It is an honour which I greatly appreciate to be invited to give the 19th Barnwell Memorial Lecture and I value the invitation all the more after noting that all previous lecturers have been distinguished aeronautical engineers, or at the least specialists, very experienced in air transportation.

It has always been a matter of regret to me that I never knew Frank Barnwell at work. When I went to Filton in October 1938 it was a few weeks after the flying accident in which he lost his life, so I cannot add from personal experience to the comprehensive account of his career compiled by Major Bulman for the first Barnwell Lecture in 1954, supplemented by the reminiscences of Captain Cyril Uwins and others.