Day of Triumph and sadness; MAGNIFICENT MONUMENT UNVEILED TO ONE OF CITY'S GREAT MOTORING MARQUES.A MAGNIFICENT monument to Standard Triumph, one of the greatest marques Marques may refer to:
Hundreds of Triumph enthusiasts, former workers and personalities from the motoring world joined guests from across the globe to pay tribute to the Golden Age of motor manufacturing. They watched as the tribute, two Standard Triumph shields joined together, was unveiled on the site of the former factory in Herald Avenue, Canley. But there was a touch of sadness that the monument and the Standard Triumph Recreation Club, in front of which it stands, are all that's left of the factory where world class cars were produced to represent the epitome of Coventry craftsmanship. And the enthusiast-owned cars at the ceremony - including the TR series of 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s and 7s, the Spitfire, Stag, Vitesse, Herald and a 1921 Standard Coventry - showed why the world and not just the UK held the car company in such high regard. The pounds 9,000 monument was made possible by the TR Register club and involved members from most of the Standard and Triumph clubs in the UK, United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Europe. David Lewis The name David Lewis may refer to several people: Academics
The monument was unveiled by Triumph's legendary chief engineer, Harry Webster CBE CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire (a Brit. title) CBE n abbr (= Companion of (the Order of) the British Empire) → título de nobleza CBE n abbr (= , and the Lord Mayor of Coven-try, Cllr Joan Wright, who was a clerk at the Canley site. Mr Webster, aged 83, who joined Standard as an apprentice, is widely acknowledged as the "genius" behind every Triumph sports car from 1952 to 1968. He said: "My present mood is one of both sadness and great joy. The sadness comes from seeing a great company disappear. But this is a great tribute." The ceremony was hosted by motoring writer and broadcaster Graham Rob- son, who ran Standard-Triumph's Motorsport department from 1965. TV's Top Gear presenter and rally expert, Tony Mason Tony Mason may refer to two sporting personalities:
Mr Mason said: "My first rally was in a Triumph Herald The Triumph Herald was a small two-door car introduced in 1959 by the Standard-Triumph Company. Body design was by the Italian stylist Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, van and estate variants. coupe and this site and the company mean a great deal. "This is a fantastic tribute to a proud part of Coventry's motoring history." Mr Fidler said: "This is a great day and something which rightly celebrates the history of this famous site." They were joined by hundreds of enthusiasts from the TR Register, the Indiana Triumph Club, the Triumph Roadster Club, Don Elliott Don Elliott (born October 21, 1926 in Somerville, New Jersey; died July 5, 1984 in Weston, Connecticut) was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. from Montreal, and Mike Moore
FACT FILE Hundreds of enthusiasts and Standard Triumph club members, local companies and supporters raised the pounds 9,000 needed for the monument.o The idea originated with Canadian enthusiast Don Elliott, who felt the site of the factory needed to be marked. The stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. monument was produced by Earlsdon Sheet Metal, whose managing director Barry Budden served as an apprentice at the Canley factory. |
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