George Dyer is this year’s winner of our Southwark Blue Plaque competition.
The renowned Walworth tailor has come out on top and will now receive a blue plaque in his honour.
In the mid-’90s, George set up a tailoring shop called Threadneedle Man. He was nominated by his daughter, Deniece, who said tailoring had been his passion from a very young age, and “his talented hands could make the ugliest material look like gold.”
He is remembered for his ‘exceptional’ suits, which made him famous locally as well as among stars like Paul Weller and Martin Freeman.
If the comments from voters are any indication, George touched the lives of many and has been sorely missed since his tragic death last year.
The plaque should serve as an eternal reminder of his legacy – which will live on in the garments he created, the stories he told and the wisdom he imparted.
It is not yet confirmed where the plaque will be placed – but a likely location is the Threadneedle Man shop on Walworth Road.
Second place in the competition was Rotherhithe police community support officer, Albert Tedam and the Borough Welsh Chapel came in third.
We would like to express our gratitude to all who voted and congratulations to all the nominees.
For the past nineteen years the News is proud to have been one of the founders of the Blue Plaque scheme here in Southwark and nominations are now open for next year.
The scheme came about after the News and Southwark Heritage Association tried to find a way around English Heritage’s strict criteria, that a building must be standing and the person dead for them to qualify.
The latter was not really a problem, but the idea that so much of our rich heritage could not be recognised because a building was no longer there was not acceptable to us. Much of our physical heritage was destroyed in the Blitz, but it is perhaps the 1960s and ‘70s architects who did the most damage. So, we invited Southwark Council to join us in drawing up our own Blue Plaques and getting local people to vote.
There are now well over 50 Southwark Blue Plaques across the borough.
