The Eagle, Cambridge

During the Second World War, Allied airmen, who drank and socialised at The Eagle, used wax candles, petrol lighters and lipstick to write their names, squadron numbers and other doodles onto the ceiling of the rear bar.The tradition is believed to have been started by RAF Flight Sergeant P. E. Turner, who climbed up on the table one night to burn his squadron number on the ceiling.[3] When the university's Cavendish Laboratory was still at its old site at nearby Free School Lane, the pub was a popular lunch destination for staff working there.Thus, it became the place where Francis Crick interrupted patrons' lunchtime on 28 February 1953 to announce that he and James Watson had "discovered the secret of life" after they had come up with their proposal for the structure of DNA.Today the pub serves a special ale to commemorate the discovery, dubbed "Eagle's DNA".
Main signboard of The Eagle, as seen from the Corpus Christi College accommodation above
The RAF Bar ceiling with graffiti of World War II airmen
A blue plaque outside The Eagle
CambridgeEnglandCoordinatesCorpus Christi CollegeGrade II listedpublic housecoaching innBene't StreetGreene KingSecond World Warblue plaqueuniversity'sCavendish LaboratoryFree School LaneFrancis CrickJames WatsonThe Double Helixamino acidsHistoric EnglandNational Heritage List for EnglandOxford University Press