![]() This inductive loop is fed from the Main Equipment via a special amplifier … This loop gives a magnetic field in the area within the loop, and the signal is picked up by a cylindrical piece of apparatus with leads connected to a moulded crystal ear piece. ‘The system consists of an “inductive loop” round the Prime Minister’s seat near the Box and is hidden under the carpet. Catalogue ref: WORK 11/606Ī memorandum produced by N Sizer, Assistant Chief Engineer on the project, explained how the equipment worked: Letter from P G Oates (Prime Minister’s Office) to E H A Stretton (Ministry of Works), 20 April 1953. The letter ended by saying that if the experimental work was successful, then the Prime Minister wished for it to ‘be installed permanently’ (footnote 3). It was also stated that the induction system would require ‘no wire connection to the ear piece’ and that ‘the Prime Minister was very pleased with the preliminary trial which was arranged last week’. On 20 April 1953, a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Ministry of Works noted that arrangements were being made for ‘the provision of a hearing aid connected with the amplification system in the House of Commons’ (footnote 2). MI5 was concerned that Soviet Russia could bug the Prime Minister’s hearing aid to listen in on his conversations, although there is no evidence to suggest this was true (see footnote 1). However in 1953, Poliakoff’s contract was ended. In order to ensure the device was working correctly, Poliakoff visited Churchill at 10 Downing Street. The hearing aid was made by a company owned by Russian engineer Alexander Poliakoff. ![]() (It must be noted that it was usual to only have one hearing aid, rather than two, which is the norm today). However, it was not until 1952 that Churchill had his first hearing aid fitted. His primary doctor, Sir Charles Wilson (also known as Lord Moran), first recorded Churchill’s hearing loss in late 1944. Initially, Churchill was reluctant to admit that his hearing was deteriorating. Image credit: Hearing Health & Technology Matters Nonetheless, these records provide a fascinating insight into how Churchill managed his hearing loss, and the ways in which the Ministry of Works utilised advances in technology to provide facilities to assist Churchill during his time in the House of Commons. Moreover, the records do not express how Churchill felt about his hearing loss more broadly. Records in the Ministry of Works reveal the various equipment that was installed in the House of Commons chamber during Churchill’s second term as Prime Minister to assist with his hearing.Īlthough these records do at times suggest how Churchill personally felt about the hearing equipment, it must be acknowledged that such opinions are not expressed directly from him, but rather through the Prime Minister’s Office. Pictured on the right is Churchill leaving Beaumont Street Nursing Home after an attack of paratyphoid in 1932.Īs Churchill got older, he began to suffer from hearing loss, which is the focus of this blog. The image on the left shows Churchill leaving Lennox Hill Hospital in New York after he was knocked down by a taxi in 1931. ‘Churchill – The Man’, Illustrated London News, 24 April 1954, p. Winston Churchill is best known for serving as British Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945, and between 19, as well as leading Britain through its ‘Darkest Hour’ during the Second World War.Ĭhurchill experienced ill health throughout his life he caught pneumonia multiple times, sustained injuries from a traffic accident, contracted paratyphoid, and suffered numerous strokes to name just a few examples.
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