The Science Station
Organisation: Malvern Radar and Technology History Society (MRATHS)
Station: Great Malvern
The Vision: To launch ‘The Science Station’ and tell the story of Great Malvern’s place in the history of technology

Delivery: 

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This project was based on the history of Great Malvern and the town’s prominent place in the war efforts of World War II.  In 1942 top secret government radar research establishments were evacuated in haste to Great Malvern, the work of these research teams was transformative to the war effort, to Great Malvern and subsequently to modern electronic technology worldwide.  And yet the story is still relatively unknown and MRATHS are telling the story as part of this community project.

 

The Malvern Radar and Technology Historic Society (MRATHS) exists to celebrate this WW2 history and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  They do this by telling some of the amazing stories of the technological developments that took place at Great Malvern.

 

Working with West Midlands Railway to secure space at the station, the CCIF grant was used to refurbish rooms and install fittings to enable the creation of ‘The Science Station’ a publicly accessible unit on Platform One.

 

Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership provided further grant funding to support the permanent exhibition within the station rooms at Great Malvern Railway Station and the display boards at The Science Station tell the story of government research in Malvern, starting in 1942.  They describe the impact that this development had on World War 2, the cold war, and the civil ‘spin-offs’ that the resulting technology enabled.

 

The exhibition links stories of wartime research to modern day technological systems and aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, attracting three main groups of people.

• Rail passengers who travel through Great Malvern Station. Passengers will be able to visit the exhibition whilst waiting for the rail service to arrive or when leaving the station, it is envisaged that this will be the main audience and therefore the displays have been designed to be viewed in condensed timescale. Layout is simple and bold with each display board telling a compelling story.

• Former employees and visitors with a specific interest in technological research will visit Great Malvern specifically to see The Science Station

• Local people who would like to find out a bit more about Malvern’s ‘secret’ history will now have a venue to visit.

 

Visits will also be arranged with schools and The Science Station will be open regularly to enable the Society to communicate their fascinating and compelling story to locals, visitors, and the travelling public.

 

One of the 20th Century’s best kept secrets will be secret no longer.