The antiproton saga at CERN (1976 - 1984)

I shall try to describe what can be considered as one of the great scientific adventures of our times, namely the project to develop high intensity beams of antiprotons, so that one could make particle-antiparticle collisions in a hadron storage ring. As is well known, this led to the long awaited discovery of the massive intermediate bosons, W⁺, W^- and Z⁰. It is appropriate to delve into this adventure on this occasion, because Leon Van Hove played the rôle of a courageous leader and inspirer throughout; courageous in particular because he well knew the risks involved in the enterprise.