There are a few of us still around who were in R-R during those heady days. I am one such. I was sent to Elton Road in June 1956 to beef up the Conway design team. I was working at Hillington on the final marks of Merlin and Griffon in the piston engine performance office led by John Morgan. I think it was he who recommended that I be transferred to Derby. It made me exempt from National Service which annoyed me, as I had a place to learn to fly in the RAF having passed all the tests and boards when I applied to join GUAS. The Conway was so secret at that time that I could not find out anything about it till I got to Derby! My previous design experience (don't laugh) was steam locomotives with The North British Locomotive Company In Glasgow during my student vacs. That's how desperate they were. I did have a first class degree in Mechanical Engineering as well which might have influenced the decision. The Dart team were in the office next door, so I saw a lot of them. At that time the Dart had yet to have its first shutdown in service. Whew!