Captain F. S. Barnwell

Extract

For US in the early evening of life, who have witnessed the development of aviation since the Wright brothers flew in 1903, for us, it is hard—and a little sad—to realise that some of our great pioneers are already becoming almost mythical characters. They were our personal friends with whom we worked most happily; yet, to the young men of today, who are now carrying, or are about to don, high responsibilities in the aeronautical world, they are indeed just names. And so it is fitting that the Royal Aeronautical Society should have inaugurated these Memorial Lectures, of which this is the third. I am deeply sensible of the honour and responsibility which have fallen to me by the choice of the Bristol Branch to pay this first tribute to Captain Barnwell. May I say at once how indebted I am for so much of the detail of this appreciation to Mr. C. W. Tinson, who served with Barnwell for most of his career at Bristol; to Mr. C. H. Barnes, who has written the history of the Bristol Aeroplane Co.; and several other “ old hands.” It is significant that in all my conversations with them, they referred always with obvious affection and deep respect to “the old man.”