Tyburn Project: production of scrub typhus vaccine, Second World War

"Report of Special Operational Store Tyburn, Jan-Nov 1945", by Marinus van den Ende (1912-1957), bacteriologist; and notes and photographs by Dr Helène E. Bargmann, PhD, FRZS, ATS (1897-1987), biologist.

1945

1 box

The report by Professor van den Ende was presented by Mr Matthews to the Wellcome Institute Library in 1959, and transferred to the CMAC in 1980. The papers and photographs by Dr. Bargmann were presented to the Library by her nephew, John M Bargmann, in September 1998.

During the Second World War the Wellcome Foundation laboratories at Frant, East Sussex, were engaged in work for the Ministry of Supply, producing scrub typhus vaccine for the armed forces. The project was given the wartime codename of 'Tyburn' after Tyburn Farm, the farm at the Wellcome Veterinary Research Station there. The project was organised by the bacteriologist Marinus van den Ende (1912-1957), serving with the RAMC: his obituary in the Lancet states that "his greatest achievement in England was the organisation of the laboratory at Frant for the large-scale production of scrub typhus vaccine, exacting and dangerous work which he carried out with great speed and precision".