Arnold Frederic Wilkins O.B.E., (born 20 February 1907 in Chorlton, Cheshire; died 5 August 1985) was a pioneer in developing the use of radar.
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He was the son of John Knowles Wilkins of Chester and was educated at The King's School, Chester, Manchester University and St. John's College, Cambridge.[1]
He was usually known as 'Skip' Wilkins. In an experiment on 26 February 1935 in a field in Northamptonshire at Stowe Nine Churches, Wilkins became the first to prove the possibility of radar. Known as the Daventry Experiment, this demonstration detected a plane at a distance of eight miles. A few weeks later at Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk, this distance was extended to 17 miles, then 30 miles. Wilkins was the leader of the team designated to develop radar, and was personally responsible for the design of the aerials and positioning of the radar stations.
He later helped to establish the Chain Home system. This was first proposed as early as December 1935 by Sir Henry Tizard. Immediate approval was given, and the chain of radar stations was established with great urgency. It was also important that the coastal radar stations did not interfere with grouse shooting. The first set of five stations opened in 1938.
In 1938, he helped to develop the Identification friend or foe (IFF) system.
After the war, he worked at the Radio Research Station in Buckinghamshire.
His memoirs were written in 1976 and lodged in Churchill College Library, Cambridge.
He appeared in the 1977 TV Series The Secret War explaining his role in the discovery of radar, and is seen to reconduct the original Daventry Experiment alongside TV presenter William Woollard.
He died in Saxtead, near Framlingham, Suffolk. His widow, Nancy, died in Framlingham in 2011. They are survived by three daughters.