Ken The British were in the lead with computers. This from answers.com
'The first computer, called UNIVAC, was designed by Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation and was completed by Remington Rand in 1951. There would have been several projects running in parallel. Lyons (who made cakes and ran teashops) sponsored Cambridge university to build EDSAC (first program run in 1949), this was intended to prove the concept of a business computer. Following this its successor LEO went into production use in 1951. Lyons went on sell LEOs and provide an outsourcing facility but ultimately they were a cake maker not an IT company so they merged the LEO business with EEC. So you could argue that EDSAC was the first commercial computer running in 1949'
Tim
