HUNDREDS of people attended a special service at Bristol Cathedral to mark 100 years of aviation in the city.

It was in 1910 that Sir George White announced he would fund and develop an aviation industry for the country with its headquarters in Bristol.

It started as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company and later became the Bristol Aeroplane Company, familiar to generations simply as BAC.

What led to 100 years of design and manufacturing was worthy of an event that Sir George's great grandson, also Sir George White, said his ancestor would have thoroughly approved of and enjoyed.

He said: "He was a great extrovert and he would have been thrilled.

"He would have enjoyed the occasion but would have liked 10 time as many people to have been here.

"He built a great industry, employed tens of thousands of people and looked after them.

"It's a wonderful industry and long may it continue."

Sir George, who lives near Thornbury, described his great grandfather as a visionary and said it was because of the steps he took that the nation came to take aeronautics seriously.

The service also remembered other leading figures, including Sir George's son, Sir Stanley White, as well as paying tribute to the many men and women who worked in aviation, contributed to the military and commercial success of the aircraft produced and, during the Second World War, died in bombing raids on the BAC works in Filton.

In a mixture of religious ceremony, old cine footage and interviews with former workers, the history of aviation development featured the likes of the legendary Bristol Fighter, through to the Beaufort and Beaufighter, the giant Brabazon and the supersonic Concorde.

As the last flight of Concorde 216 was shown on screens when she flew over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and touched down at Filton in November 2003, many in the cathedral had tears in their eyes.

Robin Brown, of Yate, started as an apprentice in 1958 and was later to work on Concorde.

He said: "To see the aircraft take off for the first time was with a great sense of pride.

"It was the one aircraft that made everyone stop and look because it had such a recognisable shape and looked so different from other aeroplanes."

The Bishop of Bristol, the Right Rev Mike Hill, admitted to having a lump in his throat when he saw the latest Airbus plane, the giant A380 superjumbo – the world's biggest commercial aircraft in regular service.

He said it was due to continuing innovation and the involvement of so many people that it had gone into production.

He said: "We are here to celebrate innovation. Blessed be the innovators."

Harry North, 88, of Henleaze, became an apprentice engineer in 1939 at the outbreak of the war.

He said: "I spent 47 years working on a variety of aircraft, including Concorde and the Britannia. The most pleasant time was going on tropical trials to Africa."

But he said he also remembered the horror of the bombing raids on Filton not long after he had started his career. The cathedral ceremony was hosted by Professor Duncan Greenman, of the University of the West of England, and Sally Challoner of BBC Points West, with many VIPS from Bristol and South Gloucestershire among the congregation.

It also featured the Central Band of the RAF, the cathedral choir and Bristol Male Voice Choir.

Outside, on College Green, there was a display of Bristol cars and a replica of the Bristol Fighter F2B, which was built by employee graduates at Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN.