Leon Guyot wrote:
I shall make up for it, by representing the TSSC as the officially invited
representative at the dedication of the TR Registers' Triumph Monument at the
Triumph factory site at Coventry on April 16th. After all, I love my Triumph.
Leon - with some respect, I shall be there too - but in an entirely personal
capacity. No
doubt I shall remember my Dad, many of his former colleagues and friends of
mine who have
now died. Apart from visiting the original Triumph site in Priory Street and
commemorating
the memory of Siegfried Bettmann later that day, I will be at Fletch
remembering the
people of *The Standard Motor Company*. Please do not overlook the fact that
had it not
been for Sir John Black of STANDARD, the Triumph name might not have survived
after
November 14th 1940. The bottom line is your car and a good few others which
have survived
were made at "the Standard" on the site of Aero One - they were not made at
Triumph and
they used engines that first appeared in Standard cars and Ferguson tractors!
Those of us who worked there regarded ourselves only as Standard employees and
many still
do. What's more, we're proud
of it. The fact that in a variety of roles we designed, made, sold and serviced
Standard
and Triumph badged cars post war is how things should be seen and it's how the
various
factory people who will be there, will regard things as well. For us, the
alternative
perspective of enthusiasts that the former site is/was the Triumph factory in
isolation is
both incorrect, irrelevant and bordering on snook-cocking contempt. This subtle
distinction may not matter to any of our transatlantic readers (or possibly
even you) -
but it matters to many of us, big time.
I love my 'Triumph' too - notwithstanding the fact that it is still regarded by
many 'on
the inside' as a fuel injected Standard Vanguard and it shares an engine which,
like your
Vitesse, had origins that first appeared in a Vanguard as well. If you insist
on calling
and garlanding the whole affair as a Triumph event, then either do us former
employees a
favour by staying away or if you do attend, at least remeber the thousands who
worked
there as true employees of only The Standard Motor Company. I don't think
that's too much
to ask.
Jonmac
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