Collection Highlights

This PDP was used by AWRE scientists at Blacknest during the Cold War to identify underground nuclear tests using seismic data. It sounds incredible, but at the time a lack of data made it difficult to reliably detect these huge explosions. AWRE revolutionised the practice of seismic data collection and analysis. This PDP, one of thousands produced by DEC, played an important part in AWRE’s work. By the 1970s it was being used to digitise sound waves captured using a series of listening arrays. It’s a model 11/34 that was popular for data processing. You can see the silver DEC labels still on the metal casing that hold AWRE’s helpdesk details in case of technical problems. The computer also contains tape labelled 'Archive event data Oct 1986–Jan 1988.'

Kindly lent by The National Museum of Computing. 

DEC made market-defining systems called ‘minicomputers’ that - years before the 1980s’ PC explosion - switched people onto programming and changed their lives. DEC UK founder John Leng observed that with Britain noted for its Mini cars and miniskirts, the time was right for minicomputers! Minicomputers look antiquated compared to today’s PCs, tablets and laptops but they were much smaller, cheaper and more versatile than earlier computers. DEC called their minicomputers ‘Programmable Data Processors’ – or PDPs. PDP-8s like this were a hit in higher education, used at universities including Reading for research and to teach subjects like computing and electronics. Raspberry Pi co-founder Pete Lomas was among a generation of programmers inspired by the PDP-8. As word spread, PDP-8s became popular in business. This PDP-8 is believed to have been made at DEC’s factory in Galway, Ireland, opened in 1971 to keep pace with demand. Kindly lent by The National Museum of Computing. 
 

Access to the personal archive of Geoff Shingles, one of DEC’s most successful managing directors, was crucial for this project. The collection is now stored in the Royal Berkshire Archives.

Awards and luxury perks such as weekend breaks were some of the ways DEC rewarded its workers for achievements and commitment. Angela Shore advised on installation of DEC’s ALL-IN-1 software for major customers. This is one of the awards she received in recognition of her work – and a DEC share certificate she kept and framed.

In the 1980s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) developed DECtalk, a groundbreaking speech synthesizer that gave computers an artificial human voice. Among its most famous users was Professor Stephen Hawking, who relied on this technology to communicate his revolutionary ideas to the world. Hawking’s account was managed at Reading’s DEC Park office, making the town an unexpected but vital part of global scientific history. When offered newer voice options as technology advanced, Hawking chose to keep the original ‘Perfect Paul’ setting because it had become part of his identity. This decision made the voice iconic, instantly recognizable across generations. Reading musician Pete Doyle was inspired by this story and the Reading’s Digital Revolution Project to produce a new composition, Humaniti – Listen Here.

In the 1980s, DEC helped bring back the historic Schneider Trophy air race. Sponsored by DEC from 1984 to 1991, the event drew record entries, royal attention, and TV coverage—reviving a tradition of speed and innovation over the Solent. With prize money, TV coverage, and crowds growing, the revived Schneider Trophy became a highlight of the racing season and a showcase for DEC’s brand.

DEC built its success on the popular, versatile and affordable “minicomputer”. The mini performed computation and data processing, and presented characters on a monitor with instructions relayed to the computer through the keyboard.

This sign once marked a powerful server named after a character from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The server transmitted the VOGON News Service (VNS)—a pioneering global news feed created by DEC engineers before the rise of the Internet and World Wide Web. Starting in 1981, Richard De Morgan in Reading began sending UK news to colleagues in the USA. VNS grew into a worldwide service for DEC employees, running for over 16 years until the late 1990s. For many British staff abroad, it was a vital link to home in an era when international news was hard to access. The story of VNS and historic editions of the newsletters can be found on a dedicated webpage https://thevns.uk/

To qualify for Digital 100 recognition, members of the salesforce had to achieve 100% of their annual sales target. These targets were set by the company directors and were challenging to reach in a highly competitive market. Reading-trained DEC sales personnel travelled nationally and internationally and were known for being among the best in the business. Uniquely, for many years DEC sales staff were not paid commission: rather, they were directed to focus on customer satisfaction. 

Norton Hawes worked as a DEC field service engineer during the 1970s and 1980s. His toolkit travelled everywhere with him as he visited customers to carry out repairs and maintenance. This was at a time when computing depended on electrical and mechanical engineering expertise. 
 

As business expanded, DEC’s marketing department at Worton Grange sponsored major events including the early Reading Half Marathons and London Marathon. Chris Brasher, London Marathon co-founder, wrote to thank DEC UK’s managing director for his team’s successful delivery of the computer systems that helped record the times and positions of the 1985 London Marathon’s 20,000 runners. 

A skilled technical engineering workforce was key to DEC’s success. The DHV11 was the first output of a new team in Reading that followed the US parent’s decision to grant Reading freedom to pursue its own research and development. The DHV11 provided wide-area dial-up network connections for PDP-11s and MicroVAXes. The DEC MicroServer was first to implement a DEC-devised routing protocol that became key to the internet. MicroServer was popular with banks and others who expected fast and reliable wide area and internet connections.

Thrust SSC made headlines in 1997 as the first car to break the sound barrier. DEC’s support for the Thrust team included providing computers such as this HiNote laptop, that was used to upload information to the car’s onboard systems and download data for analysis. It's still dusted with sand from Black Rock desert, Nevada, where test runs were conducted and the record set.  

DEC’s PDP mini computers first powered scientific work at Harwell and Aldermaston, even monitoring nuclear tests for treaty compliance. Soon, PDPs—and later VAX systems—spread into banking, telecoms, broadcasting, and manufacturing. DEC’s “clusters” delivered faster processing, with one of Europe’s largest outside the military run by Intasun Holidays. A technological development that drove a boom in overseas package holidays.

Reading became the global centre for training in computing and data processing, thanks to DEC. Hundreds of people a day – employees and customers – flowed through Reading to learn about DEC’s technology. People came from as far afield as South America and the Middle East. Field engineers could spend up to six months in classes before being allowed to see customers. Specialists including Angela Shore would bring DEC’s staff up to speed on new products. Customers lacked IT teams, so depended on DEC training. Training began in Fountain House in the Butts Centre (now Broad St Mall) but growing demand and new topics like systems management and software saw expansion to Shire Hall and Highfield Park, Hook. Over time, training was offered across the UK and Europe. Training helped boost the local economy. Hotels in Reading, Pangbourne and Hungerford in particular benefited from the rapid turnover of guests.

These DEC pin badges were collected by Graham Roberts during a ten-year career with DEC that took him overseas. The clock towers depict DEC’s head offices in Maynard, Massachusetts. The Rainbow computer was one of DEC’s answers to IBM’s personal computer, but it failed to sell in sufficient numbers to compete in the saturated PC market. Once a year DEC’s staff and customers met at ‘DEC World’ - a huge week-long conference that took place in Cannes, France and Boston, Massachusetts.

Sandy McKenzie joined DEC as a salesperson in 1984 and by the following year had received this plaque for hitting his annual computer sales target of £1.5 million. Sandy then used his valuable skills moving to Reading as a sales trainer based at Shire Hall in Reading, eventually becoming DEC UK’s sales trainee programme manager.

DEC rewarded long service with the issue of commemorative pens made by the luxury Swiss brand, Caran D’arche. A silver pen was issued after five years and a gold-plated version at the decade mark. Long service was common amongst DEC’s workforce, and the company also awarded pens when employees had been in service for 25 years. The award would often include a celebration: a dinner dance or a weekend away at a hotel.

Reading became a hotspot for research and development from the early 1980s, as DEC’s US parent targeted new markets in software and networking. R&D had taken place in the US but telecomms and network markets in Europe were subject to lots of rules and technical requirements specific to individual countries. Thanks to its location and talent pool, responsibility for European R&D transferred to Reading. Engineers played a key part in building the internet, leading development of the network protocols which govern how devices communicate. Responsibility for office productivity and automation software was also handed to Reading. ALL-IN-1 was DEC’s office automation software, used to replace paper records and letters with digital documents and electronic mail using networked DEC computers.

This June 1964 letter offered John Barrett a role at Digital Equipment Corporation’s Castle Street office in Reading, a decision that launched a career spanning the globe. Barrett rose to highest levels of management in DEC’s European operations, raised a family in Reading, and today chairs DEXODUS, the association for retired DEC employees. Castle Street was DEC’s first UK base, making Reading a hub for computing innovation. From these modest beginnings, DEC became one of the most influential tech firms of the 20th century, shaping the minicomputer era and Britain’s digital future. The letter is signed by Ken Senior, then UK Sales Manager, who later returned to the U.S. and later became DEC’s Company Secretary, with a ringside seat at pivotal negotiations and industry meetings that shaped modern computing.

DEC’s European marketing department would eventually be based at DEC Park at Worton Grange, where they produced a wide variety of promotional material and publications. As DEC’s business empire expanded the company sponsored major sports, arts and cultural events, including the early Reading Half Marathons. 

Decades of trade restrictions between the West and Communist Bloc countries ceased when the Cold War came to an end. Companies such as DEC were free to sell more openly to these new markets. Staff in Reading travelled extensively from the Baltic to Central Asia, opening offices, cutting deals and donating powerful internet servers to academic, research and government institutions.