CURRAN, Lady (#183)
#183
Lady CURRAN (née Joan STROTHERS)
Civilians and War Production
Alan Pollock’s Rough Notes:
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Lady CURRAN (née Joan STROTHERS) represents the important achievements of the TRE, the TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT (TRE), both before and after the move to MALVERN. Joan STROTHERS was one of many talented WOMEN contributing to the Allied war effort, with her helping develop AIRBORNE RADAR and the “WINDOW” [‘Chaff’] COUNTERMEASURES. She married the then Dr CURRAN in 1940, in Swansea, where she was born of English parents (he had a Scots father and Irish mother). Much of her wartime and post-war scientific work was done working together with her husband in UK and the USA. Later they supported the Scottish Polish Cultural Association, having both admired that special POLISH verve and contribution in WW2.
A Lancaster dropping chaff (the crescent-shaped white cloud on the left of the picture) over Essen during a thousand-bomber raid.
UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES (USAAF) IN BRITAIN, 1942-1945: A Christmas lamp decorated with the insignia of the 55th Fighter Group, in the Day Room at Wormingford. Image by Robert Sand, 55th Fighter Group. Handwritten caption on reverse; ‘3-37, I had fun designing this lap shade and scrounging materials to make them (several). Silver is aluminim radar chaff.’ Associated caption from Sand File – “Day room – Lampshade, radar chaff” © IWM FRE 12918
UNITED STATES EIGHTH AIR FORCE IN BRITAIN, 1942-1945: “A B-26 Marauder of the 387th Bomb Group explodes in mid air over Dunkirk. A veteran has written in an enclosed letter to Freeman: ‘The “A” picture enclosed was taken over Dunkirk and the aircraft is, I believe, piloted Col Jack Caldwell of Searey Ark. We were leading the second box and I remember Captain Kunde, our navigator with a real “nose” for flak, screaming at them to get away from Dunkirk. You will note that this is with 8-10 tenths cloud cover and other bursts are “on target”, Thus our subsequent use of “Window” or “Chaff”.'” © IWM FRE 1302