Page 21 - PERIODIC Magazine Issue 7

Roger Brettle given for him at Exeter by Sir Cyril Hinshelwood. At the
(Christ Church, 1950) last minute Ben Brown was ill and I was invited in his
I matriculated in 1950 and did my Part II in the “snake place. All went well until I asked Professor Pitzer to pass
pit” in the Dyson Perrins Laboratory. My main memories me the sugar as grapefruit was the starter. He made an
of the Alembic Club were the annual dinners which arbitrary choice amongst the silverware and I finished up
were held in the Randolph Hotel and organised by with pepper all over the grapefruit. The second involved
Freddie Brewer of the ICL. There were always highly an enthusiastic speaker, if I recall correctly, talking on
distinguished guests, including Albert Pam, OBE, Lord organo-boron compounds and using a blackboard and
Nuffield, Ernst Chain, and Sir Alexander (later Lord) chalk. Balanced precariously on a table it soon became
Todd. evident that sooner or later the blackboard would be
pushed off the table .The exact timing of this event
Gervald Frykman, became of great interest to the audience, more than the
Warwick School Archivist (Magdalen, 1973) intricate chemistry, and mercifully the blackboard made a
I remember Alan Howe, a good friend and work quick descent to the floor.
colleague when we were both junior technicians. I was in
the Perkin Lab for nine months in 1973 – between school In 1955 Sir Robert Robinson retired and Professor
and university. Many, many years later I went to see him, Ewart Jones was appointed. He vacated the chair at
and he was just as friendly, but by Manchester which was filled by Professor Arthur Birch,
this stage he was no longer a junior who appointed Herchel Smith as lecturer at Manchester,
technician! where I followed him to complete my final year. After
I finished my year there, Herchel Smith got his steroid
The photograph on the back synthesis to work, patented the method and according to
page (of the last edition) featured Wikipedia made over $100 million.
Alembic Club members of 1907.
One is Herbert Edwin Cullis Leslie Stonehouse
(Merton, 1905). Born in 1887, H. (St Hugh’s, 1949)
E. Cullis had been the star pupil of I was particularly interested in the photograph of the
the King’s Middle School, Warwick 1907 Alembic Club, which shows three members
and won an open scholarship especially of interest to our family; namely M P Appleby,
to Merton. During his time at my Godfather, N V Sidgwick, tutor to my father Eric
Oxford he did some early work on Cutcliffe, and Henry Tizard. Both my parents read
Grignard reagents, being awarded chemistry in the early 1900s – my father at Lincoln
a BSc, before he was called to the College and my mother at St Hugh’s, where she
H E Cullis in 1907
ministry. He was ordained in 1911, subsequently became a member and Fellow of the
and served as a curate at St Paul’s Church, Warwick as College.
well as teaching English in Romania, before joining the
teaching staff of Warwick School, where remained on the
teaching staff for 33 years, acting as unpaid chaplain at
the same time. He is remembered as “one of the kindest
people I have ever met” by a former pupil.

One thing, however, marred his career. In 1946 he was
demonstrating the drying of oxygen gas to a fifth form
group using concentrated sulphuric acid (he would not
have recognised the “modern” spelling!) when the Wolff
bottle exploded, covering his face with the acid. He was
badly scarred and one eye was somewhat damaged,
but his sight was saved, having spent some weeks in a Elizabeth Monica Openshaw Farrow (photo courtesy of her daughter, Mrs
hospital in Aylesbury. He died in 1971, aged 84. Leslie Stonehouse). We think that Elizabeth Farrow must have been the first
woman to hold an academic position at Oxford Chemistry.
Ray Thornton
(St Edmund Hall, 1954)
I moved to Oxford in September 1954 to carry out We would love to learn more about the first
research with Dr. Herchel Smith as supervisor. In 1955 women in the Department of Chemistry. If you
I became secretary of the Alembic Club, with Dr. Ben have any memories or photos you would be
Brown as Chairman. Two incidents stand out. Prof. K. willing to share, please do get in touch! Please
Pitzer from the U.S. visited Oxford and a dinner was see the back cover for contact information.

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Periodic
The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry