THE FAMILY of the late Cecil Duckworth CBE have asked the Worcester News to publish the details of his 'final tour' of the city this coming Friday.

Beatrice Duckworth says the family have been inundated with requests from local people who wish to pay their respects to the Worcester legend ahead of his funeral on Friday.

Mr Duckworth, the founder of Worcester Bosch, Former Worcester Warriors’ President and philanthropist died at home on November 15 this year, aged 83, following a short battle with illness.

His funeral will be held this Friday, December 11, but before he is cremated in a private ceremony, Mr Duckworth will make his final tour around the city.

It will start at Acorn’s Children Hospice in St Peter’s at 10.15am, as Mr Duckworth was a key backer of the hospice, helping them care for seriously ill children and their families.

The procession will then briefly stop outside Worcester Cathedral at 10:25am where Mayor of Worcester Cllr Jo Hodges will pay her respects. She said: “Cecil Duckworth was a generous benefactor for Worcester. The Duckworth Trust is constantly working to make Worcester’s green spaces accessible to all, and to help preserve our natural environment. It is a lasting legacy to Cecil’s benevolence.”

Mr Duckworth will then be taken past Worcestershire County Cricket Club at 10.30am where people will line New Road to say their goodbyes.

The tour continues with a stop at Worcester Bosch at 10.55am where employees will pay their respects. Mr Duckworth’s long association with Worcestershire began when he moved to the county in 1958. Just four years after moving, he founded the Worcester Engineering Company (now Worcester Bosch) and helped to invent the combi-boiler.

Mr Duckworth’s final stop will be at Sixways to honour the work he did for Worcester Warriors. Although fans are asked not to attend this part of the tour  

The family ask all mourners to respect social distancing measures whilst honouring Mr Duckworth’s memory.