'Six London Borough Councils may jointly purchase and operate a large computer for payroll and other accountancy jobs,' starts a story in Electronics Weekly's edition of March 8th 1961.
The boroughs involved are
'Of these,
LEO computers were the world's first business computers.
In October 1947, the directors of J. Lyons & Company, which owned the Joe Lyons Corner Houses a chain of UK tea-shops, decided to replace the Burroughs mechanical adding machines it used with an electronic computer, and set out to make one.
The result was the world's first commercial computer the LEO - standing for Lyons Electronic Office.
The computer was built by John Pinkerton who based it on the early EDSAC computer at Cambridge University.
In 1951 the LEO I computer was operational and ran the world's first regular routine office computer job. The company LEO Computers Ltd was formed in 1954.
LEO II computers were installed at the
LEO lll computers were installed in Customs & Excise, Inland Revenue, The Post Office and in
LEO Computers merged with English Electric in 1963 to form English Electric LEO, and later, English Electric Leo Marconi (EELM). LEO was folded into ICL in 1968.
TOMORROW: TEN BEST TECH FILMS
I used to work on a LEO MKII Run by the GPO in Derby to send out telephone bills. This was about 1979. I thought I had gone to work in a museum! With all the peripherals it took up a room about 15 meters by 20 meters. I still have one side of a tape spool with LEO on it.
Robert, that is a claim to fame.