[7] In 1977, he was elected a fellow[2] of the Royal Academy of Engineering[2] Horlock was raised in North London and attended The Latymer School, Edmonton.

[7] In spite of a job offer by Rolls-Royce, Horlock accepted the role of professor and head of the mechanical engineering department at University of Liverpool.

He returned to Cambridge as professor of engineering in 1967, and in 1973 he founded the department's Whittle Laboratory, also becoming its director.

Whilst there he tackled the government over spending cuts, introduced a taught postgraduate masters programme, and expanded the OU.

[7] Horlock's main area of research was turbomachinery, particularly gas turbines, compressors and jet engines.