Dr Martin Evans, Cambs

My late wife (Dr Janet West) and I relied on the Amstrad PCW machines in the 1980s and long afterwards.

Enclosed is a photograph of her, taken in 2008. Even then she was using, as a matter of preference, a PCW8256 and Locoscript for writing her articles, chapters and other contributions to her speciality: maritime history, and maritime matters in general.

In the mid 1980s several academic friends of ours were beginning to acquire word processors. The BBC Micro seemed popular. In early 1984 we noticed the Amstrad PCW machines, bundled with Locoscript (and other software) for sale in the Cambridge branch of Dixons. It seemed such good value that we bought one then, and Janet continued to use it for as long as her health permitted. At times she suffered painful neuritis and at these times she was unable to sit in a chair so she worked while lying on her bed, as in the photograph.

Janet was a Research Associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, part of the university of Cambridge, from 1984 until 2024. She was helping to teach a small group (usually 4) of post-graduates who were on the SPRI course of Polar Studies. She persuaded the Institute to buy four PCW machines for the students to use in writing their course essays, and final thesis.