Dr Raymond Bird and the HEC-1

In 1951, the British Tabulating Machine Co Ltd (BTM) were dominating the British and Commonwealth market for punched card data processing equipment. Based on an initial design by Andrew Booth and adapted by Dr Raymond Bird, the HEC-1 (Hollerith Electronic Computer) was the first computer to be built by BTM. HEC-1 was a prototype for Britain’s first mass-produced commercial computer, designed to work with punched card equipment. The subsequent series of computers proved to be very successful. In 2011, Dr Bird was reunited with the HEC-1, in The National Museum of Computing's First Generation Gallery, more than 60 years after he constructed it. Today, the HEC-1 is amongst the earliest surviving electronic computers in the world.