The invitation to write, a short article on Martin-Baker ejection seats for this Centenary Souvenir issue was a real problem. Due to space limitation it will only be possible to write a sketchy outline of the vast amount of effort which has gone into 21 years of research and development in connection with this work, and so it will not be possible on this occasion to write a detailed technical paper. I think it would be more interesting to recall some of the outstanding achievements of a pioneering nature.