Leslie R. Shepherd
From The Space Library
 Leslie Shepherd circa 1949 | |
| Birth Name | Leslie R. Shepherd |
|---|---|
| Birth Date | 1918 |
| Birth Place | Wales |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Nationality | British |
L.R. Shepherd, B.Sc, A.Inst, P. Born 1918 in a mining village in South Wales and later attended the secondary school at Ferndale, Glam. Was an undergraduate at University College, London and obtained his B.Sc. (Special) in Physics in 1940. During the following five years was a research assistant on a Government project at the Royal Society Mond Laboratory, Cambridge. In January 1946 took up post graduate studies as a research student at St Catherines College, where, until recently he was engaged in research in nuclear spectroscopy at the Cavendish Laboratory.
Mr Shepherd's interest in interplanetary flight dates from age of 11 an this he attributes to the influence of a science fantasy story in a juvenile magazine. At such an impressionable age the assimilation of such ideas as flight to other planets led to the choice of a scientific career and although the ensuing years dampened the optimism of early youth, they did not dampen his enthusiasm for the pursuit of the objective of space flight. Mr Shepherd became a member of the British Interplanetary Society in the early part of 1935, but did not take part in any of its pre-war activities. He was present at the first post-war meeting of the Society in 1946.
