Geoffrey Pyke

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Geoffrey Nathaniel Pyke (1893–1948) was a British scientist and inventor (in British 1940s slang, a "boffin") whose generally unorthodox ideas were often very difficult to implement. In lifestyle and appearance, he fit the common stereotype of a "mad scientist".

He was a student at Cambridge University.

During World War I, Pyke was held in the Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp in Germany. He wrote a memoir of his experiences there, entitled To Ruhleben - And Back.

A famous proposal was to build giant aircraft carriers from pykrete (a substance produced by freezing a mixture of water and wood pulp) during World War II. This endeavour, known as Project Habakkuk, was investigated by Combined Operations and had the personal backing of Lord Louis Mountbatten and Sir Winston Churchill, but never reached completion. It was not as absurd as it sounded, as wood fibres and the crystalline ice formed a strong composite material, very resistant to damage by impact, so long as it was kept frozen—the ships would be virtually unsinkable, as discussed in detail in the articles on pykrete and Project Habakkuk.

He may be most famous for his suggestion that a "snow machine" be invented for the purpose of doing battle in Norway during the Second World War. His suggestion led to the creation of the M29 Weasel, and more famously, to the creation of the 1st Special Service Force.

Pyke committed suicide in the winter of 1948, shaving his beard and consuming a bottleful of sleeping pills. His landlady found his body the following morning.

[edit] See also

Magnus Pyke, his first cousin

[edit] Sources

Michell, John. "The Inventor of Frozen Battleships." Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions. Harcourt, 1984. ISBN 0-15-127358-8
- Reprint: Citadel Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8065-1031-5
- Reprint: Cardinal Books, 1989. ISBN 0-7474-0353-8
- Reprint: Adventures Unlimited Press, 1999. ISBN 0-932813-67-4
- Reprint: New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2003. ISBN 1-57912-228-0
Timpson, John. Timpson's English Eccentrics. London: Jarrold, 1991, hardback. ISBN 0-7117-0559-3
- Reprint: London: Jarrold, 1996, paperback. ISBN 0-7117-0683-2
Lampe, David. Pyke, the Unknown Genius. London: Evans Bros, 1959. No ISBN
Pickover, Clifford. A. Strange Brains and Genius : The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen. Harper Perennial, 1999. ISBN 0-688-16894-9
Pyke, Geoffrey. To Ruhleben -- And Back: A Great Adventure in Three Phases. McSweeney's, 2003. ISBN 0-9719047-8-2.