Ministry of Supply and predecessors: Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford:...

AB 3

1939-1952

This series contains papers accumulated during the laboratory's work, including technical reports, correspondence files, patents files, minutes of meetings and progress reports.

The Clarendon Laboratory team, under Professor F. Simon, worked on the gaseous diffusion method of separating uranium isotopes. The correspondence and laboratory papers accumulated by the team were handed over to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority when the government contract lapsed. These records cover the organisation and day-to-day work of the team, and show the difficulties of staffing and supplies that existed even for high priority work.

As the papers were for the use of the team alone, a sophisticated filing system was not needed. They were often adequately identified by the name of the organisation to which the correspondence on a particular subject was addressed (or even the names of individuals). Alternatively they might be filed under a subject heading; particularly if the folder was concerned with the progress of a specific technical problem.

The LO numbers are London Office references.

Public Record(s)

English

156 file(s)

Open unless otherwise stated

Topics

Nuclear energy

Research

The Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, was one of the wartime centres of research on atomic energy. A contract for the research to be undertaken was placed with the University by the Ministry of Aircraft Production early in the War, and other contracts were placed later by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and by the Ministry of Supply, as the responsibility for the work was transferred from one government department to another. (Atomic energy research also went on in other university laboratories, such as at Cambridge, Liverpool and Birmingham, and in some industrial organisations such as I.C.I. Limited and Metropolitan Vickers Limited.)