[5] During his time in Chelmsford, he led a research team in the Marconi hut at Writtle and worked on many systems, including radar.

This, he conjectured, would give the craft the ability to attain a much higher maximum speed than could be achieved by the boats of the time.

This meant that the same cushion of high-pressure air could be maintained by a much smaller engine; and for the first time, a craft could be lifted completely out of the water.

His hypothesis was found to have potential, but the idea took some years to develop, and he was forced to sell personal possessions to finance his research.

Cockerell had found it impossible to interest the private sector in developing his idea, as both the aircraft and the shipbuilding industries saw it as lying outside their core business.

The leaders of the defence groups were not interested in providing funding and put the idea of the hovercraft on the government's secret list.

[8] In later life, Cockerell developed many other improvements to the hovercraft, and invented various other applications for the air cushion principle, such as the hovertrain.

The plaque was erected by Friends of East Cowes with financial support from the Big Lottery Fund.

Cockerell's workshop, including his left-handed lathe, was given to the Lowestoft Maritime Museum on his death in 1999 where it was reassembled and is now on show to the public.