British X-ray astronomy

In this review the author describes the development of British X-ray astronomy, from its beginnings in 1958 to the present time, with a forward look, towards 1989. The paper is centred around the techniques which have been developed over this period, which cover photographic emulsion devices, proportional counters and imaging systems, and the associated launching vehicles: these include discussions of the Skylark rockets, the Ariel satellites, and the later observing platforms, such as OSO-4, OSO-5, ASTRO-C, and Exosat. The scientific results, obtained mainly by the Leicester and UCL groups, cover solar X-ray bursts, and spectral measurements on galactic and extra-galactic sources. (UK)