Old road 'Bend' sign, pre Worboys (1963).
Made by Smith and Sons, Grove Road, Barnard Castle.
Has full set of reflectors.
 
Dimension: width 30.5cm. (12 inches/1 ft)
 
UK mainland postage, £6.95
 
In 1963, Britain’s roads changed forever. The Worboys Committee, chaired by Sir Walter Worboys, swept away cluttered, text-heavy road signs and replaced them with the clear symbols, colours, and layouts we still use today.
What we now call “Worboys signs” weren’t named after a place, but after a person — a civil servant whose surname became shorthand for modern road design. Anything older is known as pre-Worboys: heavier, wordier, and increasingly rare. The legacy of Worboys isn’t just signage — it’s how drivers read the road at speed.