Some random notes
Where Are They: 1938
Frank Whittle is a discontented young RAF officer, who peddled his 'jet propulsion' theory around the Air Ministry and was exiled to the Rocket Group on Stornaway as RAF Liaison. After a brief period of resentment, he feels that he has come home, and takes more and more of a leading role as Professor Low's interest wavers. His 'Power Jet' group, working in off-hours, is rapidly working forward on a jet engine, and he hopes to be in a better position to make a presentation in a couple of years.
Alan Turing is having the time of his life at Cambridge. Although he'd wanted to study under Professor Church at Princeton, his current work on codes and cyphers is extremely interesting, and the government stipend is certainly helping him on his Ph.D, refining his earlier work on computation. The Royal Navy is even looking into putting some of his machines into practice, and that promises significant royalties in the future.
Ronald Reagan is one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the United States, and his commentary of major sporting events have received rave reviews. He won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the Berlin Olympics, which made him feel vastly better about fluffing his screen test at Warner Brothers. So what if no-one knows what he looks like – everyone knows what he sounds like, and for him that's just as important. He's even getting a little interested in politics, in more serious journalism, after what happened in Berlin.
Jesse Owens greatly benefited for his work on the Landon ticket in '36; with it came a job in Washington and a Congressional Gold Medal. Although he occasionally worries about being Landon's sop to the African-American vote, this is counteracted for the work he is doing as an unofficial lobbyist on the hill; he is head of Landon's 'Black Cabinet', an idea inherited from FDR.
Charles de Gaulle is revelling in his new position, commanding the newly-constituted 4th Armoured Division as a
General de Brigade. The new administration is at last taking some of his theories seriously, and he has been able to get renewed access to the Minister of War, Jean Louis Barthou (who survived his wounds in 1934). If the rest of the Generals aren't willing to listen, that's not his problem. They'll find out soon enough, when the Boche cross the border.
Georg von Trapp has fled Austria, disgusted with the new Fascist regime. Using some old contacts and connections, he has moved his family to England, where he spent most of 1938 acting as a consultant to Rear-Admiral Ruck-Keene, commander of the 1st Submarine Flotilla. He has just accepted an appointment at the Royal Naval College, where he is to teach submarine tactics to naval cadets. He has no problem with training the British to fight the Germans; it is not as if there will ever be an Austrian Navy ever again, anyway.
(This is just a little extra, an idea I borrowed from
For All Time, inspired by the Frank Whittle question. I'll do six or so of these a year, to show how the butterflies are growing. And yes - long before any music ever sounded, Georg von Trapp was Austria's most noted U-Boat commander in the Great War. Tomorrow - the State of the World.)
