electron density profiles...
s). With Karl Rawer
Karl Rawer
Karl Rawer is a German specialist in radio wave propagation and the ionosphere who developed the analytical code to determine suitable frequency ranges for short wave communication by which the German forces successfully built-up their long distance communications during World War II.After studies...
, he edited these rules with explanations in an official, still valid edition of the International Union of Radio Science
International Union of Radio Science
The International Union of Radio Science is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science.- History and objectives :...
. During several decades, "Uncle Roy" patiently advised the station personal. Later Piggott concentrated his interest on the ionosphere in the polar regions. He became the chief scientist of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
's British Antarctic Survey
British Antarctic Survey
The British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....
, and visited that organization's Halley Bay station and intensively studied the data it obtained.