The WITCH computer, dubbed as “the world’s oldest working stored-program electronic computer” will start restoration works by the volunteers at TNMOC (The National Museum of Computing) located at Bletchley Park. (Home of the World War II Enigma code crackers) Also known as the Harwell computer, the historic machine set to become the oldest British computer to be brought back to life when this happens. First used in 1951 for atomic research, the computer was based on telephone exchange relays and 900 Dekatron gas-filled tubes, which could each hold a single digit in memory. Paper tape was used to both input data for and store the output of the machine. The system was built and used by staff at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire.
When first built the 2.4m x 5m computer was state-of-the-art, although it was superseded by transistor-based systems. At that time, it had the ability to perform various mathematical calculations at roughly the same speed as a single human mathematician using a mechanical calculator.
The computer was operational at Harwell until 1957, when it was offered in a competition for colleges to see who could make best use of it. Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College (later becoming Wolverhampton University) won and, then becoming known as the WITCH (Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell), it was used in computer education until 1973.
The museum is asking members of the public and ‘kind angels’ to sponsor the restoration of the Harwell computer by purchasing one of 25 shares at £4500 (about $7,300) each. The funds will be used by TNMOC, a registered charity, to undertake the restoration and extend the ever-expanding museum. Currently, Insight Software The restoration project is expected to take a year.