George Barker Jeffery, 1891-1957

Abstract

George Barker Jeffery was born on 9 May 1891. He came from a Quaker family, and remained a Quaker all his life. He was educated at Strand School, King’s College, and Wilson’s Grammar School, Camberwell. In 1909 he entered University College, London, to begin a course, common at that time, of two years at the college to be followed by one year’s training as a teacher. He was not an entrance scholar, but his work in mathematics showed so much promise that he was elected to a scholarship in mathematics at the end of his first year. In 1911 he entered the London Day Training College for his teacher’s training. It was there that he met Elizabeth Schofield, whom he married in 1915. However he had already commenced mathematical research, and he read his first paper (1)* before the Royal Society in June 1912, the month following his twenty-first birthday. His later career showed how great an impression had been made upon him by his year’s training as a teacher. However, after it was over he returned to University College as a research student and assistant to L. N. G. Filon, who was then Professor of Applied Mathematics. He always had a great admiration for Filon, though this was not uncritical, as is shown by the obituary notices which he later wrote for the Royal Society, the London Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association. In 1914 Filon went away on active service, and Jeffery, aged 23, was left in charge of the Department of Applied Mathematics. In 1916 he was elected a Fellow of University College. However, as a Quaker he had a conscientious objection to performing military service, so that he could not do this, nor was he allowed to remain at the college. In 1916 he spent a short time in prison as a ‘conscientious objector’, though later he was allowed to undertake ‘work of national importance’. In 1919, when the war was over, he returned to the college, again as an assistant to Filon. In spite of all the difficulties of the war period he had, as the list of his publications shows, maintained a steady output of original work. In 1921 he was promoted to the grade of University Reader in Mathematics.