At the heart of the Mark I and Mark I* computers lay a memory system based on Williams/Kilburn tubes. These were Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) equipped with the means for reading and writing binary information as small areas of electrostatically-charged phosphor. Williams/Kilburn tubes were used for the primary store and all central registers and their characteristics determined the speed (i.e. clock-rate) of the entire machine. We describe how Williams/Kilburn storage worked. Specimen logic circuits based on thermionic tubes are then discussed, along with the magnetic drum backing store, input/output equipment and the computer’s power supplies. In short, we present an illustrated overview of all the hardware that went into the Ferranti Mark I and Mark I* computers.
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