Barrie Chaplin – 57 Sqn

[Tony Gunby]

The Association has recently been advised of the passing of Barrie Chaplin on 12 January 2021.  Barrie served with 57 Squadron as a radar mechanic at East Kirkby working on H2S and GEE.  After the War, Barrie had a remarkable career as one of  the great innovators of modern electronics.  Barrie’s flair for electronics was recognised while in the RAF and he was encouraged to go on to university when the war ended.  After he was released from the RAF in 1947 he did, gaining his BSc, MSc and PhD in Electrical Engineering at Manchester University by 1953.

At Manchester University, he worked alongside the father of modern computing, Alan Turing. He then moved on to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) Harwell in 1953 as Principal Scientific Officer, being promoted to the post of Special Merit Senior Principal Scientific Officer in 1955, before becoming Technical Manager in 1959 at the Plessey research facility, and promoted to Chief Scientist in 1960.

Professor Chaplin was invited to join the University of Essex in 1966 where he established the Department of Electrical Engineering Science in that same year, the forerunner of its School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.  He devised the four original undergraduate electronic engineering degree courses, and attracted key luminaries to his departmental team.

A member of the 57 & 630 Squadrons’ Association, Barrie last attended one of our Reunions in 2014.

Professor GBB ‘Barrie’ Chaplin

January 1924 – January 2021

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