Christopher Collan Morcom (13 July 1911 – 13 February 1930) was an English student mathematician, scientist and astronomer. He is known for being a childhood friend of Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science. Morcom has been described as Turing's first love, but the affection was not known to be reciprocated. Morcom was born to a wealthy family involved in the arts and sciences in Fockbury, Worcestershire; his mother was an artist, his father an engineer. He was the grandson of Sir Joseph Swan, an inventor of the incandescent light bulb.

Morcom was educated at King's Mead School in Seaford, East Sussex, from 1922 to 1925, and Sherborne School in Dorset from 1925 to 1929. He excelled at Sherborne and was awarded several scholarships and prizes. In December 1929 he was awarded a scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, but died before he could begin his studies there.

At Sherbone, Morcom met and befriended Turing, a fellow student, and the two bonded over mathematics and science. Turing became infatuated with Morcom, leading to Morcom becoming what has been described as Turing's first love. Their relationship is depicted in The Imitation Game, a 2014 biographical film about Turing, which contains several inaccuracies.

At a young age, Morcom contracted bovine tuberculosis after drinking infected cows' milk. He died from health conditions arising from the disease in 1930, at the age of 18. The death devastated Turing. In memory of Morcom, the deceased boy's mother commissioned a stained-glass window, designed by the artist Karl Parsons, for Christ Church, Catshill. It depicts Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child across a river on his shoulders; the face of the child was probably modelled after that of Morcom. The family also created the Christopher Morcom Science Prize at Sherborne School.

Family

Christopher Collan Morcom was born on 13 July 1911, at The Clock House in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England, to a wealthy family involved in the arts and sciences. His mother, Frances Isobel Morcom (née Swan), was a child of Sir Joseph Swan, one of the inventors of the incandescent light bulb. Frances studied at Slade School of Art in London and worked for some time as a sculptor. She acquired and renovated several cottages in Catshill and ran a goat farm at the family's home.

Christopher's father, Colonel Reginald Morcom, was an engineer involved in the Birmingham company Belliss and Morcom, co-founded by Christopher's paternal grandfather, Alfred Morcom. The company was involved in the manufacture of steam engines and air compressors. Reginald was the chairman of the company during Christopher's life and in the 1919 Birthday Honours was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Christopher's older brother Rupert attended Sherborne School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and whilst Christopher was at Sherborne, Rupert studied at ETH Zurich, in Switzerland. Rupert was an experimentalist and had a laboratory at the family home. He had an interest in mathematics and science, which Christopher inherited.

The Clock House

In 1909 the Morcom family bought and soon began living in The Clock House, a modified manor house from the 16th century in Fockbury. The Morcoms made several changes to the building, including but not limited to the addition of a new wing and a clock tower. The house had previously been the residence of the English poet A. E. Housman who had lived there for about six years in the 19th century. It was demolished in 1976 but, as of 2012[update], the clock tower remains.

Education

Photograph of a mathematics teacher pointing at a blackboard.
Morcom's likely candid photograph of his maths teacher, Donald Eperson. Eperson also ran the school's Gramophone Society, which Morcom attended.

Morcom attended King's Mead School in Seaford, East Sussex, from 1922 to 1925. In 1924 he successfully sat a scholarship exam to attend Sherborne School in Dorset, and he began his studies there in May 1925. He began in the Upper Fourth form, and lived at Lyon House, one of the school's boarding houses. In 1927 he was a year ahead and appeared "surprisingly small for his form". Due to a cold, he did not attend the school for most of January and February 1929.

Morcom, who was mostly interested in science and mathematics, excelled at the school and was awarded several scholarships and prizes. He spent a week in December 1929 at Trinity College, Cambridge, to sit scholarship examinations, and was awarded a scholarship, but died before he could begin his studies there.

Personal life

Morcom collaborated with his brother, Rupert, in conducting several scientific experiments in the family laboratory. In one instance the two worked on measuring air resistance, and in another project the two worked on analysing plasticine, a type of modelling clay, for an artist. He wrote to his friend Alan Turing about the plasticine project: "The procedure is to boil with organic solvents. ... I made a quite good plasticine and very nearly like the stuff we want, by mixing this iron soap with flowers of sulphur ... and adding a little mutton fat."

Morcom played the piano and was a member of Sherborne's Gramophone Society, started by their mathematics master Donald Eperson. He also played billiards, engaged in "driving", fives (an English handball sport), played rugby as a forward and enjoyed chess puzzles. In September 1922, he was first to solve a specific chess puzzle in The Saturday Review, for which he chose to win a copy of Luigi Villari's 1922 military book The Macedonian Campaign. He "loved all games and was always finding out new ones (of the more trivial kind)".

Morcom had a 4-inch (10cm) telescope and was given a star atlas for his eighteenth birthday. He conducted astronomical observations from his dormitory at Lyon House and produced a star chart. In a 1930 letter addressed to his friend Alan Turing, he reported viewing a comet in the constellation Delphinus. In another he wrote:

. . . Have had two of the clearest nights I have known. I have never seen Jupiter better and I could see 5 or 6 belts and even some detail on one of the large central belts. Last night I saw no. I satellite come out from eclipse. It appeared quite suddenly (during a few seconds) at some distance from Jupiter and looked very attractive. It is the first time I have seen one. I also saw Andromeda Neb. very clearly but did not stay out long. Saw spectrum of Sirius, Pollux and Betelgeux and also bright line spectrum of Orion nebula. Am at moment making a spectrograph. Will write again later. Happy Christmas etc. Yrs ever C. C. M.

Another interest of Morcom's was photography. He took several photographs of Sherborne School and photographed the schoolmasters Donald Eperson and Clephan Palmer during lectures without their knowledge. Morcom showed a portrait to one of the masters, who responded that it was a "tribute rather than an impudence".

  • Steam locomotive (GWR Bulldog class) in Sherborne, photographed by Morcom, c.1929
  • Sherborne Upper Library, photographed by Morcom, c.1929
  • Lyon House, photographed by Morcom, c.1929

Relationship with Alan Turing

Refer to caption.
Turing at age 16, c.1928–1929

In 1927, Morcom met the Sherborne student Alan Turing, who was a year younger than him, and who later became known as the founder of modern computer science. Turing intentionally sat next to Morcom in every class in 1929, when Turing joined the same form as him. Morcom remarked on the coincidence but, as Turing later wrote, "seemed to welcome [him] in a passive way". The two bonded over numerous scientific topics, including Rupert's chemistry experiments, relativity, iodised salt, the orbits of planets and the age of stars.

During Wednesday afternoons, Morcom and Turing met in the school library to pursue academic topics outside of school. Together they read the books of Sir James Jeans and discussed several ideas about the nature of the universe but would often disagree. Morcom introduced Turing to astronomy, and they exchanged letters and star maps. Academically, Morcom performed better than Turing, causing Turing to later write, "As always was my great ambition to do as well as Chris".

Morcom has been described as Turing's first love. According to the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, Turing would "never have dared" to "speak up for his own feelings" to Morcom. Turing wrote that he "worshipped the ground he trod on" and that "Chris knew I think so well how I liked him, but hated me shewing it."

In 1928, Turing invited Morcom to room with him at his home in Guildford; however, Morcom was not able to do so, due to a three-week family holiday at the same time. In December 1929, Morcom and Turing spent a week together at Trinity College, Cambridge, to sit scholarship examinations. Morcom won the scholarship, but Turing did not; this would have led them to being separated for over a year.

Sense of humour

Morcom led several practical jokes, which often combined his scientific and musical talents. In 1925, Morcom attempted to drop a rock down the chimney of a steam locomotive but instead hit the train driver, spurring an investigation by the railway police. In 1928, he exploded several flying balloons near Sherborne School for Girls.

While in Sherborne, Morcom's teacher H. S. Gervis incorporated "sausage-lamps" into class experiments: "painted bulbs which he used as electrical resistances". Gervis's catchphrase, "Take another sausage-lamp, boy!" became an in-joke among Morcom and his friends Turing and Patrick Mermagen. It inspired a series of comedic sketches, which Morcom intended to adapt into music. He also pranked Turing during their week at Cambridge by convincing him to advance his wristwatch by 20 minutes. Morcom was "very pleased" when Turing discovered the inconvenient joke.

The Enigma writes:

Christopher used to tease Alan a good deal, and had a particular running joke about 'deadly stuff', the joke being to pretend that certain harmless substances were really poisonous. He joked about the vanadium in the special Morcom vanadium steel cutlery being 'absolutely deadly'.

Health and death

Refer to caption.
Morcom's 1929 photograph of Sherborne's Big Schoolroom, in which he would attend his last concert

Morcom contracted bovine tuberculosis at a young age after drinking infected cows' milk. After observing the total solar eclipse of 29 June 1927, he had to undergo an operation because of health issues caused by the disease. When he returned to school two terms later, in late autumn, Turing noticed that he appeared extra thin.

On the night of 6 February 1930, during Lent term, Morcom attended a concert of part-songs given by the Leonard Salisbury's Salisbury Singers, held in Sherborne's Big Schoolroom. Afterwards, Morcom became ill and was taken to the Yeatman Hospital in Sherborne for observation. The following day he was transferred to a hospital in London and soon underwent surgery for an intestinal obstruction, but had complications. He died in a nursing home on 13 February 1930, at the age of 18, and was buried two days later at Christ Church, Catshill. Both of his parents were later buried in the same grave.

Effect of Morcom's death on Alan Turing

Morcom's death caused Turing great sorrow. In a letter to Morcom's mother, Turing wrote: "I know I must put as much energy if not as much interest into my work as if he were alive, because that is what he would like me to do." Turing's relationship with Morcom's mother continued for years after Morcom's death. The two exchanged letters, which included the two remembering the late Morcom's birthdays, and at least on one occasion she sent Turing a present.

It has been speculated that Morcom's death was the cause of Turing's atheism and materialism. Nonetheless, his initial reaction to the death still exhibited different beliefs. On the day of Morcom's service, Turing wrote to his own mother, "I feel sure that I shall meet Morcom again somewhere & that there will be some work for us to do together, as I believed there was for us to do here."

When visiting the Morcom family's home in 1932, Turing wrote an essay titled "The Nature of Spirit" which discusses the relationship between the body and spirit.

Legacy

Refer to caption.
The memorial window, modelled after Morcom, at Christ Church, Catshill

Morcom's mother commissioned a window in memory of her son from stained-glass artist Karl Parsons. Installed in the parish church in Catshill, the art piece depicts Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child across a river on his shoulders. The face of Jesus was probably modelled after that of Morcom.

In 1930, his family created the Christopher Morcom Science Prize at Sherborne. The prize included an illuminated manuscript designed by artists Madeline Walker and Miss E. Stiles, as well as a mezzotint portrait by the illustrator Norman Hirst. In 1930, Alan Turing became the first winner of the prize, "for showing originality in a paper on 'the reaction of sulphites and iodates in acid solution'". Turing won it again the following year for his open scholarship at King's College Cambridge. Morcom's mother also created an anthology of Morcom, with input from Turing.

Depiction in The Imitation Game

Morcom was played by Jack Bannon in The Imitation Game, a 2014 biographical film about Turing. The film's depiction of Morcom has several inaccuracies. In the film, Turing and Morcom connect over an interest in cyphers, but they actually bonded over mathematics and chemistry; it was another friend with whom Turing bonded over cyphers. In the film, Turing names a computer "Christopher" after Morcom, but this was entirely fictional.

Works cited