Draft:Norman Frederick Astbury

• Comment: Seems like a notable subject but the draft puts way too much emphasis on promoting the subject; this needs fixing. Also have a look at the infobox – it is a jpeg file! Please fix. --Johannes (Talk) (Contribs) (Articles) 16:01, 31 October 2024 (UTC)

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Norman Frederick Astbury CBE, MA, ScD, CEng, FIEE, CPhys, FInstP, HonFICeram, FRSA (December 1, 1908 – October 28, 1987) was a British physicist with wide ranging experience in industry, academia, the war effort, and scientific research. A double first in Natural Sciences from St John's College, Cambridge. launched his career in 1929 with an appointment at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) in Teddington followed by a lifetime of professional positions both at home and abroad culminating with the Directorship of the British Ceramic Research Association , later, Lucideon (1960 – 1973).

Early life and education

Norman was the youngest of seven children born in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. His father, William Edwin Astbury, was a potter. His mother was Clara Astbury, née Dean. He met his future wife, Nora Wilkinson, when, aged five she took his hand at infant school. His education started at Normacot Church of England School (1913 -1919), continued at Longton High School (1919-1926), and he then read Natural Sciences at St John’s College Cambridge where he was a Scholar and Prizeman. He gained a First in both parts of the Tripos

Career

National Physical Laboratory 1929-1939

Norman was employed at the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) as a member of staff. This was his first job following university. Working with his senior colleague Leslie Hartshorn, he became responsible for much of the work on primary and secondary electrical standards, including the re-establishment of the primary inductance standard and the redetermination of the ohm.

NFA Medals

Royal Naval Scientific Service 1939-1945

During World War II, he worked on problems of harbour defence and electro-acoustics in the Royal Naval Scientific Service with specific involvement in HM Anti-Submarine Experimentation Establishment and Ship Degaussing.

For his wartime service in Royal Naval Scientific Service mentioned above, Norman was awarded the 1939-45 Star (second from the left; dark blue, red and light blue in three vertical stripes), the Defence Medal (third from the left; flame coloured with green edges upon each of which is a narrow black stripe) and the War Medal 1939-45 (fourth from the left; a narrow central red stripe with a narrow white stripe on either side; a broad red stripe at either side, and two intervening stripes in blue).  The photo shows Norman’s complete set of medals including his CBE, first left, which was awarded in 1968 as mentioned below.  

Joseph Sankey & Guest Keen & Nettlefold 1945-1949

In 1945 he joined Joseph Sankey and Sons to organise a research laboratory. This became the central laboratory of the Guest, Keen and Nettlefold group of companies. He took part in work on the processing and properties of electrical sheet-steel and expanded the organisation to deal with a wide range of problems in applied physics.

University of New South Wales 1949-1951

Norman was appointed Professor of Applied Physics at the newly founded New South Wales University of Technology in 1949. He continued in post until 1951 when he was appointed to the Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum, Sudan, as described below.

Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum (now University of Khartoum) 1951–1956

Norman was appointed Professor of Physics and Dean of the Faculty of Science in 1951. During his tenure he designed and set up an experiment at the old ‘Kilo Five’ Khartoum Airport to measure changes in the earth’s magnetic field during the total eclipse of the sun on February 25, 1952. His contribution to contemporaneous global research on this topic is recorded in the edition of Nature Magazine published on 12 July 1952: Micro-Magnetic Variations During the Solar Eclipse of February 25, 1952.

Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough 1956-1957

The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions. Following RAE being disbanded and its work being absorbed into different UK government departments, relevant records can now be found in The National Archives (United Kingdom). During the two years he worked with RAE, Norman undertook early development work on Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) and, separately, the impact of atmospheric precipitation on the nose cones of supersonic aircraft. The ceramic materials used in the related manufacturing process linked to his work at British Ceramic Research Association, which has now become Lucideon 1957-1973.

British Ceramic Research Association (BCRA) 1957-1973, later Lucideon

Norman was appointed Deputy Director of BCRA from 1957 to 1960 and Director of BCRA from 1960-1973

Historically Stoke-on-Trent was the focal point of the British ceramic industry.  Manufacturers of a wide range of ceramic products from clay pipes to fine china relied on BCRA for research and scientific advice.  BCRA also conducted research into stresses on masonry in high rise buildings including gas explosions of the type that destroyed the Ronan Point block of flats in Canning Town, London, in 1968

Awards and Honours

In 1954 Norman was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science by Cambridge University Faculty of Engineering for contributions to applied physics, in which context he submitted 36 published papers on engineering subjects. In this photograph he is shown wearing his doctoral robes on a sunlit day in the garden of his home in Devon.

Norman was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1968 New Year’s Honours List under Harold Wilson’s Labour Government.

Authored books and papers

Balance Detectors for A C Bridges (1940)

Some theoretical considerations on the dynamic properties of plastics (1949)

Industrial Magnetic Testing (1952) Published by The Institute of Physics, London [link is to digitised version by Google Books]

Introduction to Electrical Applied Physics (1956) Published by Chapman & Hall Ltd, London [link is to digitised version by Google Books]

The Alternating Current Properties of a Copper Conductor (1957)

Brickwork and Gas Explosions (1969)

A New Method for the Study of Pore Size Distribution (1969)

A precision method for the measurement of the mutual conductance of thermionic valves (2002)

Co-Authored Books and Papers

The Absolute Measurement of Resistance by the Method of Albert Campbell (1937)

Leslie Hartshorn, N F Norman

A note on the calibration of decade condensers (1938)

L H Ford, N F Norman

The A T Green Book: Dedicated to Arnold Trevor Green (1959)

British Ceramic Research Association, N F Norman

Gas Explosions in Load-bearing Brickwork Structures Special Publication No. 68 (British Ceramic Research Association, Stoke -on-Trent, 1970)

N F Astbury, Herbert William Harcourt West, H R Hodgkinson, P A Cubbage and R Clare

Experimental Gas Explosions (1972)

N F Astbury, Herbert William Harcourt West, H R Hodgkinson

Appointments

Member, National Council for Technological Awards 1958-1964

Vice Chairman, Institute of Clay Technology 1959 -1976

President, British Ceramic Society 1960

Member, Inter-Services Metallurgical Research Council 1962-1964

Council Member, Institute of Physics and Physical Society 1963-1966

Member, Council for National Academic Awards 1964-1966

Committee Chairman, Directors of Research Associations 1964-1966

Member, Joint Services Non-Metallic Materials Research Board 1964-1969

Vice President, Parliamentary and Scientific Committee 1965-1968

Member, Construction Research Advisory Council 1968-1971

Personal life

Norman purchased one of the few refracting telescopes available in Khartoum in the 1950s from a previous amateur owner. Located just 15 degrees north of the equator in a dry climate, amateur viewing of the solar system and nearby star clusters was exceptional. 

Model railways were a hobby. Having initiated his model building interest with an ‘O’ gauge steam engine in the UK in 1940s, he then went on to build one of a limited number of three rail Hornby Dublo layouts in the Sudan in the 1950s.  On returning to the UK, he then built new and highly expanded versions at home in Hastings and Stoke-on-Trent. On retirement he transformed and rebuilt the railway in its final resting place in Devon.

Norman was an accomplished pianist.  He also both played and, using his engineering skills, maintained the organ in the first cathedral in Khartoum, now the National Republican Palace Museum.  His favourite composer was Mozart, although he frequently played Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for the enjoyment of visitors to his home in Khartoum.  On his retirement from BCRA his leaving present was an early reel-to-reel tape recorder. With this gift he then spent many happy hours recording one half of a duet and then playing it back, so that he could provide the other half from the piano itself.  This resulted in a substantial audio-library of duet piano music which he enjoyed well into retirement.