A LANCASHIRE lad, now living in Australia, is hoping to discover his father’s role at Mullard’s Blackburn during the Second World War.

Peter Williams knows his dad Donald worked as a physicist, but has no specific details of his work.

Now he is trying to trace any company records that might have survived and so answer his questions.

Peter, lived with his parents — his mum was Dora — and brother Brian, first in Valley Road, Wilpshire and then Newington Avenue, Brownhill.

In 1941 his father, then 30 years old, was employed by the Mullard radio valve company, then three years later also began working part time for Blackburn technical College, running ONC courses in applied physics.

He remained at Mullard’s until 1946, when he took a post as education and training officer at Philips Blackburn Works until 1949, when he was appointed an assistant lecturer at Burnley Municipal College.

The family left Blackburn in 1952 when Donald took a new post in Somerset and he died in 1979.

Said Peter: “I know my dad was a physicist at Mullard’s, but have no idea precisely what role he performed, be it general research and development or something much more specific, such as work on the Colossus machine at Bletchley Park.

“If there were an ex-employees’ company history group devoted to recording the names of departments, personnel and what people did, I could perhaps find a source of information from people fiercely proud of their former employer.

“I wonder if any Bygones’ readers can help, or point me in the right direction.”

You can contact Peter at: PO Box 562, North Adelaide, 5006, Australia or at email pgawilliams@googlemail.com.