{"id":5923,"date":"2016-02-26T16:50:33","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T16:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/?p=5923"},"modified":"2016-02-26T16:50:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T16:50:59","slug":"portrait-of-a-chemist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/2016\/02\/26\/portrait-of-a-chemist","title":{"rendered":"Portrait of a Chemist: From a wartime fascination with chemistry to advising inner-city groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Gallant found his love for chemistry as a schoolboy during the war while recovering from polio. After 30 years of working with rockets and nuclear power, he went on to apply his chemical experience in the voluntary sector advising inner-city groups.<\/em><\/h3>\n

He speaks to Alex Jackson<\/a> about his lifelong passion for science.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI read chemistry books like other people read detective stories,\u201d says affable, wide-eyed 86-year-old Peter Gallant. Gallant\u2019s story is one of remarkable fortitude that in recent years has seen him awarded an MBE.<\/p>\n

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“I read chemistry books like other people read detective stories,” says Peter Gallant.
Photograph: Stephen Lake\/Royal Society of Chemistry)<\/p><\/div>\n

Early life<\/em><\/h2>\n

Growing up in the early 1930s in Edgware, London, Gallant\u2019s early childhood was much like many of his schoolmates. Both his parents worked in the admiralty, his dad supplying crews for ships, and his mum, a secretary. An only child, he recalls how after class he would devour books, play with train sets, and listen avidly to his parents’ records. Yet one day at the age of nine, his life would dramatically change. Taken ill in the summer of 1938, Gallant was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a nasty bone disease which infects and inflames the bone or bone marrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a killer. Back then, the death rate was about 50%. There were no antibiotics; the only treatment was major orthopaedic surgery,\u201d says Gallant, describing how the infection spread rapidly through his body. He had operations on the femur and tibia of his right leg, his pelvis and arms, leaving his right hip at about 30 degrees and right leg 6cm shorter than his left. \u201cI went into hospital in June 1938 and didn\u2019t come out until September 1942 \u2014 more than four years later. At the start I was so ill, there was no question of any education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI went into hospital in June 1938 and didn\u2019t come out until September 1942 \u2014 more than four years later. At the start I was so ill, there was no question of any education.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Evacuated from Guy\u2019s Hospital during the Munich crisis for fears of German air raids, he was taken to Treloar, a children\u2019s hospital in Alton, Hampshire. He vividly recalls the five hospital ward blocks, each arranged in an arc on a hillside, facing the train tracks. His few hospital perks included watching the trains \u2013 a \u201chuge hobby\u201d \u2013 a daily half pint of stout \u201cto build me up\u201d, and being wheeled out onto the balcony in the summer of 1941 to see an eclipse.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor four years I was strapped to two pieces of wood which went from my armpits to my feet and was fixed to the bottom of the bed,\u201d recalls Gallant. \u201cWe would overhear dogfights on the street and see the flames rise on the southern horizon when Southampton and Portsmouth were being blitzed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Encouraged by his mother to read the daily News Chronicle<\/em> paper while confined to his bed, Gallant would keep his mind active reading about the war and international affairs. A school teacher would also visit twice a day for an hour and \u201cstop us forgetting what we already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wartime education<\/em><\/h2>\n

After such a long spell in hospital, Gallant returned to education. \u201cMy mother wheeled me up to the headmaster of the Haberdashers\u2019 school in Hampstead and said, \u2018When can he start?\u2019 The headmaster wasn\u2019t sure and put me in prep school for the Christmas term. I was this great lout of 13, with pupils four years younger.\u201d His first memory of a science laboratory really stuck with him. Having never previously studied science, he managed to finish second in his class in chemistry and third in physics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hooked from the start. The practical work was exciting and seeing a gas given off or colour changes from experiments made me want to read more and pick up theories and the underlying science,\u201d says Gallant. He remembers how in between classes he would be sent to the roof to sound the school alarm bells against threats of incoming doodle bugs, German V-1 flying bombs. Just months before he started, a bomb had badly damaged several classrooms across from the science block.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe each took our turn at \u2018doodlebug\u2019 duty during the flying bomb attacks,\u201d he says. \u201cWe watched them come over, and if any reasonably near ones cut their engine, we pressed the alarm bell. Students below were supposed to get under their desks for cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gallant: “We each took our turn at \u2018doodlebug\u2019 duty during the flying bomb attacks.”
Photograph: Stephen Lake\/Royal Society of Chemistry<\/p><\/div>\n

After graduating from Imperial College with a degree in chemistry, he attempted a PhD in X-ray crystallography, only for the research project to be scrapped halfway through. He later joined the phosphorus chemicals firm Albright and Wilson, based in Birmingham in 1953, to work on the synthesis of polymers of Phosphonitrilic<\/em> chloride<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember feeling intellectually out of touch with PhD colleagues straight of Oxford and Cambridge. I was just a grubby lad from London,\u201d Gallant chortles. He quickly found the polymers had unpleasant health effects, but wanted to stay in the city, after making good friends and joining a church choir.<\/p>\n

Scientific endeavour<\/em><\/h2>\n

Gallant found a role at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Metals division in the corrosion laboratory. Becoming something of an amateur metallurgist, his time was spent specialising in investigating and advising on problems caused by the corrosion of copper and aluminium and their alloys in service. However, it wasn\u2019t until the late 50s that he became involved with nuclear power, taking on the first naval reactor for what was the first ever prospective nuclear submarine.<\/p>\n

ICI Metals were contracted to produce zirconium alloys and hafnium for use in water and gas-cooled nuclear reactors, with Gallant testing their corrosion resistance to simulated reactor conditions. The first batches intended for naval submarines were rejected causing great concern to the Rear Admiral Submarines and a major investigation both in the US and UK.<\/p>\n

Gallant\u2019s opinions faced intense scrutiny from the Navy, arguing his case to an audience filled with trepidation. \u201cI faced the submarine captain, naval officers, sales people, and industry representatives all wanting to build a reactor. One officer turned to me and said, \u2018Young man you are going to emasculate the navy if we can\u2019t send our submarine to sea.\u2019 I could only reply with apologies and a refusal to send something into the sea with defect materials. It proved quite the stand-off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes that time taught him three great lessons around the \u201cfundamental importance\u201d of chemistry to modern technology, the need for graduate staff to learn the basics of other disciplines, and the importance of well-equipped, multidisciplinary laboratories to support new technology.<\/p>\n

As well as later working on the development of solid propellant rocket motors for guided missiles, he also volunteered to teach a Friday evening class on corrosion at Aston University. \u201cThe previous teacher had been moved to the other side of the country just before the new term and the Fellowship of the Institute of Metals were in need of a replacement. I was newly married, skint, and had previously given lectures on corrosion, so thought why not? There were around 20 pupils each year and it took dedication to come, particularly on a Friday evening,\u201d says Gallant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the variety of the job, and getting involved with so many different industries. Seeing chemical and engineering technology being used, by and large, for human benefit was very stimulating, as was being able to offer solutions to serious problems,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Community influence<\/em><\/h2>\n

Leaving the technical world was quite the learning curve. At 55, Gallant joined Leeds City Council voluntary services to advise inner-city groups on management, something completely foreign to his usual laboratory surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe change was a major shock. I was chaotically working in a bitterly cold little glass box about eight foot square with a tatty old table piled with dirty, wet paper restored from a fire,\u201d he says. He used his skills gained in applied chemistry, such as analysis, observation and concise writing, to work with many different groups. \u201cI thought nobody wanted a chap whose knowledge is all about rockets or nuclear power, but I was wrong. And I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI thought nobody wanted a chap whose knowledge is all about rockets or nuclear power, but I was wrong. And I loved it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Gallant quickly became a key advocate for charities and an influential local figure. He is passionate about mental health awareness and helped advise the Leeds Mind branch<\/a>, as well as housing associations, homelessness charities, and prison outreach. His most notable achievement was helping to set up and initially run\u00a0Foundation Housing<\/a> (formerly Timble Housing), offering accommodation and support to ex-offenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cA probation officer came into my office one day and said he\u2019d run a hostel for people coming out of prison for over a year but couldn\u2019t make head nor tail of the figures. If he\u2019d made any money, he said he\u2019d stay open, if he hadn\u2019t, they\u2019d finish there and then,\u201d recounts Gallant, who has since helped the charity spread across the north of England. \u201cThankfully they\u2019d made \u00a31,500 and the hostel owner\u2019s face lit up. They asked me to help set it up as a charity and its turnover has gone from nothing to nearly \u00a320m today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallant would spend most days looking at budgeting, writing constitutions and offering personnel advice, as well as helping with general administration tasks. There were other times he would go out of his way to help community groups. \u201cI\u2019d often go into Chapel Town in Leeds, sit with families, and discuss domestic issues. Many of the families and groups were based in an area which had an unfortunate reputation at the time. I honestly never had any trouble. It was a rewarding job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The London-born scientist, who now lives in Wetherby, North Yorkshire, believes the biggest change in society\u2019s attitude to disability is the willingness to discuss how people\u2019s reasonable needs can be met. He received an MBE for his services to the voluntary sector in the January 2005 Honours list.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should promote the everyday benefits chemistry brings to society and the ability of good, but not exceptional, individuals to contribute a worthwhile activity,\u201d concludes Gallant. \u201cWe are not all Nobel Prize winners, and I sometimes think we overawe outsiders and the young by the publicity given to brilliant research, giving them the impression that such success is the norm. Chemistry is a wonderful training ground for a fascinating lifetime in all sorts of spheres.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“We should promote the everyday benefits chemistry brings to society and the ability of good, but not exceptional, individuals to contribute a worthwhile activity.”
Photograph: Stephen Lake\/Royal Society of Chemistry<\/p><\/div>\n

Peter Gallant is one of the <\/em><\/strong>175 faces of chemistry<\/em><\/strong><\/a> on show at a free public exhibition at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, open weekdays (10-4) until 4 March.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He speaks to Alex Jackson about his lifelong passion for science.  Read more<\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87753,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,21,12],"tags":[165,5],"class_list":["post-5923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-featured","category-science-communication-and-outreach","tag-careers","tag-chemistry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/soapboxscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}