Sir Frank Whittle, English engineer, c 1988.

Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996) is pictured here with the Whittle WV engine in the Science Museum, London. Whittle joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice, qualified as a pilot, and was able to study at Cambridge whilst still in the RAF. In 1936 he set up Power Jets Ltd to develop what was to become the first British jet engine - the WI engine.