HUNDREDS of people lined the city’s streets yesterday morning to say their final goodbye to the former Worcester Warriors club president and Worcester Bosch founder Cecil Duckworth CBE.

Mr Duckworth died aged 83 on Sunday, November 15, following a short battle with illness.

His procession began at Acorns Children’s Hospice in St Peter’s at 10.15am, where Mr Duckworth was a key backer of the hospice, helping them care for seriously ill children and their families.

Dozens of people then paid their respects to Mr Duckworth in the city centre at Worcester Cathedral and the cricket club in New Road.

He arrived at Worcester Bosch at around 10.55am where staff and residents gathered outside of the building to give a round of applause to the man who founded the company.

Warriors’ fans Peter and Pam Baurbage stood outside Worcester Bosch to pay their respects to Mr Duckworth, who once took Peter out for dinner after he injured himself at a Warriors game.

He said: “We actually had a meal with Cecil. We met after I had a bit of an injury at the rugby ground after I was walking in the grass and managed to fall in a hole after a pre-season game.

“He very kindly invited us out for a meal with him after that, which shows what type of man he was.”

The tour concluded at Sixways stadium, the home of Worcester Warriors, where the entire playing squad, coaches and staff – past and present – lined the entrance road and applauded the funeral cortege to honour Mr Duckworth for his immense contribution to the club over more than a quarter of a century as owner, chairman and president.