Sir Charles Frederick Goodeve (21 February 1904 – 7 April 1980) was a Canadian chemist and pioneer in operations research. During World War II, he was instrumental in developing the "hedgehog"

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...

weapon and the degaussing method for protecting ships from naval mines.

Biography

Goodeve was born in Neepawa, Manitoba, the son of Frederick W. Goodeve, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

clergyman. His early childhood was in

Stonewall Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

, Manitoba, but when he was around 10 years old the family moved to Winnipeg, where he grew up. He attended Kelvin High School and the University of Manitoba, passing his BSc exams in 1925 in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and physics, and receiving an MSc in electrochemistry in 1927. In that year he was awarded an

1851 Research Fellowship The 1851 Research Fellowship is a scheme conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight "young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise". The fellowship ...

from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, to study at University College London, where he studied under Fred Donnan. Goodeve was appointed a lecturer in Physical Chemistry in 1930 and Reader in 1937. He was awarded the

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

from the University of London in 1936 for his work with Donnan, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1940. After the war, Goodeve became the Director of the British Iron and Steel Research Association (B.I.S.R.A.). He was awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1962. After retiring in 1969, Goodeve pursued his interest in operational research. In 1977, he appeared in the BBC Television series '' The Secret War'' (episode: "The Deadly Waves" where he recounted his work on the 'Double L Sweep').

Death

Goodeve developed Parkinson's disease, which contributed to his death in 1980.

Work

Naval service

While in Winnipeg, Goodeve had served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve – . In England he joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. In 1936, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1939, he began work at HMS ''Vernon'', specializing in ways to counter the threat of mines. He developed the "Double L" technique for minesweeping magnetic mines. Later he developed the degaussing method for reducing the magnetic field around ships which triggered mines; Goodeve coined the term after the gauss unit, used by the Germans during the war to measure magnetic fields which they named after German scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855). He also developed the related technique of "wiping". To aid the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

, the British "wiped" 400 ships in four days."Great Escape at Dunkirk"
pbs.org. Accessed 17 January 2023. In 1940, Goodeve implemented the British production of the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

-designed Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, which was needed as anti-aircraft protection on naval and merchant ships. His group, renamed the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (D.M.W.D.), then worked on

developing the hedgehog, an array of spigot mortars which threw small, contact-fused bombs ahead of a ship. At one point, to protect the project from internecine warfare inside the Royal Navy, Goodeve finagled a demonstration of a prototype for Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. By the end of the war the weapon had accounted for some fifty U-boats. For his work in weapon development, Goodeve was awarded an

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

In 1942, the Third Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Sir William Wake-Walker, appointed Goodeve Assistant Controller Research and Development, with broad oversight of the Navy's research and development efforts. At the end of the war, Goodeve was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

, and awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom.

References

External links

Biography by The Naval Museum of Manitoba

Biography of Charles Goodeve
from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
The Papers of Sir Charles Frederick Goodeve
held at Churchill Archives Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodeve, Charles 1904 births 1980 deaths People from Neepawa, Manitoba People from Stonewall, Manitoba Alumni of University College London Canadian chemists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Canadian operations researchers Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Royal Canadian Navy officers Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Bessemer Gold Medal Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian Fellows of the Royal Society