Full Name Mary Blood | ||
Born February 4th, 1929 Muswell Hill, North London Education BA Honors degree in French, with History Alma mater Queen Mary, University of London | ||
Mary coombs shares her story
Mary Coombs (born 1929) was the first woman to work on the LEO computers. Her father, William Blood, believed in women's education and her sister worked in microbiology and bacteriology. Unlike her sister, and unlike others in computing, she did not have a background in math or science. The National Museum of Computing mentions her. She also was very interested and school and graduated with two degrees one in French and the other in History which, Mary had little to no interest in. But she later moved to Surrey as well, which her father became a Medical Officer for the catering in the J. Lyons and Co. and her father made sure that she passed on that ever women must have their own careers and interests.
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Education
In her early years, Coombs attended Putney High School and St Paul's Girls' School. She went on to earn a BA Honours degree in French, with History, from Queen Mary University of London.
Work at J. Lyons and Co.
After obtaining her degree, Coombs began worked at J. Lyons and Co. in 1951 as a temporary clerical worker—a job she reluctantly accepted while searching for a better alternative. Coombs' mathematical prowess soon allowed her to transfer from the Ice Cream Sales department to the Statistical Office, where she had heard that the division working on the LEO computers had been looking to hire additional programmers.
The selection process, devised by Raymond Thompson, was conducted as a "computer appreciation course", which consisted of a grueling week of daytime lectures and evening written assignments designed to test the candidates' knowledge of computers.
Coombs' performance in the computer appreciation course had been stellar, and as a result, she was one of just two candidates to be offered a job in the computer division, along with Frank Land. According to Coombs, she was one of a handful of women to take the computer appreciation course, however she was the only one to be offered a job as a result.
Once Coombs began officially working with LEO in 1952, she was taught how to program by John Grover, one of the first LEO programmers. Initially, she was the only woman on the team and worked alongside Leo Fantl, John Grover, and Derrick Hemy working on using LEO to automatically calculate payroll for employees at J. Lyons and Co. The team later went on to do payroll for Ford Motor Company using LEO.
Coombs continued to work for J. Lyons and Co as the LEO II and LEO III were built. She spent most of her time as a supervisor, checking for logical and syntactical errors in the programs that other people wrote. She developed programs for internal company use and for outside clients as another portion of the business computing service offered by the firm. She was also in charge of rewriting programs from LEO II to work with LEO III, since LEO III used a different programming language.
J. Lyons and Co. provided a good work environment for Coombs. The company had a number of sports clubs that Coombs was involved in and even an Amateur Dramatic Society. However, the company provided very low pay, which was a hardship to her because she financially supported her mother.
After J. Lyons and Co.
Coombs was transferred to English Electric Leo Computers, a company jointly created by J. Lyons and Co. and English Electric. Later she was transferred to International Computers Limited (ICL) when the bought out English Electric Leo Computers. There, in 1964, because of family commitments she moved from working full-time to part-time. She continued to work work in the computing business mainly edited manuals. She briefly taught a computer programming course at Princess Marina Centre at Seer Green for handicapped residents.
In 1969, when she realized that she would not be able to go back working full-time, Coombs left the LEO team and attempted to join Freelance Programmers, a company started by Dame Stephanie Shirley , but could not get a position due to cutbacks. After three years off work, she became a primary school teacher in a private school. After quitting from her teaching position, she has been teaching piano, and running the church choir as well as keeping up with other hobbies.
LEO Computers
Throughout the career of her fathers friends heard about LEO, and fortunately Mary was the only woman to take non-mathematics graduate to take the LEO appreciation course which it was a long week long course and test to introducing need people and workers to LEO division. Coombs became and was the only woman to ever work in the LEO computers business. Being known in this business herself and her husband where both co-workers and they both eventually had a kid together. The kid was handicap, which made Mary think either she should quit her job or work part-time. Eventually the tragic thing happened and her daughter died at the age of 6.
After LEO Computers
After all of the recent things happening especially which her childs death it made her stay away from LEO. She pursued and tried many different things, like she became a school teacher for a couple of years. Eventually she tried random hobbies like piano, church choir and other hobbies that well interested her.