HE was a renowned scientist whose remarkable career spanned seven decades, and he's been honoured with a special memorial.

Professor Geoffrey Lilley was a pioneer in many fields and among his achievements was working with Barnes Wallace, the inventor of the dambusting bouncing bomb.

The former Chilworth resident is also credited with persuading America to use Concorde, and was well-known as an expert on aircraft noise suppression.

Friends, family and admirers came together yesterday at a memorial at St Michael and All Angels Church on Bassett Avenue to pay their respects.

Professor Lilley died in September at the age of 95, having spent fully 75 years of his life furthering the pursuit of science.

His daughter Lisa Bedin-Lilley has vivid memories of her father and says his smile and wit will live long in her memory.

She said: "The one thing that we will remember is his laugh - he had an incredible sense of humour.

"He loved to take us to the opera and the ballet and used to escape up to London.

"My sister would think he was at home and I'd have to tell her that he was in London.

"He was non-stop."

Although he lived in Chilworth and the New Forest for the vast majority of his life Professor Lilley died in a nursing home on the Isle of Wight, and the ceremony is being held to allow for his life to be honoured.

He is credited with pioneering research is areas including jet noise reduction, sonic boom, and even human-powered flight, and worked with Rolls-Royce, BA, Lockheed, Boeing, and NASA.

In 1976 US Congress banned Concorde landings citing concerns about sonic booms but Professor Lilley and his team were tasked with countering these objections line by line.

They successfully talked the Americans into backing down, which resulted in the planes being used for cross-Atlantic travel.

His career at the University of Southampton ran from 1964 to 1983 and former colleagues and peers spoke glowingly about him.

Phil Boyle, President of the Solent Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society: "His unassuming but patently obvious academic brilliance is an inspiration to us all.

"He provides the most amazing role model because we all hope that we will still have the energy and clarity of vision that Geoff possesses today when we in our turn reach his age."