When I look back over the list of those who have given each of the previous 36 Roy Chadwick lectures since their inception in 1956, I observe a number of interesting features. The list includes some of the most illustrious names that have contributed to the pioneering and maturing phases of the design and development of gas-turbine powered flying machines. I was fortunate to have worked for and been in contact with — not to say under the lash of — at least two of them: Sir Stanley Hooker and John Coplin.