What was LEO?
The first business computer wasn’t built by a technology company. In fact, it was built by Lyons - a name that was synonymous with… tea and cakes!
Maintaining the smooth operation of Lyons’ extensive network of 200+ teashops and corner houses, established across London and beyond, was a massive production and logistical challenge. An ever-growing team of data processing staff ensured that the right quantity of stock was manufactured and supplied to the right premises at the right time and that bills and staff were paid.
But LEO I changed all that. For the first time, a general-purpose computer could calculate information that was critical to the functioning of an important national business and LEO proved that it could return the correct results, reliably, consistently, and far faster than any staff team’s manual calculations could ever hope to achieve.
Having proved its worth to Lyons, LEO’s scope grew to undertake important tasks for other major organisations. It helped answer difficult questions in lots of areas, by:
- Establishing the shortest distance between each of the UKs 7,000 railway stations.
- Calculating employee pay for companies such as the Ford Motor Company.
- Performing calculations on behalf of Government departments such as the Inland Revenue.
- Undertaking weather calculations for the UK Meteorological Office.
- Supporting complex scientific, technological and military calculations.
It’s mark in history
The achievements of LEO I in the 1950s were a huge step forward in the development of computing, and an enormous leap toward a future in which the world of business and computing became inseparable.
We think you’ll be surprised to see the Lyons Electronic Office. Its appearance is far from what you might think of as a computer today. In fact, it spanned an entire 15m x 15m room, and included an array of input and output devices.
Discover the full story in the Virtual LEO I app, or by visiting our installation at The Centre for Computing History today.
Step inside
LEO I is a lost machine, in a lost room in a lost building. Almost all evidence of it in the real world has gone. The Virtual LEO I app is a recreation of the room in which LEO was first built and operated.
Painstakingly recreated after several years of research, this is your chance to visit, explore & experience a world renowned piece of technology, and a chance to step inside the world it was about to change.
It includes:
- An unlimited exploration of the ‘calculator room’ at Cadby Hall, Hammersmith, West London, the headquarters of Lyons and a chance to stand inside a computer!
- 35 objects that open the door to a deep dive in information.
- 7 objects that can be directly inspected by rotation, pan and scale in 3D.
- 44 original documents from the LEO archive that can be read in detail.
- Approx 43,000 words of text in support of objects and documents, divided into the themes of; The timeline of computing, Lyons as a company, LEO as part of Lyons, LEO the technology, People and Social History. All offering a powerful learning experience at a wide spectrum of age ranges and levels of understanding.
- Over 130 photographs and images in support of objects and documents that show LEO I as it was and in its historical context.
- 6 video snippets provided with permission from the BBC demonstrating LEO I in action.
- 5 people that demonstrate the key roles undertaken by staff at the time.
Credits
This application has been created by The Centre for Computing History, in conjunction with The LEO Society, as part of a project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop an archive of the Lyons Electronic Office.
Developed using Unreal Engine, this app is available for download now.