Rolls-Royce celebrates life of founder

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated 150 years since the birth of one of the company's founders, Sir Frederick Henry Royce, OBE. A modest genius that referred to himself simply as a 'mechanic', Royce had a simple engineering philosophy - the pursuit for excellence.

He was born into humble beginnings on 27 March 1863, the youngest of five children. He was a natural entrepreneur and his skills were mostly self-taught.

His short lived partnership with Charles Rolls, established in 1904, and terminated by Rolls' premature death in a flying accident in 1910, created the name Rolls-Royce. The company had quickly become the definition 'for the best'.

Their legacy to engineering still lives on today.