Walter Worboys

Sir Walter John Worboys (22 February 1900 – 17 March 1969), was an Australian-born British businessman.

Equivalent pre and post Worboys road signs
  • pre-Worboys sign
  • post-Worboys sign

He was born in Perth, Western Australia,[1] and educated at Scotch College and the University of Western Australia. Elected a Rhodes Scholar in 1922, he gained his D.Phil. after a further period of study at Lincoln College, Oxford.[2] His first job was as a research chemist at Brunner Mond & Co. From there he moved to ICI, eventually reaching the rank of director.

In 1947 he joined the Council of Industrial Design, a body set up by the Board of Trade in 1944. He was chairman of the council from 1953 until 1960, during which time he set up the Design Centre, a permanent exhibition of the council’s work. The establishment of the Design Centre proved to be a turning point in the history of the council, which until that time had attracted more critics than friends.[3]

In 1961 he was appointed to chair a committee to bring in a new era of modern road signage.[3] The committee reported in 1963,[4] advocating a total overhaul of the style of British road signs, introducing a new style that has lasted until the present day. The report recommended the pictorial design found on many European road signs, along with a British-designed font that was to become known as the Transport font.[5]

Worboys died on 17 March 1969.[6]

Notes
  1. “Who was Who” 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
  2. "Rhodes Scholars: Complete List, 1903-2011". The Rhodes SCholarships. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  3. "Worboys, Sir Walter John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. "Hansard : Traffic Signs Committee Report". 13 March 1963. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. "Jock Kinneir + Margaret Calvert". Design Museum. 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  6. Obituary: Sir Walter Worboys The Times Tuesday, Mar 18, 1969; pg. 12; Issue 57512; col G
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