The Career of Lt. Col. Brian Duncan SHAW MM TD BSc
PhD DSc (Hon.)
Living 100 years is an achievement in itself, but perhaps more important
is what use is made of that time. Few people can have had a more active
and fulfilling 100 years than Brian Shaw. Born on 10 February 1898 in Ilkeston,
Derbyshire, he began his career in 1914 as an Apprentice Pharmacist at
Boots the Chemists, in Eastwood.
In 1915 he became a student teacher in Ilkeston and joined the University
College Nottingham Officers' Training Corps. By February 1916 he had enlisted
in the Sherwood Foresters T.A. and was transferred to the 2/5th Battalion
South Staffs. During the First World War he became a Designated Marksman
and fought on the Somme ( 1917 ), Cambrai ( 1917) and at Passchendaele
(1917-1918). In July 1917 Cpl. Shaw was awarded the Military Medal for
bravery at Beaucamp near Cambrai. In 1918 Shaw was commissioned in the
3rd battalion Lincs, subsequently being seconded to the newly formed RAF
for pilot training. The War over, he enrolled as a full time student at
University College, Nottingham.
Graduating with a lst Class Honours Chemistry Degree in 1922, he remained
at Nottingham to carry out research with Professor F. S. Kipping before
being appointed as a Lecturer in Chemistry at East London College. However,
his stay in London was short and, by 1923, he had been appointed to a Lectureship
at Nottingham where he continued his research and obtained his PhD in 1927.
University College became the University
of Nottingham in 1948 and Shaw remained on the staff, ultimately as
Senior Lecturer until 1965. That might be the full story, but of course
it is not.
From 1925 to 1955 his marksmanship won him many prizes at competitive
shooting events including the 1950 King's Medal (Bisley) for Champion Shot
in the T.A. Shaw retained his military connections commanding a Company
of the 5th Sherwood Foresters T.A. from 1928 to 1939, being promoted Captain
in 1929 and Major in 1935. During the Second World War he commanded the
1/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in France and saw action at the defence
of the River Bresle, east of Dieppe. He was left behind after Dunkirk and
spent from June to September 1940 in hiding before being captured near
Poitiers while attempting to escape to Spain. From 1940 to 1945, he was
a prisoner in no less than five POW camps. Following his release and return
to Nottingham he remained Officer Commanding the University Training Corps
until 1954. However, it was the combination of his military expertise and
academic knowledge which would lead him to international
fame.