My friend Ken Perry, who has died aged 85, worked for many years for the Marconi company. From 1983, at Marconi Radar Systems, he oversaw the development and production of high-frequency surface-wave “over-the-horizon” radar. His major success came in 1985 in persuading the Australian authorities to take an interest in the technology: after a protracted study, Marconi gained a contract worth in the region of £150m for a system at Jindalee, Alice Springs, that is still in use.
Although Ken officially retired at 65, he went back for another seven years with Marconi until 2002, and delivered lectures after that.
Continue reading...