Although the greater part of my working life has been concerned with aviation—and particularly with aircraft propulsion—I have never really regarded myself as a dyed-in-the-wool aeronautical pioneer. It has been my good fortune to collaborate with many whose names will long live in the history of aviation, and to have been able to play some part in the development of powerplant engineering over the past half century. I feel honoured, therefore, by being invited to contribute some personal anecdotes and views to the Centenary Issue of the Society's Journal.