David Aspinall obituary

My father, David Aspinall, who has died aged 86, was one of a small group of researchers who founded the field of computer science in the UK. As an engineering research student he was involved in building the Manchester University Atlas computer which, when it was switched on in 1962, was the fastest in the world. In 1970, David moved to University College Swansea to become professor of electrical engineering and create a new course, a BSc in computer technology, based on the model designed by his boss Tom Kilburn whose computer science department at Manchester University was the first of its kind in the UK. These people were the pioneers of the new academic and educational field of "computer science". David was born in Cleveleys, Lancashire, the son of Hilda (nee Whittle), who had worked in the weaving sheds of Blackburn before her marriage, and William Aspinall, a civil servant.