Joining nations 1947-1990

A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS

45

some of whose governments were mutually hostile, and how success– ful the Executive Council was in preventing the occurrence of occasions for confrontation. A happier aspect to the 1973 Assembly was the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the IIW. Four lectures were given by authors from the Far East (Professor Kobayashi), America (Dr Oehler), W Europe (Dr Wagner) and E Europe (Academician Paton). The delegations of the founder countries responded to a proposal of the Organising Committee to invite all those who had been present at the foundation of the IIW in 1948 to a commemorative luncheon which brought together a number of the pioneers of the Institute. As an exceptional measure, it was decided to award on this occasion four Edstrom medals to H de Leiris, outgoing Chairman of Commission XIII, Professor T Naka, Japanese Vice -President at the time of the Kyoto Assembly, F L Plummer, Past President and A Leroy, outgoing Scien– tific and Technical Secretary, whose term of office was to end in l 974 after 24 years. It was inevitable that the impending departure of Andre Leroy should cause disquiet throughout the IIW. Almost since its found– ation, he had been responsible, latterly with the assistance of the Technical Committee, for guiding and co-ordinating the work of the Commissions; their achievements had in turn ensured the continuing support for the Institute of the industrialised world and they had made a significant contribution, under his leadership, to the work of the ISO. The IIW was fortunate that, in his activities, he had been assisted by a colleague who was universally recognised as an appro– priate successor. The Governing Council accordingly elected in 1973,– as future Scientific and Technical Secretary, Mr Henry Granjon, Chairman of Commission IX. As a young man, Mr Granjon had attended the London Conference in 1947 and on the creation of Commission XIV Welding Instruction in 1951 he became its first 1 Vice -Chairman, a position for which he was eminently qualified by reason of his functions as Director of Studies at the Welding High School in Paris. A metallurgist by training and a pupil of Professor Portevin, Mr Granjon also served on Commission IX Behaviour of Metals Subjected to Welding where his technical expertise and his gifts for leadership. soon brought him into prominence, so that in 1967 he was a natural successor to Professor Ruhl as Chairman of what was one of the largest and most active of the Commissions . 1 Another noteworthy event at the Diisseldorf Assembly was th"(; breaking of the long-standing stalemate over the application of the