A huge crowd – including former TV presenter Roger Cook – descended on Bradford on Avon on Sunday to celebrate the birthdays of two of the town’s most respected residents with exhibitions on their working lives.

Bradford on Avon Museum’s trustees planned the event to coincide with the landmark birthdays of Marcos founder Jem Marsh, who marked his 80th birthday on April 15, and engineer Dr Alex Moulton, who turned 90 on April 9.

Former racing driver Mr Marsh, who co-founded the sports car manufacturer Marcos which was based in Greenland Mills in Bradford in the 1970s, before later moving to Westbury, was at the museum to officially open an exhibition on the history of the cars, which will run for two weeks.

He said: “It was a fantastic day, seeing all the old employees turn up. They used to work down here at Greenland Mills. There were at least eight or nine of them who turned up on the day.”

One of the oldest former Marcos employees to attend the event was Stan Gray, from Trowbridge.

The 91-year-old former development engineer said: “ I was invited along to the event by Jem and didn’t want to miss it as I spent four or five years at the company from 1963.

“I built the early cars, and I do like the look of the early cars.”

In addition to the exhibition, about 20 Marcos cars were parked up in the Bridge Street car park and on Victory Fields, attracting the attention of the crowds, among them investigative journalist and broadcaster Cook, who lives near Bradford on Avon.

The cars were from three Marcos collectors clubs, including Marcos International and Mini Marcos.

To honour the achievements of Dr Moulton, who invented the Moulton bicycle and designed the suspension for the original Mini, an exhibition looking at his engineering career was opened at the West Barn on Sunday, and will be moved to the library foyer this week where it will remain until May 7.

Dr Moulton, who still lives in Bradford on Avon, said: “This was an extremely important event. The exhibition will interest the young people. The future lies with the young people. They must learn to make things.

“It’s a fantastic way to celebrate our birthdays, but it’s more important for the younger people.”

The exhibitions were organised by Bradford on Avon Town Council, the preservation trust and museum.