Hundreds attended the funeral of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson who also created science-fiction series Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and Stingray in Reading, UK, on Friday.
Gerry Anderson has been remembered as a “visionary of the future” by family and friends.
Gerry Anderson, from Henley-on-Thames, died last month, aged 83.
Fans travelled from across the country, as well as from overseas to be at the funeral which featured tributes from former Thunderbirds cast and crew.
The service at Reading Crematorium was followed by a reception in Henley-on-Thames.
There was standing room only inside the chapel with the service relayed on speakers to more than 100 people outside.
They included mother and son Robert and Maria Zyderveld, who travelled from the Netherlands.
Robert Zyderveld said: “I’ve been a fan of Gerry Anderson’s TV shows for about 18 years.
“I always said that if I had the chance to be at his funeral, I would travel there no matter how far.
“It was a truly beautiful service and a great tribute to the man.”
Hundreds attended the funeral of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson in Reading, UK, on Friday
A full-size replica of FAB1 – Lady Penelope’s pink Rolls Royce – was also on show outside the chapel.
Owner Melvin Jarvis drove from Leicestershire the night before to be at the service.
He said: “It still turns heads even after having owned it for a few years.
“I have to try and drive it away from motorways usually to avoid too many people driving alongside trying to take pictures of it while they’re driving.”
A replica of Thunderbird 2 featured among the floral tributes on top of Gerry Anderson’s coffin.
Son Jamie Anderson was among the coffin bearers and read a eulogy during the service.
He said: “I have never been more proud of my father than the day he faced up to his battle with Alzheimer’s.
“He battled it head-on and came out very publicly speaking about how it had affected his life.”
Gerry Anderson was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010 – a condition which worsened in the months before his death.
He became a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Society and helped raise the charity’s profile at fundraising events across the country.
During the funeral, arrangements of the Thunderbirds theme tune and Aqua Marina from Stingray were played.
Thunderbirds first aired on TV screens in 1965 with the action filmed in a studio on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire.
Shane Rimmer, the voice of Thunderbird pilot Scott Tracy, said: “It was a truly unique experience.
“Gerry’s office was like the Oval Office at The White House at times, such was the mystique of the place.
“Thunderbirds really broke a mould as it was one of the first TV shows that had appeal on both sides of the Atlantic.”
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Gerry Anderson, the creator of hit TV shows Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90, has died aged 83.
Gerry Anderson also created Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and his puppet superheroes fired the imaginations of millions of young viewers in the 1960s and ’70s.
Thunderbirds, a science-fiction fantasy about a daring space rescue squad, ran from 1965 and was his most famous show.
Gerry Anderson had suffered from Alzheimer’s since 2010 and the disease had worsened in recent months, his son Jamie said.
Jamie Anderson announced the news on his website, saying his father had died peacefully in his sleep at noon on Wednesday.
“Gerry was diagnosed with mixed dementia two years ago and his condition worsened quite dramatically over the past six months,” he wrote.
“Having already decided with his family on a care home for himself earlier this year, he moved in there in October.”
Gerry Anderson talked publicly about the onset of the disease in June 2012.
His other creations included UFO, Space: 1999, Supercar and Fireball XL5.
Gerry Anderson, the creator of hit TV show Thunderbirds, has died aged 83
Celebrities paying tribute on Twitter included comedian Eddie Izzard, who wrote: “What great creation Thunderbirds was, as it fuelled the imagination of a generation.”
TV presenter Jonathan Ross wrote: “For men of my age, his work made childhood an incredible place to be.”
Gerry Anderson, who lived in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, began his career studying fibrous plastering, but had to give it up when it gave him dermatitis.
After a spell in photographic portrait work, a job in Gainsborough films and time spent in air traffic control, he set up AP Films with some friends.
Commissions were few, however, so he responded eagerly to the opportunity to make a puppet series called The Adventures of Twizzle in 1956. It was eight years before Thunderbirds came into being on ITV.
The action was filmed on Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire.
The story revolved around International Rescue, a futuristic emergency service manned by the Tracy family, often assisted by Lady Penelope and her butler, Parker.
It included the catchphrase “Thunderbirds are go!”.
The show marked the career apex for Gerry and his wife Sylvia, who had honed their “supermarionation” technique on Fireball XL5 and Stingray.
Nick Williams, chairman of Fanderson, the Gerry Anderson appreciation society, described him as “a quiet, unassuming but determined man”.
“His desire to make the best films he could drove him and his talented teams to innovate, take risks, and do everything necessary to produce quite inspirational works,” he said.
“Gerry’s legacy is that he inspired so many people and continues to bring so much joy to so many millions of people around the world.”
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Tracy Island, the South Pacific paradise rendered in vibrant Supermarionation, was the setting for the home base of the Thunderbirds, a secretive organization created to help those in grave danger.
Aogashima is a tropical, volcanic island, in the Phillipine Sea that bears a remarkable resemblance to the home of International Rescue in Gerry Anderson’s hit Sixties series, Thunderbirds.
Part of the Izu Island chain, and politically part of Tokyo although it is 200 miles from the Japanese capital, volcanic island Aogashima is a geological curiosity.
Aogashima is a tropical, volcanic island, in the Phillipine Sea that bears a remarkable resemblance to the home of International Rescue in Gerry Anderson's hit Sixties series, Thunderbirds
With only about 200 residents, all living in one small town, the island is one if the country’s most remote and unspoilt.
There are only two ways to get on or off the outcrop: by helicopter or by boat. Those choosing to sail must arrive or depart from one, small, unreliable harbour which is often rendered useless by bad weather.
As such, it’s a far cry from the Tracy Island of Thunderbirds fame, with its fleet of technologically advanced rescue vehicles poised to save the world 24 hours a day.
Indeed, Aogashima is noted for its peace and quiet, as a place to escape the relentless bustle of urban life and commune again with nature.
