Hanson Grammar School old-boy Sir Edward Appleton was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1947 for his research into atmospheric layers, which proved crucial to Britain’s war effort.

The boy from Barkerend discovered the existence of the layer in the upper atmosphere, now called the ionosphere, in 1924 by firing transmitter waves to see if they were reflected back.

The ionosphere, therefore, was the first object to be detected by radiolocation, resulting in Sir Edward being appointed as the Government’s chief scientist in the development of the radar for aircraft detection when the Second World War broke out in 1939.

Radar was of immeasurable benefit as one of Britain’s secret weapons in the fight against Nazi Germany.

The legacy of Sir Edward, who died in 1965 as one of Bradford’s most famous sons, has left its mark on the city with the recently-opened Appleton Academy named after him.

As part of his education, Sir Edward also studied, and was later employed as a lab technician, at Bradford Technical College from 1909 to 1911.

He studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, and during the First World War served in the Royal Engineers.

He returned to Cambridge after the war to research atmospheric physics, mainly using radio waves.

In 1920, he became assistant demonstrator in experimental physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, and four years later was appointed professor of physics at London University.

By 1936, he had returned to Cambridge as professor of natural philosophy.