Sir Henry Royce

It's hard to imagine a history of British engineering without Rolls-Royce: there would be no Silver Ghost, no Merlin for the Spitfire, no Alcock and Brown. Rolls-Royce is one of the most recognisable brands in the world.

But what of the man who designed them?

The youngest of five children, Frederick Henry Royce was born into almost Dickensian circumstances: the family business failed by the time he was 4, his father died in a Greenwich poorhouse when he was 9, and he only managed two fragmented years of formal schooling. But he made all of it count.

In Sir Henry Royce: Establishing Rolls-Royce, from Motor Cars to Aero Engines, acclaimed aeronautical historian Peter Reese explores the life of an almost forgotten genius, from his humble beginnings to his greatest achievements. Impeccably researched and featuring almost 100 illustrations, this is the remarkable story of British success on a global stage.

Auteur

PETER REESE spent his career in HM Forces, and since retiring has been a full-time writer, his books including a Scottish best-seller, Transforming the Skies, In Turbulent Skies, and The Flying Cowboy: The Story of Samuel Cody, Britain's First Airman for The History Press. He lives in Aldershot.

Texte du rabat

Henry Royce was born in 1863 in most modest circumstances when the internal combustion engine was yet to be invented and 40 years were to pass before mans' first powered flight. Despite having just two years' formal education, supplemented at 14 by three years' apprenticeship at the Great Northern Railway Works before being curtailed by lack of funds, in 1881 he succeeded in finding work in the infant electronic industry. By 1884 this brilliant, committed man had branched out on his own, with just £20 capital. From there on, his ferocious work schedules and unbending urge for perfection led to the establishment of Rolls-Royce and the design of superlative cars, followed by aero engines, which would be the finest of their kind in two world wars and set a gold-standard for future aspirants.