BLUE plaques commemorating some of Worcester’s best and lesserknown figures are being installed at key locations around the city.

The plaques will acknowledge the achievements of landscape artist Benjamin Williams Leader and engineer John James Cam.

Curiously, the plaques, which will be unveiled within a matter of days of each other, have been commissioned by two separate groups in the city.

But both Worcester Civic Society and Worcester Tourism Association insist they are not competing with one another and have held discussions to make sure there are no plaque duplications as part of this renewed enthusiasm to celebrate the city’s past.

The first plaque to be unveiled at the weekend is for Mr Cam in Charles Street as that is where he pioneered from his workshop key motoring components including the carburettor, the radiator and handlebar controls.

Godfrey Harvey, honorary treasurer of the Worcester Tourism Association, said: “I picked up on this one 12 months ago; he stood out as one we should certainly look into and this is the result.

“We have 17 relatives coming from all over the country on Saturday and the family are very keen to see it because it is over 100 years since something has happened. It’s appropriate and you can certainly stand on the pavement and read it.”

Then, on Wednesday, the civic society will unveil two plaques, each costing £300, at the Diglis House Hotel – one on the riverside and another above the main entrance to the building – as that is where Mr Leader once lived with his family.

Civic society chairman Stephen Inman said he hopes this is just the start of a rolling programme that could see two or three plaques pop up in different locations every year.

“We want to make this more of a feature in Worcester,” he said.

“They are for people of local note and it’s right they should be commemorated.”

BENJAMIN WILLIAMS LEADER

• Born in 1831, Benjamin Williams Leader was the son of Edward Leader Williams – a civil engineer and a friend of painter John Constable.

• His brother, also Edward Leader Williams, was knighted for his work and is remembered for designing Manchester Ship Canal.

• The family eventually came to live at Diglis House – now a hotel.

• Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, Leader studied art at Worcester School of Design.

• In 1854 he was admitted as a student to the Royal Academy Schools in London.

• Some of his paintings are kept in the city’s art gallery and museum in Foregate Street.

• In 1914 he was made a freeman of the city.

• He died in 1923, aged 92.

JOHN JAMES CAM

• John James Cam, one of eight children, was born in May 1850 ! He joined his father’s company in the Shambles in the early 1870s and developed into an inventive engineer.

• At the turn of the century Mr Cam opened a workshop in Charles Street. He developed key components including the carburettor, the radiator and handlebar controls.

• Mr Cam was also a keen photographer and was a founder member of Worcestershire Camera Club and Worcestershire Photographic Survey Society and a founder member of local cycling groups including the Worcester Tricycle Club ! The Government commandered his workshop at the outbreak of the First World War.

• He died on Christmas Day 1919.