Lucinda will be giving us a fascinating talk on Heath Robinson, who remains one of Britain’s most famous inventors, inspiring the phrase "it’s all a bit Heath Robinson", describing any implausible and unnecessarily complex contraption. He was born in London and his first talent was illustrating and cartoons. But it was his love of inventing that was to win him fame and during World War I he was to produce some of the quirkiest cartoons for some of the strangest weapons ever thought of. From his Kaiser's campaigning car to his idea for Cat-moo-flage to protect civilians from air raids, his cartoons are a fantastical take on the technology of World War I. Sadly, his inventions were rejected by the Inventions Board, but he was loved by the public and remains a legendary figure to this day.
Lucinda giving a talk to the Branch back in 2018.