The First Cierva Memorial Lecture was given in the Lecture Theatre of the Society on 16th February 1961 with Dr. E. S. Moult, C.B.E., B.Sc., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E., President of the Society, in the Chair. Introducing the lecturer, Dr. Moult said that, beginning in 1948, through the generosity of Wing Commander Graham Douglas, the Helicopter Association of Great Britain awarded a prize annually in commemoration of the great pioneer work of Juan de la Cierva in the field of rotary wing flight. When the Helicopter Association merged with the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1960 it was decided to institute a Cierva Memorial Lecture as a main event in the yearly calendar of the newly-formed Rotorcraft Section of the Society.

This was the first lecture of what he was sure would be an outstanding series and they were honoured by having with them for the occasion Dr. Carlos de la Cierva, son of the great pioneer. Professor Bennett had spent much of his working life associated with rotary wing aircraft and had been closely associated with Senor de la Cierva. He had been with the Cierva Autogiro Company for about 10 years, and for some seven years was head of the Helicopter Branch of Fairey Aviation; in America he was for a period a member of the British Air Commission and later, was Chief of Research of Hiller Aircraft. He was now Deputy Principal and Head of the Department of Aerodynamics at the College of Aeronautics.