Inventor and designer of engines. Born Kensington. He worked with Sebastian de Ferranti and the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene to produce cameras, mutoscopes, cutting and perforation machines and projectors. He designed his first motorcycle engine in 1901, made the first overhead-valve V-twin in 1906 and patented a desmodromic valve in 1923. Died Wood Green.
His birth date from Clan Barker differs from that on the plaque.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
John Alfred Prestwich
John Alfred Prestwich, 1874 - 1952, inventor and designer of engines, founded...
Film company famous for its Gothic horror genre. Prominent during the 1960/70s. Peter Cushing and Sir Chistopher Lee starred in many of their Dracula and Frankenstein films. It ceased production in...
Model and porn actor. Born Mary Ruth Quilter, she came to fame in the long-running soft-porn film 'Come Play With Me'. However, she soon found herself being replaced by younger models, which led to...
Documentary film maker. Born Suffolk. Co-founder of the Mass Observation organisation (something like current day personal blogs but with pencil and paper). In 1936 he helped organise the Surreal...
Merged with the Heritage Foundation.
Playwright, screenwriter and director. Born in St Leonards-on-Sea. Best known for his stage plays including 'Plenty', 'Racing Demon' and 'Amy's View'. He has also written the scripts for many telev...
Sculptor and printmaker. Born in Edinburgh of Italian parents. His father (and we think his maternal grandfather) died on the Arandora Star. A major figure in the development of the pop-art style. ...
Socialist and pacifist. Born Ada Brown at Raunds, Northamptonshire. She joined the West London Mission to work among the London poor, and in 1897 transferred to the Bermondsey Settlement, where she...
Replaced the LCC. The GLC was abolished, some say, because Mrs Thatcher could not abide its left-wing politics, nor its leader, Ken Livingstone. On its 50th anniversary Diamond Geezer posted a goo...
Businessman in the fish industry. "Who knew Billingsgate Market well and built up the family business, W. Young & Son." The quote is on the plaque but we can't trace it, or indeed, find out any...
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