Walter John Worboys
Sir Walter John Worboys (1900–1969), chemical industrialist and design promoter.
1900 Born at Cottesloe, Western Australia, on 22 February, the eldest child of Walter Worboys, engineer, and his wife, Amanda Urquhart.
Graduated in chemistry and geology in Australia followed by a DPhil in chemistry at Oxford in 1925.
Became a research chemist at Synthetic Ammonia and Nitrates Ltd at Billingham, a subsidiary of Brunner, Mond and Co, which later became ICI
1927 married Ethelwyn Bessie (Betty), daughter of Henry Lavers, an Australian mining engineer; they had one son and one daughter.
1942 chairman of ICI's plastics division
1947 He joined the Council of Industrial Design, where he stimulated the establishment of the Design Centre as a permanent exhibition of design.
1948 became a director of ICI.
1953 chairman of the Council of Industrial Design until 1960
1959 Retired from ICI as commercial director.
1960 Became chairman of British Tyre and Rubber Industries and started a much needed programme of modernization and reorganization, which contributed greatly to the subsequent growth and strength of the company.
1965 Chaired the British Printing Corporation
1969 Died in London