I consider it a great privilege to have been chosen to give the first Rex Pierson Memorial Lecture, as not only is he an outstanding figure in British Aviation, but he was also one of my close friends.

Reginald Kirshaw Pierson was born in February 1891 at Fransham, Norfolk, his father being the rector there. He was educated at Felsted School. On leaving he was destined to enter the Bank of England, but at the last moment, mainly due to the untiring efforts of his mother, he was allowed to follow his natural bent, and take up engineering instead.

In 1908, therefore, at the age of 17 he entered the Erith Works of Vickers Ltd., as an engineering pupil-apprentice, passing through the various departments and, while there, taking his Bachelor of Science Engineering degree the hard way, from evening classes.