The birth of the boffin
David Callaghan looks at the part which the Isle of Purbeck played in the vital development of radar during World War 2
Published in September ’20
A colourised view of the TRE site at Worth Matravers with the two masts of the Chain Home Radar. Hounstout Cliff is
in the background.
WHERE did the word ‘boffin’ come from? No-one is quite sure, but most authorities agree that like ‘prang’ and ‘piece of cake’, it grew out of World War 2 RAF slang and was applied to all scientists, especially those working on radar research. So some of the very first boffins actually worked in Dorset, because in 1940, a team of two hundred radar research scientists, technicians and engineers travelled to Worth Matravers, where…
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