of William Cockerill (1759-1832), a man of great mechanical talents who made his living by making flying shuttles and other components for textile machines. He went to St Petersburg in 1794, but after the

mechanical engineering, he became interested in flying. He built a series of small monoplanes, each called ‘de Spin’ (the spider), and demonstrated the third by flying it round the tower of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem

demand for thread was increasing due to the growing output of weavers who had begun using the new flying shuttle of John Kay. Before the invention of Hargreaves, cotton thread was made by drawing it through

was one of the most significant figures of the early Industrial Revolution. His invention of the flying shuttle for weaving stimulated successive inventions in the mechanisation of textile production. [...] machine for twisting reed twine. Then, in 1733, he patented the ‘wheeled shuttle’ – later called the ‘flying shuttle’. This replaced the traditional shuttle that weavers passed across their looms to take the [...] ones for excavating canals, regulating temperature and manufacturing silk. Kay’s wire reeds and his flying shuttle were used worldwide but he remained in financial difficulty until his death. His son Robert

from 1954, and remained in touch will the railway until his death. His enthusiasm for railways and flying extended into promoting excursions for his workpeople at Retford to the Farnborough Air Show in Surrey [...] in 1958 by a new main line diesel engine. Pegler was deeply impressed when he saw the locomotive Flying Scotsman at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley when he was only four years of age in 1924. [...] locomotives in 1968, but Pegler played an important role in reversing that decision. In 1969 Pegler with Flying Scotsman embarked on a government-backed tour of the United States intended to promote British business

recognised their potential for road transport. During the First World War he worked on engines for flying boats and for tanks, and in 1915 established his consultancy Engine Patents Ltd, which began operation