Hawthorne became well-known for a project which began in Cambridge in
1956 and which led to the development of the Dracone flexible barge -
a long plastic tube which, filled with oil, fresh water or other fluids,
floats in sea water and can be towed These vessels, some over 300 ft long,
were used all over the world, and were particularly useful at the time
of the Suez crisis.
The Dracone
flexible barge
Soon after he became Head of Department, Professor Hawthorne was appointed
Master of Churchill College. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society
in 1955 and knighted in 1970. A member of the Pentacle club, Professor
Hawthorne was well known for performing magic, and is remembered to this
day by the kitchen staff as 'the man who made cheese rolls come out from
behind his ears'.