Crewe's Miracle Merlin - Letter to the Crewe Chronicle.
It
was with delight that I glimpsed two Avro Lancaster Bombers pass over Nantwich
en-route to the Southport Air Show last Saturday, as part of the Battle of
Britain Memorial Flight. The thrill of hearing – and feeling - the hum of 8
Rolls-Royce Merlin Engines was a stark reminder of the important part that
Crewe played in the defence of our country in its darkest hour, and in the
defeat of fascism in Europe.
The
performance and reliability of the Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine gave the RAF a key
advantage over the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, thus preventing German
Arial Supremacy and forcing Hitler to abandon his invasion plans. I sincerely
hope that all school children in Crewe are taught about the 15,000 Merlin
Engines built in their town and are proud of this important contribution to the
freedoms we enjoy today.
The
Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine and the wonderful aircraft it powered should also
serve as reminder of the vital importance of science, technology and
engineering to our freedom and prosperity.
British
Technical Developments like Alan Turing’s ‘Colossus’ decoding machine,
Watson-Watt’s Radar and Randall and Boot’s Cavity-Magnetron not only turned the
tide of the war, but also shape many aspects of modern world we take for
granted, like Satellite Navigation, Mobile Communications and the Computing
Revolution.
I
hope that our young people are inspired by the stories of these engineering marvels
(as I was) and consider entering the Technical Professions our country needs so
much. I am extremely encouraged by the news of the new University-Technical
College planned for Crewe - but how about naming it after Crewe’s most famous
V12 engine?
Stuart
Hutton CEng MIET
UKIP
Crewe and Nantwich.
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