Aviation pioneers the Short brothers are remembered in a plaque which has been unveiled in Rochester.

The Esplanade at Rochester was once home to the Short Brothers' factory, famous for its flying boats.

No one can blame the the younger generation for being unaware of the Esplanade's part in aviation history as the site has now been transformed into an exclusive riverside development of homes called Short Reach.

The only clue to the site’s history is in the name.

But that all changed when a commemorative plaque was unveiled by Lord Ivon Moore- Brabazon of Tara to mark the company’s existence 100 years on from the business partnership formed by the Short brothers partnership and the first powered flight.

Medway Mayor Cllr David Carrr and his wife Kirstine were also at the ceremony, which was watched by more than 50 former Short Brothers’ employees.

It means the memory of the three Short brothers, Horace, Eustace and Hugh Oswald, will be kept alive for years to come.

Shorts were famous for their Empire and Sunderland flying boats and, during the Second World War, the Short Stirling, the RAF's first four-engined bomber, was produced at the company's Rochester airport factory.

Full story and more pictures in Friday's print edition of the Medway Messenger