Abstract
IT was a pleasing thought of the people of Sudbury, now part of the new borough of Wembley, and of the friends of the late Sir William H. Perkin, to commemorate his long residence there by the erection of a memorial in the form of a tiny garden of rest and a large oval oak seat. The memorial was unveiled by the eldest Miss Perkin on August 12 in the presence of the civic authorities, the church, some friends and a large number of the public. An appropriate oration on Perkin's life and work was given by Dr. C. E. Goddard. The growth of London has swept away the peaceful home and garden and fields where Perkin retired to in 1874 to devote his life to research; he became also a good citizen and much beloved in the village. The memorial stands on a corner of his land, the noisy traffic thunders past it on two sides and there is a round-about in front. But this tiny spot is a haven of refuge and peace, and those who use it for a few moments in years to come can read the tablet and muse perhaps on what kind of a man was this Perkin, founder of the dye industry. ‘Scientist and citizen’ might appropriately have been added, for it was as the latter, a man conspicuous for his probity and good works, that Sudbury knew him.
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Memorial to Sir William Perkin. Nature 144, 318 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144318b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144318b0