Roy Dommett
Roy Leonard Dommett (25 June 1933 – 2 November 2015) was a British engineer and rocket scientist, and the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist, who for many years led the United Kingdom's research and development of both ballistic missiles and space rockets for the delivery of satellites into orbit. In retirement he lived in Hampshire. Private life and family Roy Leonard Dommett, a descendant of an old East Devon family, was born on 25 June 1933, in Itchen, Southampton. His parents were Leonard Frank Dommett (1907-1996), a painter and decorator, and Rose Eveline Diaper, a cook and housekeeper. He was educated at Itchen Grammar School and Bristol University, gaining a first in aeronautical engineering in 1954. Employed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough from 1953 to 2000, while it became DRA and DERA, he retired before it divided into Qinetiq and Dstl. He was married in November 1955 to Marguerite Patricia Dawson whom he had met at school, and they had ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Order Of The British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire (later Commonwealth) and the Viceroy of India. Nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most Commonwealth countries ceased recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire when they ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bristol University
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type = Public red brick research university , endowment = £91.3 million (2021) , budget = £752.0 million (2020–21) , chancellor = Paul Nurse , vice_chancellor = Professor Evelyn Welch , head_label = Visitor , head = Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt MP , academic_staff = 3,385 (2020) , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , city = Bristol , country = England , coor = , campus = Urban , free_label = Students' Union , free = University of Bristol Union , colours = ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Domett
Admiral Sir William Domett, GCB (1752 – 19 May 1828) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy who saw extensive service during the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Throughout his career, Domett was under the patronage of Alexander Hood, later Lord Bridport. During his service Domett was appointed as flag captain by several admirals, and saw action numerous times in this capacity, including seven years in command of . He went on to be First Naval Lord and then Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth during the closing stages of the Napoleonic Wars. Later in life, ill-health forced early retirement and Domett retired to his country estate in Hawkchurch, Devon, close to Lord Bridport's estates. Early career Little is known of Domett's birth or upbring, although it is thought he was born in the Hawkchurch, Devon region in 1752. The first solid record of him available was in 1769, when he joined the Navy and appears on the muster books of , under the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alfred Domett
Alfred Domett (20 May 18112 November 1887) was the fourth premier of New Zealand, a close friend of the poet Robert Browning and author of the epic poem ''Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream''. Born in England, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1842 and remained there for a further thirty years, holding many significant political posts. Early life Domett "is said to have been born on 20 May 1811" at Camberwell Grove, Surrey, and records show he was baptised on 4 November 1812 at Bermondsey; the sixth child and fourth son of Nathaniel Domett, a ship-owner. He entered St John's College, Cambridge, but left the university in 1833. Domett spent 1833 to 1835 travelling in the United States, Canada and the West Indies. Spending the winter of 1833 in Upper Canada, he gained some experience in surveying and conveyancing. Returning to England, he entered at the Middle Temple on 7 November 1835, and was called to the bar on 19 November 1841. Domett emigrated to Nelson, New Zealand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Last Word
''Last Word'' is an obituary BBC radio series broadcast weekly on Radio 4. Each week the lives of several famous people who have recently died are summarised with narration, and interviews with people who knew them. The programme is normally presented by Matthew Bannister, although on odd occasions it has been presented by other people such as Kate Silverton or Julian Worricker. The programme was first broadcast on 10 February 2006, with a biography of American songwriter Paul Vance Joseph Paul Florio (November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally as Paul Vance, was an American songwriter and record producer, primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s. His most successful song compositions, all written with Lee Po ... (1929–2022) being broadcast on the edition of 29 September 2006, a rare example of somebody still living being featured as a ''Last Word'' subject,Information from ''Last Word'', BBC Radio 4 on 10 June 2022: Matthew Bannister on Amanda Claridge, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. The station controller is Mohit Bakaya. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM, LW and DAB, and on BBC Sounds, it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland, northern France and Northern Europe. It is available on Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media. Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after Radio 2. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as ''Today'' and ''The World at One'', heralded on air by the Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben. The pips are only accurate on FM, LW, and MW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts; around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary fight ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supermarine
Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of Jet engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II. The company had successes in the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes, with three wins in a row of 1927, 1929 and 1931. The company was founded in 1913 as Pemberton-Billing Ltd on the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen close to Woolston, Southampton, on ground previously purchased by Noel Pemberton Billing to construct motor launches. It produced a couple of prototypes using quadruplane designs to shoot down zeppelins, the Supermarine P.B.29 and the Supermarine Nighthawk. The aircraft were fitted with the recoilless rifle, recoilless Davis gun and the Nighthawk had a separate powerplant to power a searchlight.The World's Worst Aircraft James Gilbert Upon election as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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V-2 Rocket
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. The rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line (edge of space) with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. Research into military use of long-range rockets began when the graduate studies of Wernher von Braun attracted the attention of the Wehrmacht. A series of prototypes culminated in the A-4, which went to war as the . Beginning in September 1944, over 3,000 were launched by the Wehrmacht against Allied targets, first London and later Antwerp and Liège. According to a 2011 BBC documentary, the attacks from r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Defence Science And Technology Laboratory
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK". The agency is headed by Paul Hollinshead as its Chief Executive, with the board being chaired by Adrian Belton. Ministerial responsibility lies with the Minister for Defence Procurement. History Dstl was formed from the July 2001 split of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Dstl was established to carry out and retain the science and technology work that is best done within government, while work that could be done by industry (forming the majority of DERA's activities) was transferred to Qinetiq, a government-owned company that was later floated on the stock exchange. Dstl absorbed the Home Office's Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) in April 2018, taking on CAST's role to app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |