Simon Lavington 
Moving Targets 
Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947 – 67

This book charts the take-up of IT in Britain, as seen through the eyes of one company. It examines how the dawn of the digital computer age in Britain took place for different applications, from early government-sponsored work on secret defence projects, to the growth of the market for Elliott computers for civil applications. Features: charts the establishment of Elliott’s Borehamwood Research Laboratories, and the roles played by John Coales and Leon Bagrit; examines early Elliott digital computers designed for classified military applications and for GCHQ; describes the analogue computers developed by Elliott-Automation; reviews the development of the first commercial Elliot computers and the growth of applications in industrial automation; includes a history of airborne computers by a former director of Elliott Flight Automation; discusses the computer architectures and systems software for Elliott computers; investigates the mergers, takeovers and eventual closure of the Borehamwood laboratories.

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The Navy Comes to Borehamwood.- A Glint on the Horizon.- The Secret Digit.- Analogue Expertise.- NRDC and the Market.- Process Control and Automation: the Bagrit Vision.- Automation: the Machines and the Applications.- Software and Applications at Borehamwood.- NCR, the 405 and Commercial Data Processing.- Evolution of Elliott Computer Architectures.- EARS and Aerials: Elliott’s Radar Achievements.- Airborne Computing System Developments at Elliott-Automation, 1958 – 1988.- Mergers, Take-overs and Dispersals.- The End of the Line.