An earlier Nuclear Heritage article in the NRT (August 21, 2024) contained a photograph of Jack Hardwick and Fred Goulding in front of a newly developed 100-channel kicksorter. An email from a reader of the article has prompted a closer look at the photograph and the people in it.
David Rogers, an NRT follower in the UK wrote “The Hardwicks lived in Deep River opposite the WB Lewis house. I grew up with his sons, Peter (RIP) and David, my best buddy at Abingdon School, when the family relocated to the UK after Mr. Hardwick’s brain tumor. During the war he did research on the German V-II rockets …. Peter and his mother helped nurse Jack on his return to the UK. Jack Hardwick’s funeral in the early 1960s was the first I went to, accompanying my good childhood friend, David.”
A subsequent email from David reported “Two good friends of Peter Hardwick were Rory Gus Sinclair and Ken Ahronson. Peter was very inventive, and he started a newspaper with subscriptions with the above friends. His mother, Kathleen, typed it up and it was distributed … it dealt mostly with items of lost cats and dogs”
A search of the phone books from the 1950’s era reveal that the Hardwicks occupied a prestigious address (for that era) of 6 Beach Ave from1951 to 1956. A search of early Physics Division Progress Reports (PDPR) revealed that Jack Hardwick was the Branch Head of Electronics Branch from 1951 until March 1, 1957, when he “terminated employment at AECL.”
A further search of the files revealed an earlier communication from George Elliott (son of the late Lloyd Elliott) that states: “The Hardwicks lived at 6 Beach, next door to us. (Peter Hardwick was my age – he returned later to visit Deep River a couple of times.…David Hardwick was my brother, Bruce’s age.)” and “Once, Mr. Hardwick built a summer house in their back yard. Mrs. Hardwick helped Peter and me and a friend type and duplicate a neighbourhood newsletter.”
Turning now to the other person in the photograph, Fred Goulding, the PDPRs reveal that he joined AECL May 12, 1952, shortly after it was incorporated, succeeded Hardwick as Head of Electronics Branch in 1957 and “Terminated Aug 18, 1961 to take an appointment with Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.” The Goulding family lived initially at 30 Wolfe and later at 35 Faraday. No details have been unearthed about the family, but Fred went on to enjoy an outstanding career at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.
The Canadian Nuclear Heritage Museum has accumulated a large collection of documents such as Progress Reports and early telephone directories that contain many details about the pioneers of the industry. We welcome researchers to investigate the collection; contact the museum at info@nuclearheritage.com
