Churchill's Scientists, Science Museum

With the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death in 2015, it’s no surprise to see London galleries celebrating the military strategies of the man who led Britain through World War II. The Science Museum, London is hosting its own exhibition which examines the Prime Minister’s fascination with science and the potential for scientific invention to aid military triumph.
The scientists who helped Britain to victory in 1949 and the post-war “science renaissance” will be at the heart of this new exhibition in London. Featuring unique objects from the Museum’s collections with original archive film footage, letters and photographs; the show will reveal some of the most influential scientific breakthroughs to emerge from the War. Also featured are Churchill’s own related writings and memorabilia.
From Robert Watson-Watt’s invention of radar, which helped Britain win (against the odds) the Battle of Britain, to Dorothy Hodgkin’s advancement of X-ray crystallography; the objects on display force us to ask whether military conflict can actually provide an impetus to advance civilization.
As the second part of the show turns to post-war scientific discoveries, including Bernard Lovell’s ambitions to build the world’s largest steerable radio telescope, it is clear that Churchill’s fervent support for the sciences had an enduring impact on the advancement of science in this country.
At the same time, Churchill’s fervent enthusiasm to create better military technology also led to the most sobering object on display in this show: rarely-seen relics of Britain’s war time atom bomb project, ‘Tube Alloys’.
This show offers a chance to seriously consider the legacy of the Second World War that, nonetheless, led to the technological landscape we inhabit today.