His family moved away from Coventry when he was nine years old. Frank's father who was a skilled mechanic raised enough money to buy the Leamington Valve and Piston Ring Company. Frank was educated at Milverton primary school and later at the Leamington College for boys.

Young Frank was always interested in aircraft and was keen to join the RAF. He applied to join the RAF as an engineering apprentice and passed the written examinations but was rejected because he was not tall enough. One of the physical training instructors took pity on Frank and gave him a list of exercises to perform in an effort to gain height. Within six months Frank had gained three inches in height. He resubmitted his application but it was turned down again.

Feeling that the RAF were never going to accept him because of his initial failure to pass the medical examination, he made a fresh application to join the RAF but this time he did not declare his previous failed applications. This approach worked and Frank Whittle achieved his ambition to join the RAF.

Frank Whittle trained at RAF Cranwell as a fitter/rigger for three years and because he did so well, he was offered the chance of an officer cadetship and the chance to fly. While having previously experienced disappointment as the result of a failed medical examination, on this occasion he was to benefit from someone else's misfortune. The top five cadets from each course were given the chance to undergo flying training as officer cadets. Whittle finished just outside this at number six but the apprentice who finished top of the course, failed his flying medical so Whittle found himself selected for flying duties by the skin of his teeth.

Whittle remained at Cranwell for his flying training and in 1927 went solo in an Avro 504K biplane. During his stay at Cranwell, Whittle shared a room with fellow trainee, Rolf Dudley Williams and it was Williams who was to play an important part in Whittle's life and the development of the jet engine.

After Whittle completed his training, he was posted to 111 Sqn at RAF Hornchurch, flying Armstrong Whitworth Siskins. In 1929 Whittle was sent to the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAF Wittering to partake in a flying instructors course. It was while at Wittering that Whittle's ideas for a new type of aircraft engine took shape.

With the assistance of Flying Officer Johnny Johnson he was able to put his ideas about jet propulsion to Air Ministry scientists. The scientific world was not yet ready for Whittle's futuristic ideas and dismissed them as 'unworkable'.

Following the successful completion of his course at Wittering, he was posted to RAF Digby and promoted to Flying Officer. It was while at Digby that Whittle got married to his first wife Dorothy on 24th May 1930.

At the end of the year, Whittle was posted to the marine aircraft experimental unit at Felixstowe. While at Felixstowe Whittle again tried to gain support for his ideas among the established aeronautical engineering community, without any success. He did however meet up again with Rolf Dudley Williams, who he had shared a room with at Cranwell. Williams had faith in Whittle's ideas and tried unsuccessfully to raise money to patent Whittle's ideas.

After his tour at Felixstowe, Whittle was posted to RAF Henlow in August 1932 to complete an officers engineering course. Whittle performed well on his engineering course and completed it twelve months ahead of schedule. Because of this, the Air Ministry allowed him to study for a mechanical science degree at Cambridge.

So in July 1934 Whittle entered Peterhouse College to take his mechanical science tripos. The completion of his engineering course at Henlow meant that Whittle was able to skip the first year of the three year degree course. He also continued with his designs for a jet engine.

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