Edward Fennessy

Sir Edward Fennessy, electrical and telecommunications engineer

1912 Born in West Ham

1928 Apprentice

1931 Enrolled at East London College to study electrical engineering

1934 Joined Standard Telephones and Cables in London as a researcher

1938 Joined the Air Ministry Research team at Bawdsey Manor

1940 Commissioned in RAFVR; put in charge of the maintenance and installation of the main radar chain; stationed at RAF 60 Group Base Maintenance HQ at Leighton Buzzard.

1944 Promoted to Wing Commander; in charge of planning the deployment of the navigation, path-finding and bombing (navigation) systems for the D-Day landings.

1944 Appointed OBE

1945 Group Captain in charge of organising all RAF radio-navigation systems in UK and Europe

1946 Left the RAF and joined Decca Navigator Co as joint MD

1947 Started to develop a simple marine radar

1950 First MD of Decca Radar Ltd which expanded into military and civil air activities

1957 Appointed CBE

1965 Joined Plessey Co when it acquired Decca's non-marine radar activities.

1966 Became chairman of British Telecommunications Research

1969 Appointed MD (Telecommunications) in the new Post Office Corporation; resigned from Plessey. He was responsible for major capital investment in the telephone system including the introduction of TXE-4 exchanges and planing for the introduction of the System X, all electronic exchanges

1975 Appointed Deputy Chairman of the Post Office Corporation. Knighted for his services to telecommunications

1977 Retired. Took on a number of consultancies including IMA Microwave Products and British Medical Data Systems

2009 Died

See Also

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Sources of Information

• The Times, December 18, 2009