Sir John Madejski has praised the team at Reading Museum for compiling a major new exhibition dedicated to Reading’s role in the UK’s digital revolution.
On Monday, March 18, he opened the display which has been curated in honour of the 60th anniversary of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) launching its first UK office – in Castle Street.
It started with just two employees and grew to more than 2,000, enabling Reading to play a major role in the emerging Information Technology industry. This is something that continues today as many major tech firms are based in and around the town, including Microsoft and Oracle.
How did the Digital Revolution begin?
In 1964, DEC came to the UK, spearheaded by US tech genius John Leng. He coined the term minicomputer and helped see the company grow beyond recognition.
It developed new computers, pioneered the best technology and became one of the world leaders in manufacturing. It helped devised the talk voice synthesizer used by scientist Stephen Hawking.
By 1988, DEC was the second largest computer company in the world.
But 10 years later, in the largest merger in the IT industry, DEC was acquired by Compaq.
What is in Reading Musuem’s Digital Revolution exhibition?
Funded by a grant of £87,145 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and hosted in partnership with National Museum of Computing, Reading Museum’s DIGITAL Revolution exhibition traces the birth of the town’s famous information and communication technology industry.
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It features displays of rare and vintage computing equipment that has been loaned by Bletchley Park’s National Museum of Computing and gathered from private collectors across the UK.
Some will be familiar to home computing users including an old BBC B Micro (then an Acorn) and a ZX Spectrum.
A special digital artwork has been created by Jessica Brauner, part of the team at Reading art collective Jelly. It is accompanied by a large-scale mural of Reading in the future created by Justin Eagleton.
And there is a video wall that helps tell the story of Reading’s digital journey.
Large panels across the room give a potted timeline of the town from its founding days to the present, while another display shows what life was like in Reading when DEC first opened its doors. There are press cuttings from the Reading Evening Post and other, much-missed, newspapers.
What was special about the opening event?
There were two Johns present at the Digital Revolution opening evening …
While Sir John Madejski declared the exhibition open, John Leng travelled from the United States to give a speech and look back on his achievements.
The 90-year-old was in fine form, greeting people and helped launch the digital version of the exhibition after giving a speech which reflected on the journey, he, his company and the town had been on.
“Reading (was) a very receptive place and became a sweet spot. We did very well here, and the operation became the largest in Europe,” he told the assembled audience.
Looking to the future, he spoke about the work currently being done in the field of quantum computing: “It’s going to be a whole new era of computing. You may not have heard much about it, but it’s going to change our lives again.”
Afterwards, Sir John Madejski praised the displays, saying it was marvellous.
“There is so much to see,” he said.
“It’s all encapsulated here: the history of IT and how it started off in 1964 from an office in Castle Street to employing thousands of people throughout the area.
“It’s a tremendous exhibition.”
And this was echoed by Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for leisure and culture, who said she was delighted that the display had come together.
“It’s been so much work by so many people for so long – it’s unbelievable that we’re actually here,” she said.
“I want to encourage everyone to come and look at this amazing exhibition about Reading’s Digital Revolution.
“We are so key to the development of digital in the UK but a lot of Reading people don’t know it.
“It’s all here, come and have a look.”
Reading Museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 4pm, and from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays.
The Museum is closed on Sundays, Mondays and Bank Holidays, including Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Admission is free, visitors are asked to make a suggested donation of £5.
For more details, on the exhibition, log on to: https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/reading%E2%80%99s-digital-revolution-exhibition
Special events at Reading Museum to celebrate Reading’s Digital Revolution
On Saturday, March 22, Reading Museum is to host a special family-friendly digital workshop.
Running at 10am, 11.30am and 2pm, the Code Breaking Unplugged will show how to solve problems using simple programming.
Entry is free, but places should be booked online. The museum welcomes donations for this.
And on Tuesday, April 15, Creative Programming for Families will show how a programming card can be used to create simple, elegant solutions for real-world problems.
Running at 10am, 11.30am and 2pm, entry is free, but places should be booked online. The museum welcomes donations for this.
Sessions are run by the Digit(all) Charity.
To book a place, log on to: https://t.co/yQ7fot7OIk
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