ABSTRACT
When it met on 6 October 1939, the BPI’s Board of Control had its usual full agenda of matters to discuss, but what was termed the ‘Present Emergency’ set the tone of the meeting when the Director announced that ‘the facilities of the Institute had been offered to the Department of Defence for research work of a special nature . . . ’—but he elaborated no further. After discussing the conditions under which arrangements for this ‘work of a special nature’ might be made, the Board duly resolved to authorize its Chairman and the Director to conclude negotiations with the Defence authorities [1]. In fact, the only member present who knew anymore was Basil Schonland himself; even Bernard Price, the Chairman, was in the dark as to the details [2].
