Pictured: acclaimed photographer killed in cycling crash in Chelsea

An acclaimed photographer who convinced his sister to enter the Chelsea Flower Show was killed on his bicycle the day before she won a prize, she revealed today.

Henry Wilson, 57, suffered fatal injuries after he was dragged under the wheels of a lorry at a junction near his home as he cycled to get a haircut in Fulham Road.

Firefighters travelling behind the lorry performed CPR on Mr Wilson but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 10.45am on Monday.

The photographer and textile designer, who had published two books with Thames and Hudson, grew up in Nigeria before moving to Chelsea after his father retired as a trader for the United African Company.

A day after his death, his sister Althea, who also lives in Chelsea, was awarded a Silver Gilt medal at the flower show for her triptych Urban Magnolias.

She said: “He practically bullied me to enter and chose my final entries for me. Without him driving me I wouldn’t have entered, I wouldn’t have got it framed, but he said, ‘Get a grip, this would be good for you’. We always supported each other.”

Mr Wilson, also an artist and designer interested in Indian art, was “highly sought after” and had been working on a third book.

Ms Wilson said: “He was so much fun to be around, we were always discussing art.”

In March, Mr Wilson returned from a four-month trip to India with 40,000 photographs, which his family and friends are planning to release.

His sister said: “It would be amazing if we could somehow put it together and get it published. It’s just a matter of writing it up. It will be a concerted effort from all of us, but it would be nice to do something in his memory. It would be a real pity if his photos were just wasted.”

Mr Wilson, who had designed a wallpaper collection for Osborne & Little, leaves a partner of five years, Andy Walsh, also an artist. He is the fourth cyclist to be killed on London’s roads this year, after three died in a week in February.

Ms Wilson, 67, said: “The tragedy is he had 20 years left of photography and art to do — he took pictures of life and he lived his life to the maximum.

"He was a very safe rider, I would call him the ‘Chelsea Bumbler’.

He was one of those men you see of a certain age cycling slowly along the road. He could drive, but he said it was easier to get around London.”

The lorry driver stopped at the scene and was not arrested.

Witnesses should call the Roads and Transport Policing Command on 020 8543 5157.