What became of Paul Dirac’s classmate?

Abstract

We examine Paul Dirac’s early life in Bristol and the link with his classmate Herbert Charles Wiltshire. We outline Wiltshire’s subsequent career using archives and the few letters which survive between Dirac and Wiltshire.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Sarah Rogers (Institute of Mechanical Engineers) and Jon Cable (Institution of Engineering Technology). Thanks to the University of Florida for permission to quote from letters in their archive. Dr James Abbott was assiduous in his reading of the manuscript and I thank him.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.