What’s on | Rolls-Royce

RRHT Derby & Hucknall branch lecture - Philip Ruffles - 300 years of innovation in propulsion and power

This is your invitation for the first lecture of 2026 in the Derby & Hucknall Branch Lecture Series. Members and Non-members are welcome to attend this event.

Title and Speaker: “300 years of innovation in propulsion and power”, Philip Ruffles CBE FREng FRS RDI.

Venue, Date & Time: Learning and Development Centre (LDC) Main Conference Room, Wilmore Road, Derby, DE24 9BD, Thursday 19^th February 2026, 5:30pm start. In-person and online via the following link:

https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/39736302282243?p=I1CLdltBxAcHnaxWyO

Lecture Description: The lecture discusses the major developments in Propulsion and Power over the last 300 years.

The steam engine invented by Newcomen in 1712 and further developed by Richard Trevithick, James Watt and George and Robert Stevenson led to the urbanisation of the population and the growth of big cities. Brunel then applied the steam engine to ships leading to the growth in sea travel and transportation of the expanding population of Europe to the Americas, the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand. The discovery of electricity by Michael Faraday in 1831 led to cheap power.

In the latter part of the 1800’s the lightweight internal combustion engine made possible the motor car and aeroplane and brought advantages to road, rail, and marine transport whilst the invention of the jet engine by Frank Whittle in 1930 reduced the cost of air travel making it affordable for most people.

Nuclear power has been harnessed to produce cheap power and is now seen as being complimentary renewable energy as a means of producing carbon free electricity whilst the development of the rocket has enabled global communications via the internet.

Speaker Biography: Philip Ruffles joined Rolls-Royce in 1961 as a graduate apprentice then joined Preliminary Design under Geoffrey Wilde. He played a leading role in the development of the RB211-22B engine for the Lockheed TriStar, becoming its Chief engineer in 1977. He then led the development of the RB211-525-D4 for the Boeing 747 and was the driving force behind the development of the Trent engine family.

He became Director of Engineering for the Aerospace Group in 1991 and joined the Rolls Royce plc main board as Director of Engineering and Technology in 1997. He retired from Rolls Royce in 2001 but continued to work as a consultant for several years.

He has received many awards including Honorary doctorates from Bristol, Birmingham, Sheffield and City Universities and was an Honorary Professor of Warwick University

He was a member of the RR team that won the 1996 MacRobert Award for the Trent Engine and in 2001 received the Royal Academy of Engineering's highest individual distinction – for an exceptional contribution to engineering - the Prince Philip Medal.

Tickets: Please book tickets through the following link by the 17^th February if you are joining in-person:

www.ticketsource.co.uk/rolls-royce-heritage-trust

Please direct any questions to Calum Baugh, RRHT Derby & Hucknall Branch Lecture Secretary, [email protected]

Announcing the next Bristol Aero Talks

Bristol Aero Talks (BAT) invite Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust (RRHT) members to an open talk entitled:

‘The Hubble Space Telescope at 35 years Old’

by: Dr Nigel Wright

this will be held at 7:15 pm on Tuesday 27th January 2026 at the Aerospace Bristol Museum, Hayes Way, Patchway, BS34 5BZ in the John James Lecture Theatre.

For further information, please see the flyer/poster here which will also be on the BAT Website:
www.bristolaerotalks.co.uk

The Aerospace Bristol Museum:

• has ample easy free car parking.
• is fully accessible. 
• Attendees with mobility issues:
• Please be aware that revised arrangements for car parking adjacent to the Concorde building now apply.
• If possible, use the main car park and walk through the secure pedestrian gate.
• If this is not possible, prior to attending, please contact the museum staff preferably by e-mail: [email protected].
• page 2 of the attached flyer provides details of the revised Car Parking Arrangements.
• will not require a current Aerospace Bristol Museum ticket to attend the talk.

Pre booking is not required for this talk, places will allocated on a first come first served basis.

The intention is to start the talk at 7:15 pm. However, I recommend that you aim to be at the Aerospace Bristol Museum by 7:00 pm. This is a potentially popular talk, please be aware that as usual a capacity limit applies.

A pop up bar should be available.

There is no charge for entry to these talks. However, there will be a voluntary ‘bucket’ leaving collection to cover costs supplemented with a card reader to enable card or mobile phone contributions. At the end of the Talks season, the accrued surplus (if any) will be donated to the excellent Aerospace Bristol Museum.

For further information about the venue including directions and bus information and other events and talks there, please go to Website: https://aerospacebristol.org or enquire:

• email: [email protected]
• Tel: 0117 931 5315 (Box Office) 

A38 Almondsbury to Alveston users, please be aware that night-time road closure in both directions for road works is scheduled from 8:00pm onwards on 27th January, see the South Gloucestershire Council website:a38andbswactivetravel.commonplace.is

Upcoming talk:

• An RAeS/Aerospace Bristol after-hours talk:
  • Tuesday 10 February at 18:00 "From Concorde to Boom Supersonic” covering The history and future of supersonic air transport by Prof. Richard Parker.
  • Free booking at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-concorde-to-boom-supersonic-tickets-1980182556331?aff=oddtdtcreator
• the next BAT talk:
  • Tuesday 24th February 2026, John Britton will give a talk: "Breaking the Chain” covering investigation of the Concorde crash at Paris in 2003 and the steps taken to restore the Concorde fleet to service.
  • I will send full details for promulgation when they become available.

Thank you all for continuing to support our branch of the Heritage Trust. We have been getting tremendous support and have been delighted to welcome members and visitors coming along and enjoying the evenings. I hope you will continue to give your support to our newest guest speakers. The venue will be The Lewis Conference Room at Inchinnan with a start time of 5pm. Tea and coffee available on arrival from 4.30pm onwards. Please meet at our Engine Display Area and remember to bring along your safety glasses. If you have not already been issued with a pair you will need to sign the register and chose the type most suited to you.

Lecture Programme

^*****PLEASE NOTE CHANGE TO THE NOVEMBER DATE and NEW START DATE IN 2026^*****

2025

2026

**No January meeting
**No February meeting

We look forward to the forthcoming season and hope to welcome you along to the meetings. As always, we would be delighted if you would like to bring along a guest(s) – please contact the Secretary in advance. Email: [email protected] or Tel: 01698 884264

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE BRINGS PHOTO ID AND WAITS AT SECURITY TO BE ESCORTED TO THE MEETING ROOM. SAFETY GLASSES MUST BE WORN. Please note there may be some change to dates for some speakers, if so you will be notified. Check the RRHT website under Events to keep up to date.

Janice Thomson – Secretary & Treasurer – August 2025