TRIBUTES have been paid to Stanley Baldwin on what would have been his 150th birthday, as he is set to be honoured with a statue in Bewdley.

Stanley Baldwin, Bewdley's most famous son, would have been 150-years-old today (August 3).

An appeal was launched in January to raise £150,000 for a life-size bronze statue to be placed in the centre of Bewdley. It is hoped the current Prime Minister will unveil the statue later this year.

Nick Farress, Bewdley Town Council town clerk, said: "Stanley Baldwin received the Freedom of the Borough of Bewdley in 1925 when he became Prime Minister and his portrait hangs above the Mayor's chair in the Guildhall.

"We are very proud to have such an iconic figure connected with Bewdley and he will be remembered this year especially when a bronze statue of him is unveiled in the town centre later in the year."

Richard Perrin, chairman of the Bewdley Civic Society, added: "Stanley Baldwin was the Civic Society's founding president in 1944 and we are pleased to be at the forefront of the Statue Appeal. Our noted sculptor, Martin Jennings, has completed a life-sized clay model which is now at the foundry for the casting of the bronze figure.

"Fundraising is going well and we anticipate that we will be able to raise sufficient money to enable the statue to be installed and unveiled in Bewdley later in 2017 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his birth.

"The statue will be given to the people of Bewdley whose predecessors were served so well by him as their MP for 30 years."

The three-times British Prime Minister was born in Lower Park in 1867 - and a blue plaque marks his place of birthday and can be seen from the junction of Lax Lane and High Street.

He became Conservative MP for Bewdley in 1908, a seat his father had held. Following various ministerial appointments, in 1922 he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. He became Prime Minister when ill health forced Andrew Bonar Law to retire the following year.

He soon called a general election to seek approval for the Government's plans to introduce protective tariffs, but failed to gain a majority - with Ramsay MacDonald's first Labour government coming to power. It was short-lived and by November 1924, the Conservatives were back in power and Baldwin as Prime Minister.

The Conservatives lost the general election of 1929 and Labour came back to power. Baldwin considered leaving politics, and spent much of the next two years fighting elements within his own party. But in 1931, he returned to Government as a member of Ramsay MacDonald's National Coalition and in June 1935, he became Prime Minister again when MacDonald resigned.

He retired in May 1937 and was made Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. He died on December 14, 1947.

A 150th Anniversary Evensong will be held at Worcester Cathedral on Sunday, September 17, from 4pm.

The Bewdley Civic Society are also organising a fundraising event for the Statue Appeal at Spring Grove House on November 29.