Joining nations 1947-1990

THE BIRTH OF THE llW

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The titles of the Commissions initially set up by the Governing Council were as follows: - Gas welding, Arc welding, Resistance welding, Documentation, Testing and measurement, Terminology, Standardization, Hygiene and safety, Weldability, Residual stresses, Stress relieving, Brittle fractures. Finally, the following were elected as the first officers of the IIW: President Vice-Presidents Mr P Goldschmidt (Belgium) Professor Ir HE Jaeger (Netherlands) Professor A Portevin (France) (exceptionally with a term of office of five years) A nominee of the American Welding Society Mr W Edstrom (Sweden) Mr G Parsloe (UK) This group constituted the Executive Council, then known as the Bureau and in effect responsible for management of the Institute. In spite of the statutory restrictions on their terms of office, by one expedient or another Messrs Goldschmidt, Jaeger, Portevin and Edstrom continued to serve on the Executive Council until their deaths and Mr Parsloe until 1969. They, together with one or two others who will be introquced later, thus had a decisive influence on the formative years of the IIW and it remains today in a large measure their creation . Each of them showed a very real dedication to the organisation in whose foundation he had played a major role and it is fitting that several of their names are still commemorated within the Institute. Most of them had also served on the Provisional Committee whose work had been exceptionally dynamic and effective. It is easy to underestimate what a remarkable achievement it was, particularly in the conditions of 1947 I 48, for a small group of persons of different nationalities and mostly previously unknown to one another, to create within a year an international organisation whose objectives, methods of work and constitution have remained relevant after over 40 years of profound change, both in the membership of the Institute and the technology which it serves. In the contex1: ·of their achievement as the effective founders of the IIW, it is perhaps of interest to say something of their careers. Treasurer Secretary General