Berwyn Hugh Patrick Rivett

Although there were formal operations research (OR) groups in the U.K. conducting pioneering work on military problems during World War II (WWII), there were other researchers who, individually or collectively, contributed to the war effort in other areas that would now be considered OR. A case in point is Berwyn Hugh Patrick (Pat) Rivett. From his military and subsequent government employment, Pat unknowingly segued into one of the U.K.’s earliest and most important civilian OR establishments. The move into the new job turned out to be a stroke of good luck—Pat became the head of the largest U.K. OR department, the National Coal Board’s Field Investigation Group (FIG). FIG pioneered the application of new OR techniques within the U.K. and expanded the scope of OR by investigating new problem areas. He was appointed to the U.K.’s first university chair in OR (Lancaster University). Pat was recognized as an early and leading expositor of OR. He brought his extensive practical experience into the classroom with his texts, while, in more general books and articles, he proselytized executives and managers by expounding on the nature of OR and how the application of OR methods could be of service to their organizations.