Desmond Paul Henry (1921-2004) ranks among one of the few early British pioneers of Computer Art/Graphics of the 1960's. During this period he constructed a total of three mechanical drawing machines (in 1960, '63 and '67) based around the components of analogue bombsight computers.

After forming part of the second wave of the Normandy Landings in June 1944, Henry met and then married a Belgian girl living in Brussels, Louisa Bayen. On two occasions, his taking leave to see Louisa saved his life from a V1 and a V2 which left many of his comrades dead.

On return to the UK in 1946, Henry was able, as a former service-man, to receive a scholarship and attend Leeds University where he obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy in 1949. He was subsequently offered a teaching post in Philosophy at Manchester University where he remained until his early retirement in 1982. He is the acclaimed author of several books dedicated to Medieval Philosophy.

It was L.S Lowry, one of the competition judges, who encouraged Henry to continue to experiment with his ‘new ventures in art’ and include his machine drawings in the prize of a solo London exhibition at the Reid Gallery in 1962.

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