PESC 
Professional Engineers South Cumbria

 
 
 
Talks arranged for 2022 (reports courtesy of  Ian Palmer)

 


Forensic Science – A Case Study” Isobel Colclough told the audience of 12* that the Institution of Criminal Investigation was the body which oversees the training of personnel (2 week courses, some of which Isobel runs) to investigate and collect evidence to submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Only 3 countries had not signed up to the ICC – China, Russia & USA. Humanitarian Law covered War Crimes, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity and was represented by Human Rights Legislation (applied during times of peace); Hague Law (applied during wars, e.g. were measures being taken proportionate to threat?, it had stopped gas attacks & use of Dum-Dum bullets); and Geneva Convention/Law (applied to PoWs, Medical Services, Hospitals, Religious Buildings, etc.).  In wars, some collateral damage was inevitable but this should be ‘proportionate’, e.g. carpet bombing a whole village where only a few terrorists lived was not!  It was important to target those who ordered the attack (generals?) (Liability) not the squaddies who pulled the triggers – soldiers could refuse to commit ‘war crimes’ but this may not always be an option!  Also, who had the Responsibility – a senior officer could or should have stopped a junior one acting unlawfully.  In Domestic Cases, there may be few victims and some witnesses but, in International Cases, there may be many victims but hardly any witnesses (left alive).  The term ’Aggression’ applied to external attacks on another country or internal ones within the country and War Crimes could be against civilians.  The existence of the ICC could act as a brake on some of the worst excesses.

‘Earth Invades Mars’  Stuart Atkinson told the audience of 23 that he would consider the past, present and possible future exploration of the planet.  NASA’s first rover was ‘Sojourner’, the size of a microwave oven and able to travel only a few feet but it lasted much longer than expected.  Gradually, as robotics improved, larger, more capable rovers were deployed, culminating in the present 1+Te Curiosity and Perseverance vehicles, landed by the highly complex ‘Sky Crane’ system.  He had a NASA video of the actual landing (real time) showing parachute deployment, heat shield separation, search for a suitable landing site, parachute release, sky crane deployment and actual landing.  He also showed the ‘Ingenuity’ helicopter flying in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere and the ‘dust devil’, tornado-like storms.  Because the atmosphere was so thin, cloud features were not clear but Stuart had software to  
enhance them and sunsets were bluish, due to the dust in the atmosphere (Rayleigh Scattering).  He showed images of Olympus Mons (Size of France), Valles Marinieris (Canyon, length = London

to New York), rock strata and areas that had been river deltas, where Perseverance was to drill rock cores to be encapsulated and brought back to Earth for detailed examination.  He also mentioned the current Chinese, Indian and UAE missions to Mars, and showed Elon Musk’s current rocket systems and his plans for manned settlements. 
On the afternoon of his talk, Stuart logged onto the NASA website and was able to download a ‘Sunset’, taken that day by Perseverance, sent via satellite to NASA and put on the web.  Thus, he was able to end his talk with an image of that day’s Martian Sunset shown on the same day on Earth in Barrow-in-Furness!!  What a scoop

“Lakeland Bridges” Andy Lowe told the audience of 41, that the Roman Architect Vetruvius, believed bridges should have “Functionality (strength), Durability and Beauty” and this led to icons, such as the Forth Bridge, and focal points for habitation, e.g. Santon Bridge or Pooley Bridge.  He started with the simple Clapper Bridge (verticals and horizontals) and continued to Packhorse Bridges, with vousoirs and key stones reflecting the French influence via the Abbeys.  Though not an engineer, he explained how bridges were constructed and widened and the importance of segmented single and multiple arcs of circles and ellipses in a way that appealed to both engineer and lay person.  He also pointed out how the arches and abutments resisted and deflected the force of flooding waters.

 

His extensive local historical knowledge of individual bridges followed development from the packhorse days (bridleways), through the Turnpike Road era to modern day communications in a most comprehensive manner and his efforts, for the National Park, to restore or rebuild failing bridges were highly commendable.		“Yangtze Incident”  Dr. Scott Lindgren told the audience of 34 that the UK Government had maintained a presence in China since before the Boxer Rebellion (1899) with, as well as in Shanghai and Hong Kong, a guard ship stationed 170 miles up the Yangtze at Nanking, the then Chinese capital.  This was not a popular posting and really anachronistic.  On 19/4/49, HMS Amethyst was sailing up the Yangtze to relieve the destroyed Consort.  Amethyst was a modified Black Swan Class Frigate, 1350T, boilers/geared turbines, 20kts, 4 x 6” guns, 194 crew + 1 cat and 1 dog; she saw service in WW2 and the most famous of her class was the ‘U-boat catcher’ HMS Starling.  At this time, China was in a state of Civil War with Mao Tse Dong’s communists in the ascendant.  Just short of Nanking, shore batteries fired on Amethyst, hit her bridge, wheelhouse and sick bay and she ran aground on Rose Island (50+ hits, 22 killed, 31 wounded).  Most of the crew were evacuated to Shanghai leaving a skeleton crew of 60 aboard, who dumped some fuel, re-floated her and anchored a few miles upstream.  Her captain died en route to Shanghai and Capt. John Kerans, Ass. Naval Attaché in Shanghai, took command.  A Sunderland Flying Boat was able to deliver a Doctor and medical supplies. The crew destroyed all Amethyst’s charts, code books and radars.  In negotiations, the Chinese demanded that UK ‘admitted’ that Amethyst had opened fire first – this was denied – and a 10-week long ‘game of cat and mouse’ ensued, during which Amethyst was re-fuelled (nominally to run her water making facilities).  At the end of July, with the fuel situation critical, she slipped her cable at 22.00 on 30/7/49 and sailed the 104 miles to re-join the fleet S. of Wusan at speeds of up to 22kts, with only an echo sounder as an aid – an exceptional navigational feat.  The cat, Blackie/Simon, was an excellent ratter and an excellent comforter for the crew and was awarded the Dickin Medal (the animal’s equivalent V.C.)