Red Plaque

Hampshire's Hovercraft Museum is this week celebrating a prestigious new award from the Transport Trust to recognise the site as one of the countries most notable transport locations.

The Red Wheel Plaque was unveiled by Frances Cockerell - daughter of the Hovercraft inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell - in the centennial year of her fathers birth.

The Museum is one of the first sites in Hampshire to display the Red Wheel plaque which identifies the Lee-On-Solent location as the base for the original military trials of the Hovercraft from 1961 to 1981.

Hovercraft of all shapes and sizes were tested at this old wartime Seaplane base by all three military services - to decide which could make best use of them.

Hovercraft flew from the slipway to the Arctic and back - and circumnavigated the British Isles.

The base has also been the home of the Hovercraft Museum for the last 21 years. It is once again seeing new craft on trials - recently one from Sweden and brand new craft for the Royal Marines.

'We are delighted that the Museum has been recognised with such an outstanding award' said Museum trustee Warwick Jacobs - 'The Transport Trust is the only national charity established to promote and encourage the preservation of Britain's unique transport heritage - and to be honoured in this way recognises the importance of the site'.

With two giant Seaplane hangers - the last of their type in the northern hemisphere - and the best slipway on the south coast he said 'the site is at last being recognised as its crucial role in transport history'