'Father' of British computing dies

Wikipedia bio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Wilkes

Sir Maurice was one of the giants. Also prescient, from his memoirs "It was on one of my journeys between the EDSAC room and the punching equipment that 'hesitating at the angle of the stairs' the realization came over me with full force that a good part of the remainder of my life was going to be spent finding errors in my own programs."

Not taking anything away from Sir Maurice's contributions but Babbage and Turing were both British. Was there a need for another "father"-title?

Turing could be named the "father" of computer science (among others) and Babbage was the "father" of the digital computer.

I'm not disagreeing with you, though.

pater familias, when one dies, another takes his place.

Maurice was a man of great humor and insight. It was an honor to have known him.

I completely agree. I met him about 10 years ago when both he and I were consulting at Olivetti Research Labs in Cambridge UK. A most gentlemanly man! So humble for being such a giant in the field.