John Baker, Baron Baker

He was educated at Rossall School and Clare College, Cambridge, and married Fiona Mary MacAlister Walker in 1928.

[5] In 1933 Baker became Professor of Engineering at Bristol University, after which he was scientific adviser to the Design and Development Section of the Ministry of Home Security from 1939 to 1943.

Elastic deformation is reversible, and with the removal of load the material will return to its original shape, position and stress distribution.

Plastic deformation is not reversible, and with the removal of load the material will assume a different shape, position and stress distribution to the one it held originally.

During the 1950s Baker and W. Prager of Brown University published a two volume account of the history of steel structures, with plastic theory integral to it.

The Morrison shelter was therefore designed to be able to withstand the upper floor falling, of a typical two-storey-house undergoing a partial collapse.

[10] Its design enabled the family to sleep under the shelter at night or during raids, and to use it as a dining table in the daytime, making it a practical item in the house.