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100 Years - 100 Stories


We’re celebrating our centenary with new stories every week.
Do you have a story? share it here!


Olivia Shields
Review of Imperial College Symphony Orchestra Tour to Spain and Paris... 16 December 2007
Colin Waldron
The story behind the picture... 15 December 2007
Adrian Johnson
Adrian “Jelly” Johnson shares his memories of Southside... 15 December 2007
John Sanderson and Jeffrey Greenleaf
remember the time when there were 2,700 men and only 100 women at Imperial... 14 December 2007
Reginald Gill
remembers how the Commemoration Day celebrations started... 13 December 2007
Professor Brian Morgan
remembers life in the Physics Department in the 1960s... 12 December 2007
Gordon Jackson (Chemical Engineering, 1972; PhD, 1976)
Fondly remembers his time here in the 70s... 11 December 2007
Ian Gillett (Chemistry 1971-78, Health and Safety Director 1987-present)
celebrates 20 years of service with Health and Safety Services at Imperial... 10 December 2007
Amar Nath Wahi (Electrical Engineering MSc, 1970)
remembers moving from India to study at Imperial... 9 December 2007
Sharine Brown (Head of Residences)
remembers her experiences of student excuses, flooding and burnt baked beans... 8 December 2007
Sir Richard Sykes (Rector, 2001-08)
looks back over Imperial's Centenary year... 7 December 2007
Idris Ahemd (Agriculture, 1988)
remembers his time at Wye College... 6 December 2007
Hannaa Kotb, Cheryl Kam, Shreelata Datta (Medicine 2007, Healthcare Management 2004, Medicine 2003 )
tell tales of pub crawls and library gossips... 5 December 2007
Professor Stephen and Dr Phyllis Landor (Chemistry PhD, 1951; Chemistry PhD, 1951)
share their experiences of Chemistry at Imperial... 4 December 2007
John Lamerton
shares his thoughts on possibly being part of the first father and son to attend Imperial... 3 December 2007
Professor Emeritus Sir Hugh Ford (City and Guilds)
from Boanerges to oblivion... 2 December 2007
David Lefevre (Tanaka Business School)
shares his experiences of learning technologies... 1 December 2007
Neville Rhoden (Mining Geology, 1953; PhD, 1958)
shares his post war experiences at Imperial... 30 November 2007
Peter Mee (Assistant Planning Officer, 1959-67; Registrar, 1967-96; College Secretary 1996-98)
regales the time he started as the Staff Orator... 29 November 2007
L Hinds (Chemistry, 1943-1945, 1948-49)
Regales of perils of digging trenches in the Royal Parks... 30 November 2007
Peter Mee (Assistant Planning Officer, 1959-67; Registrar, 1967-96; College Secretary 1996-98)
tells tales of the metric system never catching on ... 29 November 2007
Anne Barrett (College Archivist)
reflects on G.C Lowry, who was part of the Imperial College Administration from 1923-58... 28 November 2007
Linda Jones (Physics, 1968-present)
shares her memories of mini skirts, three-legged football and a mobile discotheque... 27 November 2007
Patricia Reader (Biology, 1967-present)
shares her memories of 40 enjoyable years at Silwood Park... 26 November 2007
Cedric Turner (Mechanical Engineering, 1976-91)
Recollections of Strength of Materials in the Mechanical Engineering Department... 25 November 2007
John Collins (President of the Student Union 2006-2007)
pedalled 928 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise funds for the Student Union... 24 November 2007
Marcus Rafla (Mechanical Engineering, 2001-06)
shares his memories of his travels to Zambia to set up a motorcycle ambulance... 23 November 2007
Christine Yates (Human Resources)
shares her experiences of Imperial as One – the College’s race equality advisory group ...22 November 2007
Robert Lyn (Mechanical Engineering, 1973)
fondly remembers Elton John and Deep Purple performing at Imperial ...21 November 2007
Terance Boley (Electrical Engineering, 1957)
shares his memories of lectures, balls and life-long friends ...20 November 2007
Dr Joseph McCall (Chemistry 1940, Geology 1949, PhD 1951)
shares his war time experiences of Imperial College sports...19 November 2007
Krishna Thakrar (Electrical Engineering, 1931)
regales fond memories of the Pimlico Connection and student pranks...18 November 2007
Virgil Scott (Mechanical Engineering, 2004-present)
shares his breath taking adventures of sheer drops, and steep mountain climbs... 17 November 2007
Lord Flowers (Rector, 1973-85)
Lord Flowers and his wife, Lady Flowers, remember student parties in their South Kensington flat... - 16 November 2007
John A. Walters (Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1942-44)
shares his memories of doodle bugs disrupting his exams... - 14 November 2007
Jim Platt (Mining Geology, 1957-60)
regales memories of defending the Chaps Club and the mascot of the Royal School of Mines... - 15 November 2007
Jim Fredericks (Electrical Engineering, 1947-52)
remembers the unofficial firework display on the Albert Memorial steps... - 13 November 2007
Tony Brewis (Mining, 1949-52 and Mineral Technology, 1960-61)
To Cornwall or bust... - 12 November 2007
Daniel Carrivick (Geology, 1988-2002)
shares his life risking tales of conquering mountain peaks and building bridges - 11 November 2007
Terry Hulme
shares his dislike of whale meat and mustard - 10 November 2007
Mark Chapman (Chemistry, 1987-92 and 1995-97)
Mark tells his inspiring story of courage and strength - 9 November 2007
Philip Spires (Chemical Engineering, 1970-73)
Recalls barbecuing a cow over a bonfire in Garden Hall - 5 November 2007
S. Rajanayagam (Electrical Engineering, 1930-32)
Travelled from Sri Lanka for a 9am lecture - 19 October 2007
Diana Anderson (Campus Administrator - Silwood Park Campus )
From Silwood to Star Wars via the Centenary staff party - 12 October 2007
Michael Streat (Chemical Engineering, PhD student 1958-61; staff 1961-89)
Shares his memories of importing dangerous cargo to Imperial - 12 October 2007
Jack Mawdsley (Royal School of Mines, 1957-60)
Shares his memories of his 21st birthday football match - 10 October 2007
Peter Ackers (Civil Engineering, 1942-44)
Shares his memories of coming to City and Guilds- 9 October 2007
Elisabeth Tunnah (nee King) (Chemistry, 1944-47, Biochemistry, 1947-49)
Shares her memories of food rations at Imperial - 5 October 2007
Nigel Kelland (Royal School of Mines, 1962-63)
Came for a degree, and won a wife! - 30 September 2007
Louis Badone (Royal School of Mines, 1942-45)
Shares his memories of being evacuated to the University of Swansea during World War II - 17 August 2007
Colin Grimshaw (Media Services, 1965 - Present)
Meeting my past...in fast rewind! - 10 August 2007
Anthony Smart
Anthony relives the 1965 London to Brighton HCVC Rally - 31 July 2007
Imperial Riders
London to Brighton - In praise of padded shorts - 8 August 2007
John Oakley (Chemical Engineering, 1949)
John describes an incident with a run away lift and Her Majesty the Queen Mother - 31 July 2007
Ralph Cornforth (Physics, 1965)
Ralph describes a daring rescue mission from University College's student lounge - 29 June 2007
Rogers Knight (City and Guilds, 1934 - 38)
Rogers shares his memories of playing pranks on policeman in the 1930s - 26 June 2007
John Smith (College Secretary and Clerk to the Governor, 1979-89)
John talks about preparing for an unexpected visitor - 15 June 2007
Carlos Moreno Serrano (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2005-06)
Carlos describes his time at Imperial and finding love - 13 June 2007
Dot Griffiths (1969-present)
Dot shares her memories of Professor Joan Woodward - 7 June 2007
Cedric Turner (Mechanical Engineering, 1948-present)
Cedric shares his impressions and recollections of the Mechanical Engineering Department since 1948 - 4 June 2007
Hannah Gay (Chemistry, 1958-64)
Hannah shares her memories of being mistaken for a corpse - 30 May 2007
Joe Soul (Electrical Engineering, 1948)
Joe shares his photographs and memories from his graduation year in 1948 - 22 May 2007
Peter Grootenhuis (Mechanical Engineering 1941-1944, 1946-present)
Peter shares his memories of dodging flying bombs during World War II - 17 May 2007
Doug Wilcox (Royal College of Science 1965-68, Secretary RCS Motor Club, 1965-98)
Doug shares his memories of falling in love -
Ashley Brown (Computing 2007) responds
Colleen Shilstone Richardson (Electrical Engineering 1946)
Colleen shares her memories of her family's connection with Imperial for almost a Century - 11 May 2007
100 year old photograph found in shed
The 1907 Hockey Club picture was discovered in mid Wales and returned to Imperial - 10 May 2007
Giles Brereton (Mechancial Engineering, 1977-80)
shares his story of being in the Imperial Football Club in the 1970s - 7 May 2007
Catherine Weatherall (Mechancial Engineering, 1973-76)
shares her tales of the mysterious moving car - 22 September 2005
Iris Pritchard-Davies (Administration, CGC, 1940's)
shares tales of love at Imperial and working in London during World War II - 24 April 2007
Peter Clark (Metallurgy 1945)
shares his memories of student pranks in the 1940s - 16 April 2007
Ella Shum (Computing 1980)
and friends share photos and memories of some of the happiest times of their lives. - 29 March 2007
Felix Weinberg
started work at Imperial in 1951, and often refers to the College as: "The centre of the known universe in terms of research". - 26 March 2007
Joao Cabral (Warden of Garden and Weeks Halls)
shares the history behind Garden and Weeks Halls - 15 March 2007
Wendy Collidge (Programme Manager)
recollects team building at the College's mountain hut in Snowdonia - 15 March 2007
Tony Cowley (Chemical Engineering 1945)
shares his memories of his time at Imperial College during the War - 24 April 2006
Visit of King George VI in 1945
Some alumni share their memories of the visit of the King and Queen in 1945 - 24 January 2006
Pimlico Connection
Some alumni share their memories of being involved in the Pimlico Connection initiative during their time at Imperial College London - 24 January 2006
Theodora Cooper nee Bamber (Zoology 1949)
shares her memories of her time at Imperial College just after WWII - 24 April 2006
Sydney Garvey (Aeronautics)
Sixty-four years after originally being awarded his first class honours degree in mathematics, Sydney finally returned to the College to receive his certificate on Commemoration Day - 24 April 2006
John G E Hone (Physics 1950)
John Hone tells a tale of the magnificent Queen's Tower at Imperial College's South Kensington campus - 4 August 2005
Morphy Day
Bob Schroter recollects some student antics when he was Student President - 28 January 2007
Gwen Griffiths
Imperial College alumnus shares her memories of the women's boating club during the late '70s and early '80s - 8 April 2006
Dr Bernard Atkinson (Chemistry 1944, PhD 1951)
Dr Bernard Atkinson remembers Imperial College in the 1940s, including a student food protest - 1 March 2006