2024 marks 60 years since Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) opened its first UK office in Reading and transformed our region – and we’re asking your help to celebrate the story!
From just two members of staff above a furniture store on Castle Street, by the 1980s DEC was employing more than 2,000 workers in our town.
They helped turn DEC into the world’s second largest computer company and transformed the Reading region into the international technology hub we know today.
DEC is gone but its legacy thrives - something Reading Museum, The National Museum of Computing (TNMoC), the DEXODUS employees and DECUS (UK) customer groups are marking with a major new initiative, including exhibitions and school programmes, called Reading’s Digital Revolution.
Get Involved
We would like to invite you to become a vital part of this project!
DEC was an inspiring place to work with a unique culture and it enjoyed a special relationship with customers. If you worked there, or were one of those customers, help us make those stories and experiences heard by audiences today.
Our employees’ and customers’ surveys should take no more than 15 minutes – and your input will help build the dynamic story of Reading’s Digital Revolution.
If you are an former employee of DEC please click on this box to complete our survey
If you are a former customer/user of DEC products please click on box below to complete our survey
The survey will open on a new tab. When you have completed our survey, just close the tab to return here.
About our Partners
The project has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £87,000 and generous donations from DECUS and local charity RGSpaces. This, together with your input, will enable Reading Museum and TNMoC to tell the DEC story through a series of exciting and authentic exhibitions, education programs and community outreach activities.
We also look forward to developing the project with help from Reading University's Institute of Education, New Directions College, Blended Past and Digit (All).
Watch this Space!
As the project develops, we will update this webpage with more news and opportunities to get involved.
