Kater's pendulum minutes per day slower than at Paris, or equivalently the length of a pendulum with a swing of one second there was 1¼ Paris "lines", or 2.6 mm, shorter than at Paris. It was realized by the scientists of the day, and proven by Isaac Newton in 1687, that this was due to the fact that the Earth was not a perfect sphere but slightly oblate; it was thicker at the equator because of the Earth's rotation. Since the surface was farther from the Earth's center at Cayenne than at Paris, gravity was weaker there. Since that time pendulums began
In Which We Serve leads to a flashback in which Blake remembers how he met his wife-to-be, Freda, on a train while on leave. It is also revealed that she is related to the "Torrin"'s affable Chief Petty Officer Hardy (Miles). When both men return to sea, Freda moves in with CPO Hardy's wife and mother-in-law. The "Torrin" participates in the Dunkirk evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force, (portrayed in the film by the 5th Battalion of the Coldstream Guards). Meanwhile, the nightly Blitz takes its toll on British towns. Blake soon gets a letter from home to say that Freda has given birth