AS the eyes of the nautical world are fixed once again on Southampton for the city's 34th annual boat show, there is one anniversary that will not be celebrated with the same glamour or fuss as at Mayflower Park.

Even if this anniversary is celebrated, it will probably be as understated as the man who is responsible for it.

This year marks the 44th anniversary of the invention of the hovercraft and the fifth year since the death of its inventor, Sir Christopher Cockerell, who lived for much of his life in Hythe and the Isle of Wight.

Cockerell belonged to a breed of scientist typical of post-war Britain. His restless mind was prolific with ideas, with his inventions stretching to airborne navigational equipment and maritime navigational systems.

In 1955 he successfully tested his hovercraft idea by using two coffee tins and a hair-dryer and in 1956 he achieved the all-important breakthrough when his idea was taken up by the Ministry of Supply.

Cockerell took out a patent in May 1958, but the first public appearance of the SR-N1 prototype came in June 1959 when it attracted the biggest assembly of national and international media the Isle of Wight had ever witnessed to watch a demonstration on the slipway outside Saunders Roe's hangar.

Accompanied by observer Bob Strath, test pilot Peter Lamb climbed into the flight deck to start the 432-horsepower engine, and gently but unmistakably, the craft left the ground to hover more than a foot above the surface.

Obeying the instructions of another technician, the craft moved backwards and forwards and round in circles.

The demonstration, the press corps accepted, was impressive and convincing, and they dubbed the four-ton marvel the world's first flying saucer.

A month later, it zoomed across the Channel and Cockerell's dream became reality.

His work at Hythe began in 1960 with the setting up of Hovercraft Ltd, which he headed until 1966 when he dramatically resigned because he felt production had become too much of a monopoly and there was insufficient scope for different companies to produce their own makes.

Although he always maintained his love for the hovercraft, Cockerell was disappointed over the lack of effort to develop its potential as a military craft during his time.

Cockerell, who was appointed a CBE in 1966 and knighted in 1969, died penniless at the age of 88 in June 1999.