HE WAS the scientific genius who created a revolutionary new form of transport used by millions of people across the globe.

Sir Christopher Cockerell, who lived in a three-bedroom house at Prospect Place, Hythe, was the driving force behind the invention of the hovercraft.

Now a blue plaque celebrating his success has been unveiled at a waterfront building where much of the research and development work took place.

The plaque will be attached to the front of The Grove in St John's Street, Hythe, later this week.

Daily Echo: Much of the early research and development work on the hovercraft was carried out at The Grove in St John's Street, Hythe.Much of the early research and development work on the hovercraft was carried out at The Grove in St John's Street, Hythe.

The honour has been bestowed on Sir Christopher by Hythe and Dibden Parish Council, one of the organisations based at the two-storey building.

Guests at the unveiling included some of the 150 people who worked there more than half a century ago.

They watched old newsreel footage of hovercraft arriving at Hythe and described the pioneering work carried out at The Grove in the 1960s.

Other guests included Philip Naylor, who is rebuilding Sir Christopher's former home after buying it from the Cockerell family in 2020.

As reported in the Daily Echo it was damp and in a poor state of repair, having been unoccupied for 21 years.

Daily Echo: Sir Christopher Cockerell's former home at Prospect Place, Hythe, is being rebuilt.Sir Christopher Cockerell's former home at Prospect Place, Hythe, is being rebuilt.

Sir Christopher invented the hovercraft after concluding that a cushion of air would make boats go faster by reducing the friction between the vessel and the water.

He is reputed to have tested his theory using empty tin cans and a vacuum cleaner.

Much of the early work was done in East Anglia but the designs were refined in offices at The Grove. Huts on the opposite side of the road were used as workshops and laboratories.

 

Daily Echo: Sir Christopher Cockerell lived and worked at Hythe in the 1960s.Sir Christopher Cockerell lived and worked at Hythe in the 1960s.

The Grove boasts a waterfront memorial to the man who made a unique contribution to the world of transport.

The inscription says: "On this site Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-1999) and his team continued the early development of hovercraft which he had first demonstrated in 1955.

"They also developed and tested hovercraft skirts in a wave tank built here in 1965. Let this creative work be an inspiration to young engineers of the future."

The Grove is a short walk from Myrtle Cottage, where the legendary Lawrence of Arabia lived in the early 1930s.

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