Papers of Edward Douglas van Rest (b.1901), academic

Scope and Content

The archive contains the files of Edward van Rest, which comprise correspondence, photographs, printed material and other personalia, 1954-1979.

Administrative / Biographical History

Edward van Rest was born in Eastbourne in 1901. He was a statistician

His curriculum vitae, as supplied by his son, is as follows:

1912 - 1919 Scholar, Sir Walter St John's School, London SW11

1919-1921 & 1922-1923 Scholar, Peterhouse, Cambridge

1922 BSc (Maths) London Univ.

1923 BA (Natural Sciences) Cambridge Univ.

1923-25 Physics Master, Bancroft's School, Woodford, Essex

1925-40 Scientific Officer, Forest Products Research Lab.

1925 - 27 Oxford

1927 - 40 Princes Risborough, Bucks

1940-45 Ministry of Home Security, R & D Dept, Princes Risborough

1945-46 Ministry of Supply, O/C Advisory Service on Quality Control,

Advisory Service on Statistical Methods (S.R.17)

1946-51 Principal Scientific Officer, National Physical Lab. Mathematics Division,

Teddington, Middlesex

1951 Secretary and Royal Statistical Society Representative, British Productivity

Council's specialist team on Inspection in Industry visit to USA

1951-60 Ministry of Supply, Advisory Service on Statistical Methods, London

Service transferred to the Ministry of Aviation, and later to the War Office.

Carlton Hotel, Haymarket; Shell-Mex House, Strand; War Office, Whitehall.

1961 30 January, Retired from Civil Service.

1961-66 Assistant Director of Research, Engineering Dept, Cambridge Univ.

Teaching 'Principles of Industrial Management' & Design of Experiments

1966 July, retired and November moved to Exeter, Devon.

Served on the first editorial committee of "Applied Statistics"

Member of Council, Royal Statistical Society

Member of Council and Education Committee and Examiner, Institution of Engineering Inspection

Chairman, British Productivity Council's Committee on Quality Control,

which became National Council of Quality & Reliability

Examiner, Institute of Statisticians.

Believed to have been Secretary of the Operational Research Club, the predecessor of the ORS

Access Information

This collection is available to researchers by appointment at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. See http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/using/

Acquisition Information

The archive was deposited with the Modern Records Centre by Edward van Rest's son, Dr David van Rest, formerly a senior lecturer at Aston University and Deputy Registrar (Research) at South Bank University, in February 1995.

Other Finding Aids

Appraisal Information

This collection has been weeded for duplicates.

Accruals

Further deposits are not expected.

Related Material

The Centre holds the following other collections relating to the history, development and practice of operational research and to pioneers and practitioners in this field (collectively known as the Operational Research Archive): British European Airways: Operational Research Branch (MSS.335/AI/1); British Overseas Airways Corporation: Operational Research Branch (MSS.335/AI/2); British Steel Operational Research papers and Memoranda (MSS.335/BS); the Papers of Professor Stephen Cook (MSS.335/CK); the Community Operational Research Unit (MSS.335/COR); the East Midlands Operational Research Group (MSS.335/EMORG); Papers of the Fellowship for Operational Research (MSS.335/FOR); papers for British Gas Operational Research (MSS.335/GA); British Gas North West Operational Research Reports (MSS.335/GA/NW); GKN Operational Research Reports (MSS.335/GKN); Fellowship for Operational Research (MSS.335/FOR); International Federation of Operational Research Societies (MSS.335/IFORS); Interviews with Operational Research Pioneers and Related Papers (MSS.335/INT); the Institute for Operational Research (MSS.335/IOR); the Local Government Operational Research Unit (MSS.335/LG); Miscellaneous and Fragmentary Operational Research Papers (MSS.335/MIS); Operational Analysis Branch, NATO (MSS.335/OAB); Draft Obituaries of Operational Research Practitioners (MSS.335/OBIT); the Papers of Jack Plymen (MSS.335/PLY); the Papers of Professor K. Brian Haley relating to Operational Research Quarterly (MSS.335/SO/H); the Papers of Rolphe C. Tomlinson (MSS.335/TOM).