Martin Vlieland-Boddy

Martin Vlieland-Boddy co-founded Torch Computers in Cambridge in 1981 with Peter Harris and Russell Lyons. The founders knew Acorn's Hermann Hauser and Chris Curry, and arranged to obtain BBC Micro motherboards as the foundation of expanded professional systems.

Torch paired Acorn hardware with Z80 second processors, disk systems, communications and business software. The Torch Communicator combined these ideas in a networked business machine that could connect directly to the British telephone system.

Vlieland-Boddy later formed Data Technologies, where work on an IBM PC-compatible second processor developed into the product sold by Torch as the Graduate. His companies helped extend Acorn technology into professional and business markets.