John Wilson

John Wilson, CBE, MC & Bar, FRIC (6 September 1890 – 8 September 1976) was Director of the British Rayon Research Association from 1948 to 1958. He was married to Edith Wilson (née Leech) and had six children.

Early life Wilson was born in Edinburgh to Isabella and Richard. and was mentioned in Dispatches. According to the London Gazette, Wilson: Went out in daylight into “No Man's Land” over ground covered by enemy snipers, close up to an enemy “pill-box,” and secured an identification from the bodies of two of the enemy who had been killed by a patrol. His courageous action secured a valuable identification. Under his stewardship, the BRRA became an organisation with an international reputation in its field and nearly 300 staff. who "enthusiastically encouraged" him in his research ideas around the theory of elasticity.

He was also credited as having insight into what was needed to make successful scientific research: His contribution to industrial research was characterized by an ability to excite the interest of (and to support financially) academically experienced scientists. He not only awarded many postgraduate research studentships in order to train future staff but was also perceptive enough to finance more senior university research workers very early in the development of such diverse topics as organic crystal structure analysis, digital computers, flash photolysis and fluidised beds. He also appears to have attended one of the UK's first computer conferences.

He also credited with knowing how to pick and build a successful team:

He chose his staff on trusted recommendation or by intuition, and thus assembled a group which radically advanced the science of rubber [at the BRPRA] ... His stimulating ebullience, his concern with work not red tape, and his abiding principle to support and fight to the limit for his staff outside the laboratories (however much he might assail them inside) engendered immense loyalty and a wonderful team spirit.