My Short Century

By Lorna Arnold

Lorna Arnold, OBE (1915-2014) was a noted British nuclear historian who worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority for nearly 40 years. She wrote seminal books on the Windscale accident, nuclear weapons tests in Australia, and Britain’s H-Bomb programme. 

After a childhood of rural poverty in the south of England, she studied at the University of London and at Cambridge. Her work at the War Office and the Foreign Office during World War II led to postings to Berlin and Washington. A decade later, a chance encounter resulted in her joining the UKAEA, where she worked with many of the scientists and leaders who established Britain’s nuclear agenda.

“This is a very personal account of how a remarkable woman quietly and modestly served her country in both wartime and and post-war Britain. It also offers an insight into the change place of women in British society from the 1930s onwards.” – John Simpson, Former Director, Mountbatten Centre for International Studies, University of Southhampton.

Other books by Lorna Arnold

  • Britain and the H Bomb (with Katherine Pyne)
  • Windscale 1957 (with Mark Smith) previously published as A Very Special Relationship
  • Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy 1945-1952 (with Margaret Gowning)

Images 
From My Short Century, including family photos, WWII images, and people with whom Lorna worked with in the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Mother – Lorna Pearl Dawson
Mother – Lorna Pearl Dawson
Father – Ken Rainbow in his RNVR uniform.

 

Father – Ken Rainbow in his RNVR uniform.
Lorna Rainbow, age 1. Hand tinted image — note the red hair. Lorna was known as Margaret, to distinguish her from her mother, who was also named Lorna

 

Lorna Rainbow, age 1. Hand tinted image — note the red hair. Lorna was known as Margaret, to distinguish her from her mother, who was also named Lorna
Granny (Annie Elizabeth Rainbow) and Lorna, about 1921

 

Granny (Annie Elizabeth Rainbow) and Lorna, about 1921
Lorna Rainbow, about 4

 

Lorna Rainbow, about 4
Annie Elizabeth Rainbow

 

Annie Elizabeth Rainbow
Rainbow Family. Ken holds Hilary, Lorna stands behind Granny, and Lorna Pearl holds Rosemary.

 

Rainbow Family. Ken holds Hilary, Lorna stands behind Granny, and Lorna Pearl holds Rosemary.
Rainbow Children at Prestwick. By height – Lorna, Hilary, Rosemary, Ruth, Geoffrey

 

Rainbow Children at Prestwick. By height – Lorna, Hilary, Rosemary, Ruth, Geoffrey
Rainbow children off to school. From left: Ruth, Hilary, Rosemary, Geoffrey

 

Rainbow children off to school. From left: Ruth, Hilary, Rosemary, Geoffrey
Aunt Muriel Dawson

 

Aunt Muriel Dawson
Uncle Aubrey Dawson

 

Uncle Aubrey Dawson
Berlin, 1945

 

Berlin, 1945
Administration Zones of Germany after WWII

 

Administration Zones of Germany after WWII
Allied Control Council Headquarters, Berlin

 

Allied Control Council Headquarters, Berlin
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, 1945

 

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, 1945
Children in Berlin clearing rubble, 1945

 

Children in Berlin clearing rubble, 1945
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Lorna in Washington DC, 1947

 

Lorna in Washington DC, 1947
Lorna Rainbow, from an article in the Baltimore Sun 1948

 

Lorna Rainbow, from an article in the Baltimore Sun 1948
London buildings bombed during WWII

 

London buildings bombed during WWII
Lorna Rainbow and Bob Arnold’s wedding

 

Lorna Rainbow and Bob Arnold’s wedding
Interior of Cheyne Walk. The clavichord was made by Tom Goff and J.C. Cobby.

 

Interior of Cheyne Walk. The clavichord was made by Tom Goff and J.C. Cobby.
Lorna and her son Geoffrey behind No. 3 Cheyne Walk

 

Lorna and her son Geoffrey behind No. 3 Cheyne Walk
No. 3 Cheyne Walk, at the time the Arnolds lived there

 

No. 3 Cheyne Walk, at the time the Arnolds lived there
Bob Arnold

 

Bob Arnold
Bob Arnold at the recording controls in EMI’s Abbey Road studios in the early 1950s

 

Bob Arnold at the recording controls in EMI’s Abbey Road studios in the early 1950s
Ken Rainbow with his boat, in the 1950s

 

Ken Rainbow with his boat, in the 1950s
Auntie Phyl Rainbow with Stephen and Geoffrey

 

Auntie Phyl Rainbow with Stephen and Geoffrey
Bill Penney in center, at Australian bomb tests

 

Bill Penney in center, at Australian bomb tests
aea-penney_william_otto_frisch_rudolf_peierls_and_john_cockr
Andrew Maclean

 

Andrew Maclean
William Penney

 

William Penney
Margaret Gowing

 

Margaret Gowing
Christopher Hinton. When identifying pictures for this book, Lorna mentioned that this image of Hinton was particularly characteristic of the man.

 

Christopher Hinton. When identifying pictures for this book, Lorna mentioned that this image of Hinton was particularly characteristic of the man.
Lorna Arnold in early 1960s

 

Lorna Arnold in early 1960s
Rudi Peierls and Lorna Arnold on a teleconference with Los Alamos

 

Rudi Peierls and Lorna Arnold on a teleconference with Los Alamos
Lorna Arnold and Frank Barnaby in discussion

 

Lorna Arnold and Frank Barnaby in discussion
Lorna Arnold at ORG meeting, 1990

 

Lorna Arnold at ORG meeting, 1990
Lorna and the H-Bomb book, 2001

 

Lorna and the H-Bomb book, 2001
Lorna Arnold and Mark Smith at the time of the publication of Britain, Australia and the Bomb, 2006

 

Lorna Arnold and Mark Smith at the time of the publication of Britain, Australia and the Bomb, 2006
Lorna Arnold in a thoughtful moment

 

Lorna Arnold in a thoughtful moment
Lorna Arnold and her sister Ruth Smith

 

Lorna Arnold and her sister Ruth Smith
Lorna and Rosie Houldsworth of Talkworks

 

Lorna and Rosie Houldsworth of Talkworks
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Lorna

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