A Radio Pioneer

 

Article from 1954....

 

The man who was co-inventor of the first electrical gramophone pick-up device and whose first recording is kept in the British Museum, has chosen a power bench saw for his home workshop as his retirement present from his fellow associates and hopes to start making things with it.

 

Horace 0. Merriman, M. B. E. , B. A. Sc. , E. E. , P. Eng. , Engineer in Charge of the Inductive Interference Section of the Department of Transport's Telecommunication Division, has retired after upwards of 35 years of service in the government.

 

May 21, his fellow workers in Telecommunications gathered together in No. E Building where Controller G. C. W. Browne made the presentation. Contributions to the parting gift came from Radio Branches across Canada. In the absence of Mrs. Merriman, owing to illness, Miss Catherine Merriman was presented with an orchid corsage by Miss Evelyn Smirle.

 

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, graduated from University of Toronto with his B.A.Sc. in 1911 and employed first with Ontario Hydro and later as a demonstrator at the University, Mr. Merriman served with the Royal Naval Air Force and the Royal Air Force in World War I. After the war, be worked in collaboration with the Hon. Lionel Guest as co-inventor of the electrical gramophone pick-up device. The historic recordings were made by him in Westminster Abbey and recorded the first ceremony honoring the Unknown Soldier of November 11, 1920.

 

In the mid-twenties, the Department and the National Research Council joined forces in an investigation into general radio interference. The investigation was carried out by Mr. Merriman and was so successful that an Interference Section was organized in the Department under what was then the Radio Branch. As a result of this small beginning under Mr. Merriman, some thousands of interference sources are dealt with annually by his Inductive Interference Section.

 

In 1982, Mr. Merriman was granted a degree is Electrical Engineering by the University of Toronto.

 

During World War II, Mr. Merriman assisted the armed services in the development of radio suppressors for vehicles, aircraft and ships, for which he was awarded the M.B.B. Since the war, he has been responsible to a large measure for drafting of specifications for interference suppressors applicable to various types of electrical equipment and devices for the Canadian Standards Association. He has also carried out extensive research in the measurement of electrical noise, particularly in connection with interference to television reception.

 

As his last contribution to the Service, Mr. Merriman has completed within the past few weeks, a comprehensive treatise on interference suppression. This is considered to be of such exceptional value to governmental research workers as well as to servicemen and electricians in the electronics field, that steps have been taken by the Department to have it printed. (see it here [1934 pdf], [1954 TOC&Chap1 Chap 2-5 Chap 6-8 Chap 8-12 Chap 15-20 Chap21-24 Index])

 

Mr. Merriman is spending his first year of retirement visiting friends and relatives and traveling to various places in Europe.