Surrey Pioneers

Surrey Pioneers 1970-1979 Celebrating the trailblazing students who founded the University’s home in Guildford

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Celebrating Surrey Pioneers A spirit of hope, adventure and change was in the air in 1966. England won the World Cup, Luna 9 made the first unmanned landing on the Moon and the Beatles released their most experimental album so far in Revolver.

Intrepid instinct That intrepid instinct of mapping out new territory in 1966 remains a key part of the history of the University of Surrey.

Our institution as we know it began when Battersea College of Technology needed to move after outgrowing its London home in the early 1960s. Barnes, Stevenage and Crystal Palace were among the potential locations explored.

Eventually, however, another site was chosen.

Bare Facts from 1973, the Students’ Union Handbook from 1971-1972 and the more serious Polemic newspaper

Future technology

Innovation built on pioneers

On 9 September 1966, a Royal Charter authorising the building of a new seat of higher education in Guildford was granted. Battersea College of Technology was ready to move to pastures new and discover a revitalised destiny as the University of Surrey.

Since then, the University of Surrey has become an established home of cutting-edge research, creating new innovations that have changed the course of industries. These include affordable miniature satellites that monitor worldwide disasters and the strained-layer quantum well laser, which is the foundation of the internet.

Our first Chancellor of Surrey was Lord Robens of Woldingham. Also the Chairman of the National Coal Board, he summed up the ambition of the new institution in 1967: “The University represents the technology of the future.”

It would meet an urgent national requirement for engineering and science students, alongside fulfilling an increased demand for higher education.

There’s also our current agenda-setting work in 5G/6G communications and next-generation solar panels. We’ve also advanced medicine, politics, hospitality, nursing and the arts. We have a proud legacy and we face an exciting future.

None of this, though, would have been possible without that first generation of students who came to Stag Hill from 1968-1979. You helped us build our new home in Guildford, establishing our physical and intellectual territories. As Surrey Pioneers, you remain a key part of our history.

Which is why we want to celebrate your contribution...

Pioneer (no un) “A person w ho goes befo re others to up the way; prepare or one who beg open ins, or take some enterp s part in be rise, course g inning, o f action; an a particular original wor field or depa ker in rtment of k an innovato nowledge; a r; a forerun founder; ner…”

Oxford Engli sh Dictionar y

Building our University Building work on the new University began in October 1966. The development plan envisaged “a compact hill town… surrounded by trees”. It’s a description of our leafy campus that most graduates would recognise.

Mud, glorious mud!

But the London clay of Stag Hill had other ideas and the site was initially more quagmire than place of academic excellence.

When Dr DMA Leggett, Vice-Chancellor from 1966-1975, arrived to welcome the first students transferring from Battersea for the 1968-1969 academic year, much had been achieved.

Three buildings housing eight departments, a central lecture block, part of the library and two restaurants were constructed.

Senate House and dwellings for 400 students were also ready. But the site was so muddy that Dr Leggett had to order a supply of wellington boots for general use.

Goodbye Battersea By the end of the 1969-1970 academic year, two more buildings, a hall lounge and a bar, another restaurant and accommodation for another 600 students was built.

Pitches for soccer, rugby and cricket were also constructed, while the main University Sports Ground included a pavilion, changing rooms, groundmen’s houses and a service unit.

But the grounds needed another year to bed in and mature before they could be used during 1970-1971.

The year 1970 heralded another milestone.

Battersea College of Technology closed its doors for the last time at the end of the summer term, and autumn saw the first full student intake at Guildford.

“The University authorities insisted on high standards in construction. The Senior Clerk of Works had a laser eye for detail. He drove the bricklayers crazy by insisting that all the perpendicular brick joints were perfectly aligned. He’d use a spirit level to check this and mark in pencil on the bricks where things looked out of sync from his perspective.”

Mike Currier, Site Manager on Stag Hill campus, 1969-1970

In the news: 1966-1969 1966 The Labour Party wins the General Election; England win the World Cup; Time magazine coins the term “Swinging London”; Bob Dylan is called “Judas” for playing an electric guitar.

1967 Sandie Shaw wins Eurovision with Puppet on a String; UK applies for EEC membership; colour TV begins broadcasting in the UK; Beatles release Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1968 London Bridge sells for £1 million and moves to Arizona; Manchester United win the European Cup; sewing machinists strike at Ford’s Dagenham plant; Race Relations Act is passed.

1969 The Space Hopper bounces into UK toy stores; Kray twins are found guilty of murder; The Who release rock opera album Tommy; Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon.

Welcoming our first students “The Who played at the Great Hall in Guildford on Saturday 9 October 1971. It was quite a coup for SENT – the Surrey Entertainments Team – to book The Who. Even though the £1.25 ticket price made a dent in my student grant, it was an amazing experience to see one of the greatest bands that’s ever existed perform in their absolute prime.”

Dave Sage, Russian and Economics, 1971-1975

From 1968-1970, students transferring from Battersea and those beginning their studies at Guildford faced mud and a campus that was a building site. There was additional intrigue with a carpet robbery that coincided with the arrival of the computer suite. CID, however, did solve the floor-covering felony.

Pioneering students The first student cohort to solely study at the new Surrey site arrived for the 1970-1971 academic year. This included 2,075 undergraduates and 520 postgraduates, with women making up about a quarter of that intake. All embarked on courses in either science, engineering, languages or social sciences. Additional student accommodation was provided with the 1970 opening of Stag Hill Court, with dwellings known as “Noddy” or “Diddy” houses. There were also the local retail delights of Supa Sports, Jeanorama, Bold Apparel for Men and the Bamboo Garden Chinese Takeaway offering student discounts.

Arts and music Battersea’s Great Hall may have hosted the first gig

by Led Zeppelin in October 1968, but the Guildford campus featured the great and the good of the music world, too.

The Small Faces and Mott the Hoople played gigs in 1970, while Peter Cook performed at the 1970 Festival Ball. The same year also saw the first Free Festival, which later became the Free Arts Festival on Stag Hill (see right).

The Who played a memorable – and loud – gig on campus in October 1971, with Caravan, Hawkwind and Swegas rocking up the same year. Famed avant garde theatre troupe The People Show also visited in 1971. An early incarnation of the Electric Light Orchestra performed in 1972, with rock band UFO and singer Kiki Dee wowing crowds in 1973.

The Oscar Film Unit and Stag Hill Film Society also provided a regular screening of movies, while the Catholic Society debated the topic of poltergeists at a public lecture.

Bare Facts Advertising all the gigs, films, society meetings and functions, both on campus and in Guildford, was the weekly student news sheet, Bare Facts.

Production began on Thursday evening and each page was typed, physically cut out and pasted onto a sheet of A4 paper, before being printed on a Rotary Neostyle duplicator. The latter involved constant paper jams, ink-covered hands and an unmistakable smell as machines not built for publishing up to 10,000 sheets of paper were put through their paces. After printing, the magazine was assembled by a team of 30.

Lovingly thrown together, Bare Facts was irreverent and often challenged official doctrine. Grapevine, its notorious round-up of scandal and innuendo, was perhaps its most illustrious section.

Legal action was apparently threatened on a few occasions.

Student life, however, thrived in the early 1970s. In 1973, the Students’ Union had established its own station, University Radio Surrey. By 1975, there were 109 student clubs and societies on campus.

On the big screen 1971

1972

1973

Did you see any of these offerings from the Oscar Film Unit?

1973

1974

Autumn Autumn Spring Summer Summer From Russia with Love Story, Please The Lion in Winter, Lawrence of Arabia, Dirty Harry, The Love, Butch Cassidy Sir, Catch 22, Boston When Eight Bells Guess Who’s Poseidon Adventure, and the Sundance Strangler, On Her Toll, The French Coming to Dinner, What’s Up Doc?, Kid, Valley of the Majesty’s Secret Connection, Percy, Born Free, 2001: Cabaret, Straw Dolls, Midnight Service, Thomas Klute, Diamonds A Space Odyssey, Dogs, The Getaway, Cowboy, If… Crown Affair Are Forever True Grit, Shaft, Loot M*A*S*H

Teaching our first courses “It was an exciting place to be,” recalls David Pollard, our then Director in Engineering Education and Training.

“We were planning new courses, establishing new subject areas and expanding others. We were also dealing with far more students than at Battersea.”

Undergraduate courses Our 1970-1971 intake learnt in one of four faculties: l The Faculty of Engineering taught Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Control, and Mechanical Engineering. l The Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences offered Mathematics with Computing Science, Technological Mathematics, Physics, and Metallurgy with a Foreign Language and Regional Studies. l The Faculty of Biological and Chemical Sciences taught Nutrition, Physical Sciences, Biochemistry, Medical Biochemistry and Biochemistry/Toxicology. l Our Faculty of Human Studies offered Home Economics, Hotel and Catering Administration, Human and Physical Sciences, Russian Language and Soviet Studies, and Music (Tonmeister).

Rounded knowledge

Industry contacts

In each undergraduate degree, one tenth of course time was devoted to General Studies.

This educated students outside of their specialisms to produce a more rounded knowledge base.

Another experience for our intake of that era saw Surrey continue its expansion into sandwich courses.

Our postgraduate offering, meanwhile, included masters degrees, PG certificates and diplomas, and PhDs. Inter-faculty courses were added in 1971-1972 and students could take Civil Engineering with Economics, Metallurgy with Industrial Economics and Business Studies, or Chemistry with Economics.

This meant students took a year in industry as part of their degree. This remains a key feature of a Surrey education today. Unilever, Shell and ICI were among the companies to welcome our undergraduates in the UK. CERN in Geneva or universities in Munich, Moscow, Leningrad or Berlin were other locations.

On the turntable Remember dancing to any of these in the public bar or hall?

1970 Voodoo Chile (Jimi Hendrix), War (Edwin Starr), I’ll Be There (Jackson Five) 1971 Coz I Luv You (Slade), Get It On (T-Rex), My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) 1972 School’s Out (Alice Cooper), Telegram Sam (T-Rex), Mouldy Old Dough (Lieutenant Pigeon) 1973 Blockbuster (Sweet), See My Baby Jive (Wizzard), Merry Xmas Everybody (Slade) 1974 Tiger Feet (Mud), Waterloo (Abba), Kung Fu Fighting (Carl Douglas)

“The campus consisted of Senate House, the Senate House Restaurant, buildings AA, AB and AC, the Lecture Theatre Block and Battersea Court.

The rest was a building site.

My office consisted of a telephone, a chair and a tea chest with a plank across it to act as a desk.”

Dr Alan Millington, Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, 1968-2022

1975 Sailing (Rod Stewart), Space Oddity (David Bowie), Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 1976 I Love to Love (Tina Charles), You to Me Are Everything (Real Thing), Dancing Queen (Abba) 1977 I Feel Love (Donna Summer), So You Win Again (Hot Chocolate), Mull of Kintyre (Wings) 1978 Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush), Rivers of Babylon (Boney M), Rat Trap (Boomtown Rats) 1979 YMCA (Village People), I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor), Tragedy (Bee Gees)

Your pioneering legacy World-leading research and agenda-setting changes were taking place at Surrey from the first day we arrived in Guildford.

Making the modern world Physics Professor Alf Adams (pictured above), who joined Surrey in 1967, conducted research in the 1970s that helped make the digital world we live in possible. His invention of the strained-layer quantum well laser powers the internet and supermarket checkouts.

Our computer-analysed structural design also won awards from the Institute of Structural Engineers and the British Steel Corporation in 1972 and 1974.

Academic excellence In 1971, Surrey’s Professor Daphne Jackson (pictured left) became the first female Professor of Physics in the UK. This was a defining moment of social progress, paving the way for more women in senior positions in the sciences. Daphne used this platform to help women back into work following career breaks, which is an initiative that the Daphne Jackson Trust continues to support.

Another innovator was Professor Rik Medlik (pictured right), who ran our hotel and catering administration courses. The programmes he created featured practical elements to prepare students for work in those sectors, while including modules on management theory, accounting and marketing.

In 1977, HRH The Duke of Kent was also installed as Chancellor of the University, beginning a relationship that has endured for more than 45 years.

Our legacy The greatest legacy produced from this period, however, remains our students. You arrived at a new university and entrusted us with preparing you for your future.

You helped us develop our courses, our teaching and our physical environment.

You then went out into the world and embarked on your own careers.

Every student who’s been through our doors since has benefited from your legacy in helping us establish our Guildford home and everything it stands for – whether that’s our world-leading work in solar energy, fighting air pollution across the globe, training the next generation of medical professionals or ensuring artificial intelligence has an ethical framework.

“The civil engineering course at Surrey was excellent, the lecturers brilliant, and they gave me a fantastic start to my international career.

Before retirement from full-time work in 2017, this spanned more than 40 years.”

Jonathan Gammon, BSc Civil Engineering, 1974

On the TV

Remember watching the first episodes of any of these?

1970 A Question of Sport (BBC1), The Goodies (BBC2) 1971 Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC2), Bless This House (ITV) 1972 Mastermind (BBC1), Crown Court (ITV) 1973 That’s Life! (BBC1), Kung Fu (ITV) 1974 Porridge (BBC1), Tiswas (1974) 1975 Angels (BBC1), The Sweeney (ITV)

Our Chancellor starting a chilly cross-country race in 1979

1976 Starsky and Hutch (BBC1), I Claudius (BBC2) 1977 Roots (BBC1), Jesus of Nazareth (ITV) 1978 Blake’s Seven (BBC1), 3-2-1 (ITV) 1979 Not the Nine O’Clock News (BBC2), Tales of the Unexpected (ITV)

The courses may have changed but the prospectuses that advertised them stayed pretty familiar in the 1970s

We need your help We hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane and it’s prompted some happy recollections.

We’re aiming to create a permanent display on campus to celebrate our Surrey Pioneers – and we need your help to do it.

Archive If you have pictures or literature from this era, we’d love to have copies to help us bolster our existing archive and create our display.

Similarly, if you have stories from this period, we’d love to interview you for a written piece.

How to join in If you have pictures you’re willing to share with us, please email hi-res scans to alumni@surrey.ac.uk. If you don’t have scanning facilities, get in touch and we’ll arrange collection and return of hard copies.

You can also join our Surrey Pioneers Facebook group to join in the conversation.

If you want to share memories of your time here, please email us on alumni@surrey.ac.uk and we’ll arrange a phone interview.

If you’re nearby, you’re also welcome to visit in person and we’ll chat over a coffee.

We look forward to hearing from you.

SURREY PIONEERS: Images courtesy of Archives & Special Collections at the University of Surrey