W. A. S. Butement
Encyclopedia
William Alan Stewart Butement (18 August 1904 – 25 January 1990), was a defence scientist and public servant. A native of New Zealand
, he made extensive contributions to radar development in Great Britain during World War II
, served as the first chief scientist for the Australian Defence Scientific Service, then ended his professional career with a research position in private business.
Alan Butement was born at Masterton, New Zealand, the son of New Zealand-born William Butement, physician and surgeon, and his English-born wife Amy Louise Stewart. When Alan was age eight, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, where he started at The Scots College
. After a year, the family moved again, this time to London, England. He graduated from University College School
and then studied at University College, University of London
, where he attended lectures by Edward Victor Appleton
and received the B.Sc. degree in physics
in 1926. He followed this as a research student for two years.He married Ursula Florence Alberta Parish on 17 June 1933.
’s Signals Experimental Establishment (SEE) at Woolwich
, London
, as a Scientific Officer, developing radio equipment for the British Army
. He and an associate, P. E. Pollard, conceived a radio apparatus for the detection of ships. A breadboard test unit, operating at 50 cm (600 MHz) and using pulsed modulation, gave successful laboratory results, but was not of interest to War Office officials. Nevertheless, in January 1931, a writeup on the apparatus was entered in the Inventions Book maintained by the Royal Engineers. This is the first official record in Great Britain on the technology that would eventually become radar.
In October 1936, Robert Watson Watt
’s team at Bawdsey Manor
Research Center (on the North Sea coast) was building in great secrecy Chain Home
, the first full Range and Direction Finding
(RDF) system (their cover name for what would eventually be called radar). An Army Cell from the SEE was attached to the Bawdsey operation. Butement was among those representing the War Office.
At Bawdsey, Butement was assigned to develop a Coastal Defence
(CD) RDF system to be used for aiming anti-shipping and anti-aircraft guns. By early 1938, he had a prototype under test. This used a pulsed 1.5-m (200-MHz) transmitter producing 50-kW power (later increased to 150-kW). For the transmitting and receiving antennas, he developed a large dipole
array, 10-feet high and 24-feet wide, giving narrow transmitting and receiving beams. This array could be rotated at a speed around 1.5 revolutions per minute. To improve the directional accuracy, lobe-switching
was used in the transmitting array.
Primary credit for introducing beamed RDF systems in Great Britain must be given to Butement. As a part of this development, he formulated the first – at least in Great Britain – mathematical relationship that would later become well known as the 'radar range equation.'
In September 1939, at the start of the war, operations at Bawdsey were distributed to safer locations. The Army Cell joined the Air Defense Experimental Establishment (ADEE) at Christchurch in Dorset on the south coast. At the time of the move, Butement was named an Assistant Director of Scientific Research, and continued to lead the CD research activity. The primary use of the evolving CD system was in aiming searchlights associated with the anti-aircraft guns, and Butement acquired the nickname of 'Mr. Searchlight Radar.’ He also developed what became the standard method of determining miss-distance of gunfire against shipping by using RDF echoes from splashes caused by shells hitting the sea.
There was an urgent need to improve the effectiveness of the anti-aircraft guns. With his background in radio, in October 1939, Butement turned to this technology as a potential solution. He conceived of a highly compact RDF set placed on the projectile, setting off the detonation when close proximity to the target was attained. He completed the circuit design, but there was the problem of packaging such a device in a small projectile, as well as the question of the vacuum tubes surviving the acceleration forces at firing.
Unfortunately, the demands on personnel and funds at the start of the war were such that little more was done at that time. In less than a year, however, in September of 1940 Butement’s concept would be moved dramatically toward mass production when it was exported under the technology transfer arrangements of the Tizard Mission
and subsequently a variation of his circuit became adopted in the United States as the proximity fuse or VT (variable-time) fuse, the most-manufactured electronic device of the war. In the later stages of the war, anti-aircraft shells fitted with proximity fuses played a major part in defeating both German V-1 flying bomb
attacks on London and Japanese kamikaze
attacks on Allied shipping, as well as the dramatic breaking of Japanese Naval Air power in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
forever immortalizing the invention's impact in the battle's alternate name: The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, where the battle losses were so severe it lead to the Japanese adoption of the kamikaze. Years later, Butement said that he considered the proximity fuse as his most significant accomplishment.
As the war got underway, it was realized that the Chain Home (CH) system needed an additional ability to detect low-flying aircraft. The CD RDF was ideal for this function, and was soon added at most CH stations as the Chain-Home Low
(CHL). For making the necessary adaptations, Butement led the effort at the ADEE.
In February 1940, Harry Boot
and John Randall
at Birmingham University built a high-power cavity magnetron
, allowing signal-generation at microwave
frequencies. In the fall of 1940, the device was brought to America by the Tizard Mission
, and development of microwave radars was started on both sides of the Atlantic. (The Tizard Mission also brought back to Great Britain the name ‘radar’ – adopted as a cover by the U.S. Navy in 1940.)
The ADEE was reformed into the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) in mid-1941. Applications of the CD system and the work of Butement were even more important as microwave devices were added. Germany began bomber attacks on the British mainland, and it was decided that radar research and development activities would be moved further inland. In May 1942, the ADRDE was transferred to Malvern, Worcestershire
, where it remained for many years.
In 1943, Butement, then Assistant Director of Scientific Research with the Ministry of Supply, invented and supervised the development of a secure radio-based method of battlefield communication using narrow beams of pulsed microwave signals, to replace the traditional telephone cable. Using a 10-cm (3-GHz) transmitter and receiver developed for radar, the Wireless Station No. 10 evolved. Called one of the electronic wonders of WWII, this was the first multi-channel, microwave communication system in Great Britain. It first went operational in July 1944, just after D-Day
, and served as the central communications backbone for the British march across Europe to victory.
, and a rocket test range at a new town, Woomera
, in the Australian Outback
. Butement was selected as Deputy-Chief Scientist of the project and moved to Australia in early 1947. As a British subject
, he was eligible to hold official positions in Australia, and, shortly after arriving, he was appointed Chief Superintendent of the project.
In April 1949, Butement took a new position as the first Chief Scientist in the Defence Scientific Service of the Australian Department of Supply and Development. His responsibilities encompassed laboratories for high-speed aerodynamics, propulsion, and electronics, all closely linked with the Anglo-Australian joint project. In 1955, all of these activities, including the joint project, were merged to form the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) reporting to Butement in Melbourne
, Victoria
.
Under Butement, the WRE established working facilities and conditions highly suited for scientific research. Hundreds of university graduates were recruited and sent to Great Britain for research training. While by this time Butement was primarily a research administrator rather than a hands-on scientist, he did personally initiate several highly important developments, including a rocket engine that used a semi-solid paste pressed into the firing chamber as propellant, and the Malkara missile
, an anti-tank guided weapon that was adopted as standard equipment by the Australian and British armies.
Butement encouraged the WRE to establish working links with scientists and engineers at the University of Adelaide
, in Adelaide, South Australia. In this, he personally submitted a thesis
describing his principal contributions to defence technologies and was awarded the Doctor of Science
(D.Sc.) degree in 1961.
Butement had a leading role in Great Britain’s testing of nuclear weapons in Australia. He led the party that identified the Monte Bello Islands in Western Australia
and Emu Field
in South Australia
as suitable sites, and was one of three observers representing the Australian Government at atomic tests on these sites in 1952 and 1953, respectively. Another mainland site, at Maralinga, South Australia
, was later selected, and Butement was a member of the board that managed the construction of this site, and was also a member of the test safety committee preparing for detonations there in 1956 and 1957.
Butement resigned his position with the WRE in 1966, to become, for a five-year term, Director of Research for Plessey Pacific Pty Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Plessey
, a major British electronics manufacturer.
In 1969 Butement wrote a paper to the Australian Industrial Research Group, advocating the formation of an Australian academy of applied science. From this, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
was formed in 1975. Butement, a member of both the steering committee and the council of the new academy, was appointed an honorary fellow in 1979.
After retirement from Plessey in 1972, Butement remained in Melbourne where he was an enthusiastic amateur radio
(ham) operator (call sign
VK3AD) and an adept carpenter, metalworker, and mechanic. He was a committed Christian
, adhering to the Catholic Apostolic Church
and later the Anglican Church
. Survived by his wife Ursula Florence Alberta Parish and two daughters Ann and Jane, he died on 25 January 1990, at Richmond, Melbourne.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, he made extensive contributions to radar development in Great Britain during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, served as the first chief scientist for the Australian Defence Scientific Service, then ended his professional career with a research position in private business.
Alan Butement was born at Masterton, New Zealand, the son of New Zealand-born William Butement, physician and surgeon, and his English-born wife Amy Louise Stewart. When Alan was age eight, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, where he started at The Scots College
The Scots College
For other schools with a similar name see Scots College.The Scots College is an independent Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Bellevue Hill, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. After a year, the family moved again, this time to London, England. He graduated from University College School
University College School
University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
and then studied at University College, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, where he attended lectures by Edward Victor Appleton
Edward Victor Appleton
Sir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
and received the B.Sc. degree in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in 1926. He followed this as a research student for two years.He married Ursula Florence Alberta Parish on 17 June 1933.
Achievements in Great Britain
In 1928, Butement joined the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
’s Signals Experimental Establishment (SEE) at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as a Scientific Officer, developing radio equipment for the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. He and an associate, P. E. Pollard, conceived a radio apparatus for the detection of ships. A breadboard test unit, operating at 50 cm (600 MHz) and using pulsed modulation, gave successful laboratory results, but was not of interest to War Office officials. Nevertheless, in January 1931, a writeup on the apparatus was entered in the Inventions Book maintained by the Royal Engineers. This is the first official record in Great Britain on the technology that would eventually become radar.
In October 1936, Robert Watson Watt
Robert Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, KCB, FRS, FRAeS is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Development of radar, initially nameless, was first started elsewhere but greatly expanded on 1 September 1936 when Watson-Watt became...
’s team at Bawdsey Manor
Bawdsey Manor
Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the River Deben close to the village of Bawdsey in Suffolk, England, about 118 km northeast of London....
Research Center (on the North Sea coast) was building in great secrecy Chain Home
Chain Home
Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
, the first full Range and Direction Finding
Range and Direction Finding
Range and Direction Finding was the initial technique and hardware in Great Britain that eventually came to be called 'radar.'Since the earliest days of radio , the signals had been used in direction finding on land, sea, and in the air...
(RDF) system (their cover name for what would eventually be called radar). An Army Cell from the SEE was attached to the Bawdsey operation. Butement was among those representing the War Office.
At Bawdsey, Butement was assigned to develop a Coastal Defence
Coastal defence and fortification
Coastal defence , Coastal defense and Coastal fortification are measures taken to provide protection against attack by military and naval forces at or near the shoreline...
(CD) RDF system to be used for aiming anti-shipping and anti-aircraft guns. By early 1938, he had a prototype under test. This used a pulsed 1.5-m (200-MHz) transmitter producing 50-kW power (later increased to 150-kW). For the transmitting and receiving antennas, he developed a large dipole
Dipole
In physics, there are several kinds of dipoles:*An electric dipole is a separation of positive and negative charges. The simplest example of this is a pair of electric charges of equal magnitude but opposite sign, separated by some distance. A permanent electric dipole is called an electret.*A...
array, 10-feet high and 24-feet wide, giving narrow transmitting and receiving beams. This array could be rotated at a speed around 1.5 revolutions per minute. To improve the directional accuracy, lobe-switching
Lobe switching
Lobe switching is a method used on early radar sets to improve tracking accuracy. It used two slightly separated antenna elements to send the beam slightly to either side of the midline of the antenna, switching between the two to find which one gave the stronger return, thereby indicating which...
was used in the transmitting array.
Primary credit for introducing beamed RDF systems in Great Britain must be given to Butement. As a part of this development, he formulated the first – at least in Great Britain – mathematical relationship that would later become well known as the 'radar range equation.'
In September 1939, at the start of the war, operations at Bawdsey were distributed to safer locations. The Army Cell joined the Air Defense Experimental Establishment (ADEE) at Christchurch in Dorset on the south coast. At the time of the move, Butement was named an Assistant Director of Scientific Research, and continued to lead the CD research activity. The primary use of the evolving CD system was in aiming searchlights associated with the anti-aircraft guns, and Butement acquired the nickname of 'Mr. Searchlight Radar.’ He also developed what became the standard method of determining miss-distance of gunfire against shipping by using RDF echoes from splashes caused by shells hitting the sea.
There was an urgent need to improve the effectiveness of the anti-aircraft guns. With his background in radio, in October 1939, Butement turned to this technology as a potential solution. He conceived of a highly compact RDF set placed on the projectile, setting off the detonation when close proximity to the target was attained. He completed the circuit design, but there was the problem of packaging such a device in a small projectile, as well as the question of the vacuum tubes surviving the acceleration forces at firing.
Unfortunately, the demands on personnel and funds at the start of the war were such that little more was done at that time. In less than a year, however, in September of 1940 Butement’s concept would be moved dramatically toward mass production when it was exported under the technology transfer arrangements of the Tizard Mission
Tizard Mission
The Tizard Mission officially the British Technical and Scientific Mission was a British delegation that visited the United States during the Second World War in order to obtain the industrial resources to exploit the military potential of the research and development work completed by the UK up...
and subsequently a variation of his circuit became adopted in the United States as the proximity fuse or VT (variable-time) fuse, the most-manufactured electronic device of the war. In the later stages of the war, anti-aircraft shells fitted with proximity fuses played a major part in defeating both German V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
attacks on London and Japanese kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
attacks on Allied shipping, as well as the dramatic breaking of Japanese Naval Air power in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
forever immortalizing the invention's impact in the battle's alternate name: The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, where the battle losses were so severe it lead to the Japanese adoption of the kamikaze. Years later, Butement said that he considered the proximity fuse as his most significant accomplishment.
As the war got underway, it was realized that the Chain Home (CH) system needed an additional ability to detect low-flying aircraft. The CD RDF was ideal for this function, and was soon added at most CH stations as the Chain-Home Low
Chain Home Low
Chain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
(CHL). For making the necessary adaptations, Butement led the effort at the ADEE.
In February 1940, Harry Boot
Harry Boot
Henry Albert Howard "Harry" Boot was an English physicist who with Sir John Randall and James Sayers developed the cavity magnetron, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War.-Biography:...
and John Randall
John Randall (physicist)
Sir John Turton Randall, FRS, FRSE, was a British physicist and biophysicist, credited with radical improvement of the cavity magnetron, an essential component of centimetric wavelength radar, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War. It is also the key component of...
at Birmingham University built a high-power cavity magnetron
Cavity magnetron
The cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
, allowing signal-generation at microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
frequencies. In the fall of 1940, the device was brought to America by the Tizard Mission
Tizard Mission
The Tizard Mission officially the British Technical and Scientific Mission was a British delegation that visited the United States during the Second World War in order to obtain the industrial resources to exploit the military potential of the research and development work completed by the UK up...
, and development of microwave radars was started on both sides of the Atlantic. (The Tizard Mission also brought back to Great Britain the name ‘radar’ – adopted as a cover by the U.S. Navy in 1940.)
The ADEE was reformed into the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) in mid-1941. Applications of the CD system and the work of Butement were even more important as microwave devices were added. Germany began bomber attacks on the British mainland, and it was decided that radar research and development activities would be moved further inland. In May 1942, the ADRDE was transferred to Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
, where it remained for many years.
In 1943, Butement, then Assistant Director of Scientific Research with the Ministry of Supply, invented and supervised the development of a secure radio-based method of battlefield communication using narrow beams of pulsed microwave signals, to replace the traditional telephone cable. Using a 10-cm (3-GHz) transmitter and receiver developed for radar, the Wireless Station No. 10 evolved. Called one of the electronic wonders of WWII, this was the first multi-channel, microwave communication system in Great Britain. It first went operational in July 1944, just after D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, and served as the central communications backbone for the British march across Europe to victory.
Achievements in Australia
After the War, the British and Australian governments established a joint project on research and development of guided missiles. The project included laboratory and workshop facilities at Salisbury, South AustraliaSalisbury, South Australia
Salisbury is a northern suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the seat of the City of Salisbury, and in the South Australian Legislative Assembly electoral district of Ramsay and the Australian House of Representatives divisions of Wakefield and Port Adelaide...
, and a rocket test range at a new town, Woomera
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
, in the Australian Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
. Butement was selected as Deputy-Chief Scientist of the project and moved to Australia in early 1947. As a British subject
British subject
In British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.- Prior to 1949 :...
, he was eligible to hold official positions in Australia, and, shortly after arriving, he was appointed Chief Superintendent of the project.
In April 1949, Butement took a new position as the first Chief Scientist in the Defence Scientific Service of the Australian Department of Supply and Development. His responsibilities encompassed laboratories for high-speed aerodynamics, propulsion, and electronics, all closely linked with the Anglo-Australian joint project. In 1955, all of these activities, including the joint project, were merged to form the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) reporting to Butement in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Under Butement, the WRE established working facilities and conditions highly suited for scientific research. Hundreds of university graduates were recruited and sent to Great Britain for research training. While by this time Butement was primarily a research administrator rather than a hands-on scientist, he did personally initiate several highly important developments, including a rocket engine that used a semi-solid paste pressed into the firing chamber as propellant, and the Malkara missile
Malkara missile
The Malkara missile was one of the earliest anti-tank guided missiles . It was jointly developed by Australia and the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1954, and was in service from 1958 until gradually replaced by the Swingfire missile in the late 1960s...
, an anti-tank guided weapon that was adopted as standard equipment by the Australian and British armies.
Butement encouraged the WRE to establish working links with scientists and engineers at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, in Adelaide, South Australia. In this, he personally submitted a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
describing his principal contributions to defence technologies and was awarded the Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(D.Sc.) degree in 1961.
Butement had a leading role in Great Britain’s testing of nuclear weapons in Australia. He led the party that identified the Monte Bello Islands in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and Emu Field
Emu Field
Emu Field is located in the desert of South Australia, at . Variously known as Emu Field, Emu Junction or Emu, it was the site of the Operation Totem pair of nuclear tests conducted by the British government in October 1953.The site was surveyed by Len Beadell in 1952...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
as suitable sites, and was one of three observers representing the Australian Government at atomic tests on these sites in 1952 and 1953, respectively. Another mainland site, at Maralinga, South Australia
Maralinga, South Australia
Maralinga, South Australia in the remote western areas of South Australia was the home of the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Australian people. Maralinga was the site of the secret British nuclear tests in the 1950s. The site measures about 3,300 km² in area...
, was later selected, and Butement was a member of the board that managed the construction of this site, and was also a member of the test safety committee preparing for detonations there in 1956 and 1957.
Butement resigned his position with the WRE in 1966, to become, for a five-year term, Director of Research for Plessey Pacific Pty Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Plessey
Plessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...
, a major British electronics manufacturer.
In 1969 Butement wrote a paper to the Australian Industrial Research Group, advocating the formation of an Australian academy of applied science. From this, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....
was formed in 1975. Butement, a member of both the steering committee and the council of the new academy, was appointed an honorary fellow in 1979.
After retirement from Plessey in 1972, Butement remained in Melbourne where he was an enthusiastic amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
(ham) operator (call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
VK3AD) and an adept carpenter, metalworker, and mechanic. He was a committed Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, adhering to the Catholic Apostolic Church
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic Church was a religious movement which originated in England around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States. While often referred to as Irvingism, it was neither actually founded nor anticipated by Edward Irving. The Catholic Apostolic Church was organised in...
and later the Anglican Church
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Survived by his wife Ursula Florence Alberta Parish and two daughters Ann and Jane, he died on 25 January 1990, at Richmond, Melbourne.
Special recognition
- In 1946, Butement was honored as an Officer (OBE) in the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
- In 1959, Butement was promoted from OBE to Commander (CBE) in the Order of the British Empire.
- He was commemorated by the naming of the Butement Laboratory of the High Frequency Radar Division, Defence Department, in Salisbury, South Australia.
General references
- Home, R. W. “Butement, William Alan Stewart (1904 - 1990)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Melbourne U. Press; http://adb.anu.edu.au/online-edition
- Swords, S. S.; Technical History of the Beginnings of Radar, Peter Peregrinus, Ltd, 1986
- Watson, Raymond C., Jr.; Radar Development Worldwide, Trafford Publishing, 2009
- Williams, Betty; Dr. W. A. S. Butement: the First Chief Scientist for Defence, Bib ID 1492798, Australian Govt. Pub. Service, 1991
- Wisdom, John;A History of Defence Science in Australia, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1995.