Born in 1934, John Wickham was educated at Bedales School and went on to study Industrial Design at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. He was employed by Robert Welch Associates for three years, subsequently going on to pursue a career as a Design Consultant until retirement. He worked on products ranging from cutlery to electronic equipment winning a number of Design Council Awards and was elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers.

When his son Webster was able to take over the BWA practice it became possible to fulfil a long held ambition to devote more time to painting, there is a strong family tradition in art and illustration. Using oil, acrylic and watercolour his work encompasses representational as well as more abstract genres. Still life, landscape, portraiture and imaginative compositions form the body of his output.