1st Hon C S Rolls Lecture

. . . his legacy to power for land, sea and air

Preface
Philip Ruffles, Technical Adviser, Rolls-Royce plc
presents the
1st Hon C S Rolls Lecture to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
at the Institution’s Headquarters at 1 Birdcage Walk, London
on 8 May 2002

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 In addressing the Hon C S Rolls Legacy to power for land, sea
and air, I will quote widely from the biography by Lord
Montagu of Beaulieu titled ‘Rolls of Rolls-Royce’ and will
take you back to July 1910 when the fashionable south coast
resort of Bournemouth was celebrating its centenary.
Though King Edward the VII had died only two months
previously, the Bournemouth fortnight was the quintessence
of Edwardianism and the atmosphere was one of
celebration. By now the motor car was becoming an
accepted mode of transport for the rich and wealthy and the
Wright brothers had performed the first powered flight
seven years previously. The aeroplane had sprung into
prominence and some of the great names of motoring had
taken enthusiastically to the new sport, including the Hon
Charles Stewart Rolls - the son of a peer. He was a pioneer of
practical motoring, a founder member of the Automobile
Club of Great Britain and Ireland (later to become the RAC),
one of the three founders of the Royal Aero Club and the
first aviator to complete a double crossing of the English
Channel. At the age of 32 he had captured the imagination
of the British public and was a national hero. His name,
together with that of Frederick Henry Royce, his well
established partner, was already the symbol of the best in
motor cars, though neither he nor his compatriots were yet
aware that it would become the symbol of the best in British
engineering.
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Rolls was both a skilled and a careful pilot and yet he
crashed fatally at Bournemouth on 12th July 1910 when
flying his aircraft as part of the Bournemouth Centenary
celebrations. His aircraft was fitted with additional non-
standard flying control surfaces that reacted unfavourably in
the prevailing conditions. This fatal accident prevented him
making what might have been an enormous contribution to
aviation and other forms of transport. Yet today, Charles
Stewart Rolls among all the pioneers of land and air
transport is almost forgotten. Because he did not see his first
love, the motor car, attain universal acceptance, his
contribution to its teething years is often glossed over.
Likewise his contribution to Rolls-Royce is overshadowed by
the efforts of his partners Claude Johnson and Henry Royce.
It is therefore fitting that the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers has decided to recognise his achievements by
inaugurating a memorial lecture in his name, when next year
the aviation industry will celebrate the 100th anniversary of
the first powered flight, followed a year later by Rolls-Royce’s
own 100th anniversary. I am honoured to give the first
lecture in this memorial series.
Charles Stewart Rolls was born on 27th August 1877 in
London to John Alan Rolls, later to become Lord Llangattock,
into a secure Victorian family whose fortune had been
established some 100 years previously. The family owned
land and property in and around London and around the
family estate in Monmouth.
Top: The Hon C S Rolls
Left: The Hon C S Rolls at Monmouth in Panhard
Right: The Hon C S Rolls preparing for crossing the English Channel

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 Charles Rolls attended primary school in Berkshire,
proceeding to Eton in 1891 and first showed his aptitude for
engineering at the age of 15 when he installed a dynamo in
the family estate and converted part of the house to
electricity. No sooner had he got it working than he was
planning to install a new and more powerful engine. It is also
believed that he spent some time at a school of engineering
associated with Repton School in Derbyshire. His appetite for
engineering grew insatiably and in October 1895 he entered
Trinity College Cambridge where two years later he obtained
an Ordinary degree in Mechanisms and Applied Science,
having been advised that he was not suited to sit for the
Tripos. In preference he followed a career as a practical
engineer and for a short time worked as a trainee at the
railway works at Crewe.
At Cambridge he was in his element and in 1896 he
obtained his first car, a second-hand 31/2 hp Peugeot Phaeton
purchased in Paris, so becoming the first person to own a car
at Cambridge. He used to repair his car at the University
engineering laboratories and was referred to as ‘Dirty Rolls’, a
nickname acquired at Eton, because of his willingness to take
off his jacket and get his hands dirty in the true tradition of
engineering. He was also a great cycling enthusiast winning
his half blue in 1896 and becoming Captain of the University
cycling team a year later. He became a student member of
the Institution of Civil Engineers in February 1898 and the
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third engineer on the family’s yacht, Santa Maria, surprisingly
his only connection with activities on water. He later became
an Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers (now classed as Corporate).
From the time of acquiring his first car his enthusiasm for
mechanical machines, motor cars and other forms of
transport intensified and he dedicated the next few years of
his life to promoting the motor car as a means of transport.
He often lectured and was prepared to stand up to those
who wanted to inhibit progress and he participated in all
forms of motor sport, driving many makes of motor car in his
search for excellence. The 1000 mile trial in April-May 1900,
organised by Claude Johnson, then first Secretary of the
Automobile Club, was the turning point for the fortune of
automobiles in Great Britain. Rolls set off in a Panhard, one of
65 entrants, 35 of which completed the course and only 12
of which maintained the legal average speed of 12 mph. He
was awarded the Gold Medal for the best performance
irrespective of class, thus making him one of the pioneers of
the early motoring age. Shortly afterwards, in 1902, he
formed his company C S Rolls and Co to sell and maintain
motor cars. His business developed rapidly as he
demonstrated his skills as a salesman and in 1903 he took
Claude Johnson into partnership and claimed to have the
best workshops in London. It was against this background
that he met Frederick Henry Royce in the Midland Hotel,
Manchester in May 1904.
Top: A painting of Rolls’ first meeting with Royce at the Midland Hotel, Manchester
Left: Rolls’ first car - a 31/2 hp Peugeot Phaeton
Centre: The four man cycle (Quad) at Cambridge
Right: Panhard driven by the Hon C S Rolls in 1000 mile trial
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 Royce was a successful electrical and mechanical engineer
with a rare combination of skills, who formed his own
business F H Royce & Co in 1884. This later become Royce
Ltd, making high quality electrical and mechanical products
including cranes, capstans, dynamos, electric motors and
similar products. His approach was to start simply and then
to continually improve his designs always striving for
excellence. In 1902 at a time when his own business was in
recession, he purchased a twin-cylinder Decauville car of
poor performance and reliability. This gave him the
foundation on which to apply the lessons he had learnt from
his electrical and mechanical engineering business to motor
cars, leading to the design of his own ‘Royce’ car. At this time
Rolls was on the lookout for a new car of three or four
cylinders to replace the Panhard that had not kept up with
the times.
Although Rolls had an engineering training he was an
entrepreneur by nature, understood markets and sold and
supported cars using other people’s designs. Henry
Edmunds, a friend of Rolls, recognised that these skills would
complement those of Henry Royce, an acquaintance of
Edmunds, and so arranged a meeting between the two in
Manchester. On the train journey up to Manchester, Rolls
revealed to Edmunds his desire to have a car, or family of
cars, connected with his own name that was as much a
household name as Broadwood among pianofortes, or
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Chubb amongst safes. Although of quite different
backgrounds, the two men took to each other immediately.
Whilst there are no records of what was agreed, Rolls was so
impressed by the smoothness of Royce’s car, despite his
dislike for the intrinsic unevenness of twin cylinders, that he
agreed to handle the whole Manchester factory output of
cars that were to bear his name as well as that of the maker.
In December that year C S Rolls and Co were selling
Rolls-Royce cars alongside Panhards, Minervas and Orleans.
By December 1905 Rolls jettisoned these other models in
favour of Rolls-Royce cars and in 1906 Rolls-Royce Limited
was formed incorporating C S Rolls & Co a year later. The
words used in the Memorandum of Association of
Rolls-Royce Limited were quite remarkable, in stating that
the Company be established to provide motor vehicles for
use on land, water or in the air, they aptly describe the
business as it is today.
Rolls advocated producing a family of cars with two,
three, four and six cylinder engines with customised bodies
from the best coach builders who previously had made
carriages pulled by horses, though he was no lover of the
horse. He was able to write his own maintenance manuals
based on the skills he learned as a practical engineer.
Rolls continued to compete in motor cars up to 1908
whilst doing his daily round of demonstrations to customers.
He held the strong belief that competition improved the
Top: Memorandum of Association
Left: First Royce 2 cylinder car
Centre: First Rolls-Royce logo
Right: Rolls winning 1906 TT race on Isle of Man in a 4 cylinder 20hp Rolls-Royce
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 breed as demonstrated by his winning the Isle of Man
Tourist Trophy in a light 20hp Rolls-Royce in 1906.
Meanwhile Royce was continuing to advance his designs
leading to the new 40/50hp model, one of which was
named the Silver Ghost. This model, driven by Claude
Johnson and others, successfully completed the Scottish
2000 mile trial and continued to 15000 miles in 1907 as a
marketing initiative sponsored by Claude Johnson. On strip
down the engine was passed as new, with only one or two
parts on the steering and accessories showing some wear.
This represented an unprecedented standard of reliability
which none of the competitors could emulate, and earned
the Company the reputation for making the best car in the
world.
The 40/50hp engine was in every detail a new design
owing nothing to any other makes. The engine had six
cylinders that were laid out as two groups of three. It had a
stroke and bore of 41/2 inches and developed 48hp at
1200rpm. The chassis was longer than the 30hp, allowing
the engine to be moved aft of the front axle’s centre-line and
enabling lengthy, luxurious limousine coachwork to be fitted
without excessive and ugly rear overhang.
It was as early as 1898 that Rolls made his first flight in a
balloon, which whetted his appetite for aviation. He pursued
ballooning as a hobby alongside his motoring endeavours
but really regarded it as one of his several sporting interests.
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He followed the progress in aviation and wrote in 1901, two
years before the Wright brothers first flight; quote,
‘If aerial navigation is ever to become practical, if we are to
have aerial conveyances to run in all weathers, if we expect to
cross the ocean without ploughing through it, to skim over land
without resting on it or burrowing into it, the aeroplane is the
most practical and dependable conveyance’.
Rolls’ faith in the aeroplane was apparent when he co-
founded the Aero Club of the United Kingdom Ltd (later to
become the Royal Aero Club) with Frank Hedges Butler and
his daughter. His faith can also be seen in his relations with
the Aeronautical Society (now the Royal Aeronautical
Society) when in 1901 he proposed a merger with the Royal
Aero Club. His proposal was politely refused but he was duly
elected a member of the Aeronautical Society and was an
enthusiastic supporter until his death.
By 1907, following the arrival of the Silver Ghost, progress
in motoring was more one of evolution than revolution.
There were no longer any unknown worlds to satisfy Rolls’
thirst for adventure so he turned his attention to flying
where he could apply his skills as a driver to fly aeroplanes. It
was in October 1908 that he took his first flight with Wilbur
Wright in one of the Wright’s machines in France becoming
the second Englishman to fly in a heavier than air machine.
Just over one year later he became a pilot in his own right,
having trained himself, and then went on to perfect his skills
as an aviator.
Top: Rolls in the French Wright flyer at Bournemouth
Left: Early 40/50hp Rolls-Royces at the Cat and Fiddle near Buxton.
Car on left is the Silver Ghost
Right: Rolls with Wright Brothers
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 As in motoring he broke new ground and set new records
having completed over two hundred flights in his two
Wright Flyers before that fateful day at Bournemouth. Whilst
pursuing his interest as an aviator, he continued to work for
Rolls-Royce in selling and demonstrating motor cars up and
down the country, and in France which was an important
market. He tried to persuade the company to move into
aviation on several occasions and submitted a proposal to
the Board meeting on 12 February 1909 that the Company
should acquire the Wright patents. It also emerged at the
meeting that the Company workshops were being used to
manufacture the gearing and driveshafts for the swivelling
propellers of the Gamma airship being developed at
Farnborough. This having come to light, the Board resolved
that the company must not depart from its established
business without its prior consent. Rolls chose not to attend
the meeting preferring to travel to France to visit the French
aircraft industry and assist with an aero competition in
Monaco. Later that year and as a result of the Board’s
decision, Rolls relinquished his executive position as
Technical Director so that he could concentrate on aviation
(Royce’s title was Engineer in Chief ) but he remained on the
Board as a non-executive Director until his death.
In light of the subsequent events, the Board’s decision
appears to be somewhat short-sighted, but is more
understandable when appreciating that the company was
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only two years old, had just opened its new factory in Derby
and Royce was heavily overworking and already showing
signs of poor health. More importantly, it was not until the
outbreak of the First World War that any substantial market
was created for the aeroplane. It was then that Royce started
work on his first aero engine.
Motoring, aviation and the Company that bears his name
owe much to Charles Rolls. He was a visionary who, with
great enthusiasm and single mindedness, contributed to
putting motoring and aviation on the map at a time when
Great Britain was lagging the developments in Europe and
the USA. Through these endeavours he became a national
hero and by following his entrepreneurial instinct, partnered
with Henry Royce to form Rolls-Royce, a company that has
been a pioneer in power for land, sea and air and a symbol
of engineering excellence ever since. Had Rolls survived, the
company would perhaps have put much earlier emphasis on
working with the customer to identify and develop the very
best engineering solutions, as Rolls was an engineer who
sought to understand what was best from a customer
viewpoint.
There have been many subsequent developments that
Rolls would have approved, not least of these was the
decision by Royce only four years after Rolls’ death, to start
the design of the Eagle engine.
Top: Alcock and Brown in their Vimy in Newfoundland
Left: The Gamma Airship as developed at Farnborough
Right: The Eagle engine used to power the Vimy

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 As war approached, the British Government came to
appreciate the importance of aviation, although Rolls had
testified to the Committee of Imperial Defence sub
committee in 1908 that ‘England will cease to be an island’
with the advances in aviation. Within days of war breaking
out, Rolls-Royce was asked by the War Office to make
engines under licence, but Royce was reluctant as he did not
like the design of the proposed French Renault V8 engine. A
deal was struck whereby Rolls-Royce made a few of the
French engines whilst Royce started work on his own design
which became the Eagle. He chose a water-cooled
configuration based on the design of the Silver Ghost engine
as he felt air cooling would take too long to get right. In
order to achieve the power of 200hp, he kept the same
piston diameter, increased the stroke and RPM and doubled
the number of cylinders to twelve. He replaced the side
valves by an overhead camshaft design, used pressed steel
water jackets to reduce weight and designed a reduction
gear to optimise the speed of the propeller.
The engine was on test by February 1915, six months
after start, followed by an intensive development
programme during which eight versions were developed. By
February 1918 it was producing 360hp, almost double the
initial rating. The engine was fitted to nearly 50 aircraft, flying
boat and airship types requiring over 4500 engines to be
manufactured in Derby and overseas. In 1919 it powered the
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Vickers Vimy in which Alcock and Brown crossed the Atlantic
non-stop, it was the first aircraft to fly from England to
Australia and the first to fly across the South Atlantic. The
Hawk, Falcon and Condor engines then followed in quick
succession to produce a family of engines following the
same approach as the motor car. This achievement alone is
testimony to Rolls’ vision of the importance of aviation.
Immediately after the First World War the Company’s
main activity concerned cars allowing Napier with its Lion
engine, Armstrong Siddeley with the Jaguar and Bristol with
the Jupiter to gain a dominant position in aviation. These
engines, although more advanced than the Eagle, were
reaching the end of their development by the late 1920s. The
Schneider trophy had been staged annually since the war
and Britain won the trophy in 1927 with a Napier Lion-
powered Supermarine S5 monoplane backed by the Air
Ministry. The next event was to be in England in 1929 for
which a new engine would be required to power the more
advanced Supermarine S6 aeroplane. Rolls-Royce already had
the Buzzard under development and with insufficient time
to do a new engine, Royce chose this engine, a 12 cylinder
60oV of 36.6 litre capacity developing 825hp, as the basis of
the design. Known as the ‘R’ engine, it was strengthened and
fitted with a large double-sided supercharger (to keep the
diameter down) which increased the power to 1850hp. The
1929 trophy was won by Waghorn in the Supermarine S6.
Top: Rolls-Royce ‘R’ engine used for the Schneider Trophy
Left: 1931 Supermarine S6B - outright winner of Schneider Trophy
Right: Rolls-Royce Merlin

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 The engine was further uprated to 2350 hp for the 1931
contest, the aircraft was flown by John Boothman and won
the event for the third consecutive time thereby securing
the Schneider Trophy for Britain in perpetuity. The
Supermarine aircraft was an all metal monoplane that laid
the foundations for the Spitfire whilst the ‘R’ engine was the
turning point for Rolls-Royce in aero engines and laid the
foundations for the Merlin engine which went on to power
the Hurricane and Spitfire and many other aircraft types.
Once again Charles Rolls’ philosophy that competition
improves the breed was demonstrated.
The Merlin engine was a liquid-cooled 12 cylinder in
two banks of six, mounted in vee formation at an angle of 60
degrees on the crankcase. It was based on the P.V.12, the
letters P.V indicating ‘Private Venture’. Over time the Merlin
engine has been extensively developed with the two speed,
two stage supercharger engines of the Merlin 61 type being
a later variant. Over 170,000 aero engines were produced for
the war effort including 7000 Griffons. In addition many
thousands more engines, named the Meteor, were used to
power the Cromwell, Comet and Centurion tanks.
One wonders what part Rolls might have played had
he lived to see the development of the jet engine. One can
be sure that he would have shared Whittle’s vision of the
importance of speed and altitude in military combat and
would have been as good a partner for Whittle in the 1930s
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as he was for Royce at the beginning of the motoring era. It
was of course Lord Hives, Rolls’ chauffeur and mechanic and
arguably a disciple of Rolls, who saw the potential of the gas
turbine as early as 1938 and took the Company into the gas
turbine age in the tradition of its founders. Following the
acquisition of the Barnoldswick factory from the Rover
Company in 1943, Rolls-Royce again made rapid progress in
developing the gas turbine engine. The Welland, a
development of Whittle’s design, the Derwent and Nene
followed in quick succession to put the Company at the
forefront of gas turbine engineering. The Derwent V, fitted to
the Gloster Meteor, raised the world speed record twice in
1945 to 606mph and in 1946 to 616mph. These engines
powered several aircraft types and over 14,000 were made
throughout the western world and many more in Russia and
China.
In the years immediately after the War, the gas turbine
was being advanced very rapidly. Again it was Hives who
saw the importance of the axial compressor promoted by
Griffith and ensured the launch of the Avon for the more
advanced military aircraft of that time. It held the world
speed record on three separate occasions in the Hunter and
Swift aircraft in 1953 at over 700 mph and then in 1956 in
the Fairy Delta 2 at 1132mph and subsequently went on to
power the Lightning Interceptor aircraft. The Avon later
became the Company’s first civil jet engine, which powered
Top: Rolls-Royce powered DC8
Left: The Derwent engine
Centre: Derwent V/Meteor
Right: Lightning fighter powered by Rolls-Royce Avons
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 the Comet 4 and Caravelle aircraft although the Dart
turboprop was Rolls-Royce’s first civil gas turbine engine to
enter revenue service in 1953 in the Vickers Viscount. The
Conway which followed the Avon, was the first bypass
engine used initially in the Handley Page Victor ‘V’ bomber
and importantly signalled the Company’s first attempt to
enter the American commercial market fitted to certain
versions of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC8 aircraft.
The Conway, Avon and Dart followed by the Spey and
Tyne were used in both civil and military applications.
However, with the advent of the high bypass ratio turbofan
engines the products diverged to satisfy the differing
requirements of civil and military customers.
The next opportunity to penetrate the American market
came with the launch of the high bypass ratio RB211 in 1968
for the Lockheed TriStar. This program signalled the start of
the transition from an engineering-focused organisation
reflecting the heritage of Royce to a customer-focused
approach to business as advocated by Rolls. The RB211
engine was a new 3 shaft high bypass ratio design with a
very challenging technical specification. The decision to
proceed was a bold one for the Company to take but the
unforseen technical difficulties led to the Company’s
downfall in 1971. However the RB211 and the Company
continued to operate, but in public ownership, until it was re-
privatised in 1987 during which time new variants of the
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engine were developed including the RB211-535 that
currently powers the Boeing 757 and the RB211-524G/H for
the Boeing 747 and Boeing 767 aircraft. Over 3400 engines
have been delivered or are on order. The RB211-535 has
established a reputation for reliability in over 30 million
hours of operation comparable to that enjoyed by the Silver
Ghost.
The RB211 has been further developed to become the
Trent family to power the new wide body aircraft in
production and under development. The Trent 700 which
powers the Airbus A330, was the first to enter service in
1995, to be followed a year later by the Trent 800 in the
Boeing 777. The latest version to be certified, the Trent 500
enters service this year on the A340-600 whilst the Trent 900
for the Airbus A380 is currently in design and component
test with a first engine run planned in early 2003. The Trent
family is based on a common design style and technology,
which is continually being updated and customised to suit
the aircraft by the choice of fan diameter and core size. The
Trent engines are the market leaders with a market share of
50% and over 1200 engines have already been delivered, or
are on order, making this one of the Company’s most
successful programmes. The Trent along with the many other
aerospace engines offered by Rolls-Royce make for a
comprehensive aerospace engine family. It is interesting to
observe how this family approach, promoted by Rolls so
many years ago, is as valid today as it was then.
Top: Rolls-Royce civil engine family
Left: Lockheed Martin C130J powered by AE2100
Centre: V22 Osprey powered by AE1107C turboshaft
Right: The Eurofighter ‘Typhoon’ powered by EJ200s
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 Concurrently with the growth in the civil market in the
1960s, the aircraft and engine companies in the UK were
undergoing consolidation. The final stage on the engine side
was in June 1966 when Rolls-Royce acquired Bristol Siddeley
engines as a defensive move to prevent them teaming with
Pratt and Whitney on future subsonic engines. Bristol
Siddeley had already been a very successful supplier of
military engines that now became part of the product
portfolio. New engines have been developed since, notably
the Adour for the Jaguar, Hawk and T45 aircraft, RB199 for
Tornado, Gem and RTM 322 for helicopters and EJ200 for
Eurofighter. The military engines of the Allison engine
company, which was acquired in 1995, have further
expanded this family.
Whilst Rolls-Royce is normally associated with aero
engines and motor cars, it has always adapted its products
for use in other markets starting with the Silver Ghost that
was used as staff cars, ambulances and armoured cars
through both world wars. Outstanding amongst those who
exploited its versatility was the legendary Lawrence of
Arabia. As already mentioned, the Meteor engine that was
adapted from the Merlin, was used to power tanks. Indeed it
was the tank engine factory in Nottingham that Lord Hives
exchanged with Wilks of Rover for the Barnoldswick factory
that was developing the gas turbine.
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However it was not until after the war that the Company
broadened its business by moving into diesel engines for
land transport, nuclear power for submarines and industrial
gas turbines for oil and gas pumping. In so doing, it was
pursuing a vision as laid out in the Memorandum of
Association of the Company. Diesel engines remained part of
Rolls-Royce Motors when this became an independent
company following the events of 1971.
Lord Hives was quick to see the importance of nuclear
power as the heat source for engines. He was not only
thinking of submarines and ships but also aircraft. In 1954 a
small team was created, led by Alex later Sir Alex Smith, who
had been recruited by Hives from the Atomic Energy
Authority. The team was located at the Old Hall in Littleover
on the edge of Derby, where a laboratory and rig shop were
built in the grounds. By 1956 effort was focussed on the
submarine application in the knowledge that the Americans
had by now commissioned the first-ever nuclear submarine,
Nautilus. Two years later a bilateral agreement was signed
between the US and UK governments and Admiral Rickover,
who had been won over by Hives, recommended that the
propulsion system work should be carried out by Rolls-Royce
in view of their engineering capability. The first submarine
HMS Dreadnought was a composite design with a British
front end and a US rear end containing the reactor. A joint
company, Rolls-Royce and Associates, was formed including
Vickers, Foster Wheeler and later Babcock and Wilcox, to
design the propulsion system and manage the program.
Top: WR-21
Left: HMS Grey Goose
Centre: HMS Dreadnought
Right: The RM60 used to power HMS Grey Goose
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 Rolls-Royce however remained responsible for the reactor
manufacture. Today this activity is all part of Rolls-Royce
Marine business that also includes marine gas turbines,
propulsion systems and equipment.
Rolls-Royce embarked on diversifying into marine gas
turbines when it developed the RM60 engine in the late
1940s, a rather complex engine which was well ahead of its
time which powered HMS Grey Goose in 1953. This was the
first attempt to use an intercooled and regenerative cycle to
give good fuel consumption across the power range. The
most recent development of this concept, the WR21 engine,
uses the same approach and has now undergone around
4000 hours of extensive testing. It is the selected propulsion
system for the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyer. In addition
Rolls-Royce now offers a range of gas turbines from 2MW to
50MW for ship propulsion including the widely accepted
Marine Spey engine.
Rolls-Royce entry into the oil and gas pumping and
power generation markets was with the Avon in the 1960s,
88 of which were sold for power generation and 674 have
been sold to date for oil and gas pumping. Through the
acquisition of Bristol Siddeley in 1966, the Company
strengthened its position in these markets whilst developing
new products, most notably the Industrial RB211, hard on the
heels of the aero program. The Industrial Trent has been
added more recently, together with the product lines of
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Allison and Cooper Industries to give a broad portfolio of
products.
Today Rolls-Royce is one of the major manufacturers of
aero engines, a leading company in marine propulsion and
oil and gas pumping and has an established position in
power generation. It has maintained its link with the motor
car through BMW and has therefore followed the paths laid
down by its founders in the Memorandum of Association
ninety eight years ago.
It has been a privilege to give the first lecture in memory
of the Honourable C S Rolls. He was a visionary with great
enthusiasm and energy, a practical engineer and a man of
action. He had a passion for engineering and motorised
transport and drove and flew whilst others debated. He was
not a designer or innovator, that was the domain of Royce,
but he had a wonderful empathy with machinery and an
understanding of the customer’s needs. He had tremendous
powers as a salesman and used his influence with the
aristocracy to the maximum advantage, a vital factor in the
early development of the Company. Whilst no-one doubts
the contribution made by Royce or by Claude Johnson, it
was Charles Stewart Rolls who was the entrepreneur who
maintained the momentum in the formative years of
Rolls-Royce. His loss was probably of greater significance
than was realised at the time. I would like to close by
thanking the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for
dedicating this Memorial Lecture and ensuring that Charles
Rolls has a rightful place in the history of engineering.
Top: RB211 Gas Turbine power station at Samarinda in Borneo
Left: The Industrial Avon
Centre: Offshore Bruce oil rig
Right: Industrial RB211
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 Philip Charles Ruffles CBE, FRS, FREng, RDI
Technical Adviser, Rolls-Royce PLC
Mr Ruffles was born on 14 October 1939 in Westerham, Kent.
He was educated at Sevenoaks School, Kent and Bristol
University where he received a BSc (1st Class) in Mechanical
Engineering in 1961.
He joined Rolls-Royce in 1961 as a Graduate Apprentice and
held a variety of technical positions from 1963-1977 before
he became Chief Engineer for the RB211-22B and
subsequently the RB211-524. Since 1981 he has held the
positions of Head of Engineering for the Small Engine
Group; Director of Technology; Director of Design
Engineering; and Technical Director. In 1991 he was
appointed Director - Engineering, Aerospace Group and in
January 1997 he was appointed to the Rolls-Royce Main
Board as Director - Engineering and Technology until his
retirement in October 2001. In November 2001 he became
Technical Adviser to Rolls-Royce plc. He is a member of
Council of the Central Research Laboratories.
22
Mr Ruffles is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy
of Engineering, the Royal Aeronautical Society and the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He has been awarded
Honorary Doctorates of Engineering by Bristol, Birmingham
and Sheffield Universities and Honorary Doctor of Science by
City University. He is an Honorary Professor of Warwick
University and was elected to the Faculty of Royal Designers
for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.
In 1987 he was awarded the Ackroyd Stuart Prize by the
Royal Aeronautical Society for his paper on “Reducing the
Cost of Aero Engine Research and Development”, in 1996 he
received the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal and was
a member of the team which was awarded the Royal
Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award for work on the
Trent engine. He was awarded the 1998 James Clayton Prize
for his contribution to aero-engine technology by the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers and in June 2001
received the Duncan Davies Memorial Medal for
management of research from the R&D Society. He was
made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in
June 2001 and in November 2001 he was awarded the
Prince Philip Gold Medal by the Royal Academy of
Engineering. In November 2001 he and John Cheffins of
Rolls-Royce were awarded the Francois Xavier Bagnaud
Aerospace Prize.
Philip Charles Ruffles

23
 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Michael Evans and Richard Haigh of the
Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust for the help they have given in
researching the archives and to Alex Zino who has helped
with writing the text and with the illustrations.

Photo Credits
The majority of the photographs have been provided by the
Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
The photographs of the Panhard at Monmouth on page 3
and Rolls’ first car on page 5 are reproduced by kind
permission of the Monmouth Museum.
The painting of the meeting between the Hon C S Rolls and
Henry Royce on page 5 is reproduced by kind permission of
the artist Ray Tootall.
The Quad at Cambridge and the Panhard used in the References
thousand mile trial on page 5 are reproduced by kind 1 Rolls of Rolls-Royce by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
permission of the National Motor Museum. - Cassell and Company Ltd 1966
The photograph of the Gamma airship on page 11 is 2 Charles Rolls-Pioneer Aviator by Gordon Bruce,
reproduced by kind permission of Norman Peake. - Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust 1990
3 The Magic of the Name,
The Rolls-Royce Story Part 1 & part 2 by P Pugh,
Icon Books UK 2000 & 2001

24
 

© Rolls-Royce plc 2002

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VCOM 5196 May 2002

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