Leonard Thomas Draycott

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Draycott pictured at his desk

Leonard Thomas Draycott known professionally as L. T. Draycott (1913 – 28 January 1967) was a British schoolmaster and writer on physics.

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in 1913,[1] Draycott matriculated at King's College London in 1932 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1935 aged 22.[2][3]

Career[edit]

Beginning his career in education, he taught at the King Edward VI Grammar School in his native Nuneaton,[4] where he was a cricketer on the staff team, batting in two competitive matches against Warwickshire Club and Ground in 1937 and 1938,[5] scoring 5 runs in the first.[6]

Enlisting as a Temporary Instructor to newly conscripted members of the Royal Navy in 1941,[7] Draycott is listed by historian John Winton as implicated in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst in December 1943.[8] He was subsequently gazetted as Lieutenant on 7 March 1944.[9] Elected as an associate member of the respected Institute of Physics in 1952,[10] by 1953 he had returned to teaching as Master-in-Charge of the Lower School at Wintringham Grammar School in Grimsby.[11] Draycott then moved to Wirksworth, Derbyshire in order to become headmaster of the Anthony Gell Grammar School in 1954.[12]

Science writing[edit]

Simultaneously, Draycott co-authored the first edition of Elementary Practical Physics alongside Kenneth William Lyon;[13] a respected and widely circulated GCE Ordinary Level laboratory manual, the Times Educational Supplement reviewed it in 1962 as "sound, well arranged and well produced.".[14] An earlier response from The Journal of Education in 1954 was less sympathetic, complaining that " ... results are not given, and there are many questions."[13] The work is in its third revision as of 1977, following a second edition of 1971,[15] most recently updated by A. G. Dykes.[16] Despite its publisher Edward Arnold Ltd ceasing operations in 2001, Elementary Practical Physics was still being printed in India as late as 2002,[17] with a 1971 copy currently housed in the National Library.[18]

Later life and death[edit]

Draycott relocated to Carlton, Nottinghamshire when he assumed the headship of Gedling's Carlton le Willows Grammar School in 1958.[19][3] He died suddenly during his incumbency on 28 January 1967, aged 54.[19] A memorial plaque was duly erected in his honour and remains visible on the Carlton le Willows campus.[20]

References[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ "Leonard T Draycott in the England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915". Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2016 – via Ancestry.com.
  2. ^ Calendar. London: University of London. 1932. p. 493. OCLC 8462094.
  3. ^ a b Who's Who of British Scientists. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1964. p. 412. OCLC 564661213.
  4. ^ "Final assembly for Old Edwardians". Nuneaton News. 30 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Miscellaneous Matches played by LT Draycott". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  6. ^ "King Edward VI Grammar School Nuneaton v Warwickshire Club and Ground in 1937". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Navy lists – British military lists". National Library of Scotland. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  8. ^ Winton, John (1983). The Death of the Scharnhorst. London: A. Bird Publications. p. 171. OCLC 680089622.
  9. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). 7 March 1944. p. 1115. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Associates". British Journal of Applied Physics. 3: 240. 1952. OCLC 51439766.
  11. ^ "The Register". Physics Bulletin. 3 (30): 47. 1952. doi:10.1088/0031-9112/3/30/011. OCLC 630023168.
  12. ^ "Problem of Sixth-Formers". Belper News. 18 November 1955. Retrieved 27 March 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ a b "Elementary Practical Physics". The Journal of Education. 86: 51, 283. 1954. OCLC 651912292.
  14. ^ "Experimental Practical Physics". The School Science Review. 44 (152–54): 103. 1962. OCLC 1640642.
  15. ^ "Elementary Practical Physics". The Open British National Bibliography. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  16. ^ Elementary Practical Physics: [Laboratory Manual] (Book, 1977). WorldCat.org. 1977. ISBN 9780713101850. OCLC 9049921.
  17. ^ Singh, Sher; Sadhu, S. N. (2001). Indian Books in Print: 2002. Vol. 2. New Delhi: Indian Bureau of Bibliographies. p. 260. OCLC 863566408.
  18. ^ "Bibliographic Detail". National Library of India. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. ^ a b "The Headmasters study". Lewys.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  20. ^ *Inscription reads: THIS INSTRUMENT IS PLACED HERE / IN MEMORY OF / L. T. DRAYCOTT B. Sc, A. INST. P. / HEADMASTER / CARLTON-LE-WILLOWS GRAMMAR SCHOOL / 1958 – 1967: "L.T. Draycott Plaque". ImgBB. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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