Died: 4 July 1956 in Edinburgh, Scotland

Bernard Childs's father was Charles Alfred Childs (born in Kingston, Surrey about 1865) who was a commercial clerk. His mother was Emily G Childs (born in Kingston about 1866). In 1911, Charles Bernard Childs, our mathematician, was studying at The College, Hadham Road, Bishop's Stortford.

Childs studied at the University of Birmingham, graduating with a B.Sc. in 1920. A quick calculation shows that he was twenty-five years old when he graduated and this was because he began his studies at Birmingham a few years after leaving secondary school. He remained at Birmingham undertaking research for a doctorate in Natural Philosophy and this was awarded in 1922 for his thesis The thermomagnetic properties of carbon steels at temperatures round the Curie point.

Childs was appointed as an Assistant Lecturer in Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh University in 1922. He was promoted to lecturer in 1924. In 1956 he became a Senior lecturer and remained in this position until his death five years later.

Shortly after arriving in Edinburgh as an Assistant, Bernard Childs joined the Edinburgh Mathematical Society in March 1923. He was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 5 March 1956, his proposers being Norman Feather, Robert Schlapp, James Paton, Thomas R Bolam.

An obituary, written by Norman Feather, appears in the Royal Society of Edinburgh Year Book 1957, pages 10-12. 
We give a version of this obituary at THIS LINK.

Finally we note that Childs had many interests other than his subject. Feather writes [1]:-

1. N Feather, Charles Bernard Childs, B.Sc., Ph.D. (Birm.), F.Inst.P., Royal Society of Edinburgh Year Book 1957, 10-12.