It is the custom of the Association for the Chairman to introduce to you formally all its lecturers In the case of our lecturer this evening, there is no such necessity to do so, for we all know full well the name PETER MASEFIELD and the work that he has done and is doing in all branches of commercial and other aviation and doubtless some of us would wish to know something more of his background than is already available

In 1945, Peter Masefield was appointed by the Minister of Civil Aviation to be the first British Civil Air Attache at the British Embassy in Washington In 1946 he was appointed Director General of Long Term Planning and Projects at the British Ministry of Civil Aviation in London He led the British delegation to the South Pacific Air Defence Council in 1948 in Wellington, New Zealand In January, 1949, he joined British European Airways and was appointed Chief Executive and member of the Board in October, 1949, Lord Douglas of Kirtleside having been appointed Chairman a short while previously