Canada Calling: Toronto Gets a Mark I

Whilst the first computer was being put to use in Manchester, Ferranti’s Moston factory was constructing a second Mark I machine—encouraged by a Letter of Intent from the Ministry of Supply (MOS). In the event, the MOS delayed placing a firm order. Meanwhile, the Canadian National Research Council was keen to install a computer at Toronto University so the sale of the second production Ferranti Mark I was agreed. The computer was known locally as FERUT. This gives us the opportunity to recall the pioneering activity, both hardware and software, in Canada and the interesting links that developed between Toronto and Manchester. Luminaries such as Christopher Strachey and Trixie Worsley shine out. We tell the story of how they wrote the huge programs that lay behind the construction of the St Lawrence Seaway which allowed large ocean-going vessels to reach the Great Lakes. FERUT then had a long and useful life, which is described in this chapter.