Strachey is remembered as one of the developers of Combined Programming Language (CPL), an early precursor to the influential C programming language.
After an early career as a research physicist and teacher, Strachey developed a program in 1951 that allowed the Pilot Ace computer at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and later the Manchester Mark 1 to play a game of draughts (checkers). He also wrote some of the earliest programs that were purely creative, like one that automatically generated love letters.