Voices of Science

Dennis Higton (1921-2012), aeronautical engineer.  After arriving at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, as an apprentice, Higton spent his early career during World War Two developing instrumentation for high speed flight testing of aircraft, including the Gloster E.28/39, Britain's first jet.  After 1945 he continued to work on experimental aircraft at Farnborough and later at the Aeroplane and Armament ExperimentalEstablishment at Boscombe Down, where he concentrated on naval aircraft.  He later worked at the British Embassy in Washington where he acted as a link between British and American aircraft development groups and then in a series of aircraft production posts in the Ministry of Defence. After retirement in 1981 he worked as a consultant and discovered a talent for art.