Frank Blackmore OBE DFC (16 February 1916 – 5 June 2008) was a British

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

and traffic engineer. He led the development of the offside priority rule at

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

s – which overcame capacity and safety issues at such installations, greatly increasing their usefulness and popularity around the world – and subsequently also invented the

mini roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

. Blackmore was born in 1916 at Fort National,

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, where his father worked as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. Along with his sisters Lorna and Violette and brother William, he later moved to

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the birth country of his mother. He studied civil engineering until moving to Britain in 1936. He started to work for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

borough council until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he joined the

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 ...

. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions when he made an emergency landing on the beach at

Ardnamurchan Point Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

. He rose to the rank of Wing Commander and remained with the RAF until 1959. In 1960 he joined the

Transport Research Laboratory TRL Limited, trading as TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) is an independent private company offering a transport consultancy and research service to the public and private sector. Originally established in 1933 by the UK Government a ...

(TRL). During his time with the TRL he came up with several ideas to improve the flow of traffic at junctions: in particular, the offside-priority rule at roundabouts, and the mini-roundabout, which was officially adopted in 1975. Blackmore was honoured with an OBE in 1976. He left the TRL in 1980. After he retired he continued to work as an overseas consultant in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Blackmore died on 5 June 2008. He is survived by two daughters and a son. His first wife, Ginon Dufour, died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1942. His second marriage to Eva Johnson was dissolved in 1969.

References

External links

Boston Globe - Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore, Frank 1916 births 2008 deaths British World War II pilots Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force wing commanders