WHEN a tinsmith and brazier with the memorable name of William Blizard Williamson came to Worcester in about 1855, he probably never thought in his wildest dreams that he was laying the foundations of a firm destined to become a household name across the Faithful City.

The young man was a member of the Plymouth Brethren and a firm believer in the work ethic - so it was not long before his new premises in Lowesmoor were turning out a wide range of articles in sheet steel and tinplate.

There was growing demand for these hardware goods as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace across the country and Williamson lost no time in meeting the needs of Britain's expanding cities.

In those days, Lowesmoor was Worcester's commercial centre and Williamson's factory was soon sending all manner of items to every far-flung corner of the British Empire.

But this was only the beginning of the story - for his company would eventually go on to become Metal Box, one of the city's greatest old-time employers, a name that still evokes many fond memories for Worcester people.

The story must now fast-forward nearly 100 years to the 1930s. Dennis Walker had left Worcester Royal Grammar School and joined the Merchant Navy - but after five years at sea, he decided a sailor's life was not for him.

He returned to his home city and decided to get a job with Metal Box. He remained there until his retirement more than 30 years ago, and it was then that he decided the Williamson story had to be told. The result was a book chronicling the rise of Williamson's Providence Works and its transition to Metal Box in Perry Wood.

This work was eventually published in 1981 - and more than a quarter of a century later, the book has been updated by David Thorpe, of the Worcestershire Industrial Archaeology and Local History Society. It will go on the bookshelves in June.

"I'd forgotten all about it," said Dennis, a spritely 94-year-old who now lives in Windmill Close, off York Place, Worcester.

"David Thorpe suggested that the book should be reprinted and I was happy to go along with it. I worked with the company for 40 years and it occurred to me that the story just had to be told, so I started writing the history in the 12 months leading up to my retirement. There will be quite a few older people living in Worcester who will remember Metal Box."

The story of the book's creation begins in 1963, when Dennis provided the commentary to a film made, shortly before the closure of the Providence Works, of the making of lawyers' wig boxes by skilled craftsmen. Many Worcester people will remember this film and they will be interested to know that it has now been transferred on to DVD.

This would become the catalyst for the book. Dennis then burned the midnight oil charting the foundation of the company, the period up until the outbreak of the First World War, the eras of the various Williamsons, the Second World War, and latterly the age of mass production.

One of the great milestones in the Metal Box story was the arrival of large numbers of foreign workers in Worcester. Many prisoners-of-war, Italian and German, remained in Britain in preference to returning to their own devastated lands.

A large proportion of these displaced people found work at Metal Box, and although they hoped to one day return to their native countries, this was not always possible. Their descendants remain in Worcester to this day.

In 1963, the original Williamson's factory at Providence Works became outmoded for modern production layouts and production lines were transferred to other Metal Box factories. Many of the staff joined their colleagues at Perry Wood and Woodside.

Dennis Walker eventually finished his labour of love and realised that he'd done something remarkable - here was the story of a household name that had employed generations of Worcester people.

A slice of local history had been recorded and so a publisher was found.

The old factory, which occupied an island site bounded by Charles Street, Temperance Street, Providence Street and St Paul's Street was later bought by the Post Office. The firm's old name - G H Williamson & Sons Ltd, Providence Works, carved in the stonework, can still be seen over the main entrance.

The name of Metal Box has disappeared due to successive takeovers. But the memory will never fade, thanks to Dennis Walker's immaculate book and subsequent update by David Thorpe.

It is not only a fine read, but also a valuable document charting an important period in Worcester's industrial history.