Gwyn William George Court

Gwyn William George Court was born on 17 December 1917 in Penarth, Wales. His parents were John Court and Jane Goddard. In 1939 Gwyn was studying science and engineering at Cardiff University.

In 1935 the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) was established to develop a radar based defence system for the RAF. Over the years the organisation had had a number of names and locations. Gwyn joined TRE at Swanage in Dorset in January 1941. When it became obvious that TRE was located too close to the coast, the organisation was once again on the move to Malvern in May 1942. TRE was then located at Malvern College.

On 6 September 1941 Gwyn married Beryl Audrey Grace Gale in Cardiff. In Swanage they lived in a furnished room in a nearby house until TRE transferred to Malvern College in Malvern in May. Initially Gwyn was billeted to live in a house in Malvern but in August 1942 he was able to rent a furnished house in West Malvern and his wife was able to join him.

View of part of Malvern College in 2011

In 2011 we visited Malvern College where the (TRE) had relocated in May 1942. Gwyn Court was one of 2,000 staff who worked at TRE.

We had a photograph of some of the staff lined up in front of a college building and, as it was school holidays, we were given permission to explore the school grounds and locate where the photo had been taken. Gwyn is second from the right in the top row.

The work of TRE was to create and improve radar systems to assist Allied pilots when flying planes and provide early warning systems when the German bombardment of England began. This included systems for radio navigation and for jamming enemy radio navigation. Radar could also locate enemy aircraft at night. It was recognised that the understanding and use of radar was essential to gaining victory in the war. 

From 1941-1944 Gwyn worked in the Radio Counter-Measure Division of TRE where staff were involved with the interpretation and analysis of enemy signals, development of VHF receivers, aerials and recording equipment for ground and airborne use. 

H2S ground scanner

A major part of their work was H2S which was the first airborne ground scanning radar system developed. The radar helped identify targets on the ground during night-time and all weather bombing. It became the first ground mapping radar system used in combat. The development of cavity magnetrons reduced the radar wave length to 10 centimetres and eventually to 1.5 centimetres. The targeting radar was designed to fit in an aerodynamic blister on the undercarriage of a bomber. The antenna rotated to scan the terrain and eventually produced a map of the land below the bomber. H2S ground scanners greatly assisted plane crews during bombing raids.

H2S and other developments in radar greatly assisted pilots during the Second World War. The protection of the British coastline was also enhanced with improvements to radar warning systems alerting cities and towns of the approach of enemy aircraft.

At the end of the European War, Gwyn joined the Ground Radar Division at TRE who were concerned with the development of radar aid for civil aviation.

On 14 February 1945 Gwyn William George Court was among twenty-three TRE staff who were classed as Flight Lieutenant (honorary), an award from the RAF for their contribution to engineering research during the war.

 After the war Gwyn Court continued to work at TRE's new offices in Malvern until 1950. He and his family then moved to Wellington, New Zealand, where Gwyn worked initially for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research then as as Superintending Engineer for Radar, Civil Aviation Administration.  

In 1960 the family moved to Melbourne, Australia,  where Gwyn initially worked at Pye Pty Ltd and later as Chief Radar Engineer at the Department of Civil Aviation.

H2S - Wikipedia

H2S Radar - Military Wiki 

 The Story of Pye - Pye Museum

Telecommunications Research Establishment

The Telecommunications Research Establishment, better known as TRE, was established in 1935 to develop a radar based defence system for the RAF. It was originally located at Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk before moving to Dundee and then relocating to Swanage in Dorset in 1940. There had been various names for the unit but it was at Swanage that the research organisation became known as TRE. As it became obvious that TRE was located too close to the coast, the organisation was once again on the move in May 1942 to Malvern.

TRE relocated to Malvern College, a boys boarding school. The students were moved to another school for the rest of the war. The major centre for TRE research was the school buildings plus huts constructed in the grounds.

Malvern Radar and Technology History Society

The poster above shows the temporary buildings added to the grounds at Malvern College. Local builders built the accommodation that included laboratories, a restaurant, a Motor Transport Section and an Engineering Unit.

 

In 2011 we visited the school in Malvern as Robin's father had been one of the engineers stationed there. We had a photograph of some of the staff lined up in front of the main school building and, as it was school holidays, we were given permission to explore the school grounds and locate where the photo had been taken. Gwyn Court is second from the right in the top row.

 

Another property, Pale Manor, located near the school, was used for research by members of the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment.

With so many additional people arriving in Malvern, accommodation was required. Many of the TRE staff boarded in rooms in local houses or rented accommodation. St Ann's Orchard, another large building located near the school, accommodated some of the staff.

Historic England

Hotels in Malvern were also used to house the TRE staff including the County Hotel in Abbey Road.

Historic England

The local newspaper, Worcester News 19 June 2019, included a photograph of TRE staff moving into the school at Malvern. Items unloaded included 20 pianos and 400 beds.

 

American engineers and scientists, plus some military, also moved to Malvern to carry out research.

Huts in grounds of Malvern College in winter

The work at TRE was top secret and it was not until many years after the war that the locals discovered why these extra people had arrived in town and how their research had been essential to the war effort. The newcomers did not wear uniforms and as many of the local residents had family serving in military forces overseas they could be suspicious and unwelcoming to the TRE staff. However some of the locals worked in factories to create equipment that would eventually be assembled into radar apparatus.

Radar was a new development. The term RADAR - Radio Detection and Ranging - had been used since 1940. The work of TRE was to create and improve radar systems to assist Allied pilots and provide early warning systems when the German bombardment of England began.

Initially radar towers had been erected to locate enemy planes approaching the southern and eastern coastline. Part of the work at TRE was to improve this radar system. The system of 100 metre transmitter towers was improved when cavity magnetrons were added to the system. Improvements continued to be made to provide warning systems for English cities and towns when enemy planes were approaching.

Warfare History Network

In 1942 British SAS forces raided Bruneval on the French coast and captured part of a radar system installed there. The radar was directed across the channel towards the English coast. It was recognised that the understanding and use of radar was essential to gaining victory in this war. The raid was a dangerous undertaking but it proved to be a successful mission. The captured radar showed the British engineers and scientists how advanced the Germans were in radar technology as well as providing information about how to improve British radar systems.

The radar system at Bruneval - Wikepedia

The scientists and engineers in Malvern also worked to devise ways of blocking German radar systems during a raid by using a system called Windows. H2S was also an important area of radar investigation enabling aircraft to be aware of enemy planes in their vicinity as well as providing an important navigation aid when locating targets.

The top secret work undertaken at TRE was therefore essential in helping the Allies defeat Germany during the Second World War. 

After the war many of the discoveries made by TRE staff at Malvern College led to the creation of items used widely today such as microwave ovens and systems used by police to identify speeding motorists plus developments in radio astronomy. Of course, over the years there have been many advances in radar technology but the work of scientists and engineers at TRE, plus those working in radar establishments in other countries, have led to developments that we now take for granted.

Books

Damien Lewis - SAS Shadow Raiders: the ultra-secret mission that changed the course of World War II. 2019.

Reg Batt - The Radar Army: winning the war of the airwaves.1991.

Ernest Putley - Science Comes to Malvern: TRE a story of radar 1942-1953. 2009.

Websites 

How the Introduction of Radar in World War II Changed the Course of the War - Michael Stroud

Telecommunications Research Establishment - Malvern Museum

Malvern Radar and Technology Society - website 

Telecommunications Research Establishment - Wikipedia

Malvern Radar Heroes - Qinetiq 

TRE, RSRE,DRA, DERA and RADAR - Malvern Beacon 

How Malvern College was taken over by boffins in WW2 - Worcester News 19 June 2019 

The Bruneval Raid - Malvern Radar and Technology History Society

The Forgotten Bletchley Park - Daily Mail  9 December 2019

 H2S - Wikipedia

Using Chain Home Radar - Warfare History Network