Triumph Motorcycles

Anne, thanks for the tip, I'll see if I can get either of them from Amazon.

I think it was Les Williams who built the brilliant Legend (using a Trident engine) at his unit in Kenilworth. A very good friend of mne, Decie Roberts was a paintwork specialist and did all the paint for the Legends at the unit next door. Decie traded as Raven Paintwork and lived in Holbrooks. I wonder what happened to him

I saw Les Williams at a function about a month ago, he's been retired awhile. No knowledge of the painter though.

The 192 site shows a Decie Roberts (an unusual name) who was living in Coventry in 2002 living in Saltburn by the Sea in 2012 aged between 65 and 69.

Was this at the Fillongley do? If so Dad was there as well. Les came round the house the next day with his semi-autobiographical book - about his early days of working (not Triumph). Dad doesn't know the 'Turners Twins' book - and judging by the eye watering prices on Amazon, you may be looking at collectors bookshops ... or maybe re-mortgaging the house! He does have Jeff Clews' 'Turner the man behind the motorcycles' book from 2000, which is pretty detailed and has some good photographs. **edit** Just noticed these are the same book with different cover and title - chapter headings are all the same.

No it was at the National Motorcycle museum, one Saturday about a month ago.

Have a few Triumph related images on the computer, I guess this is as good as any thread to share some of them. Here is the the Meriden factory being demolished in 1983. I was travelling to college in Birmingham on the 159 bus at the time - it was upsetting to pass this site every day and see the gradual devastation. On a happier note, here's me in 1976 on Slippery Sam - the 5 times consecutive winner of the IOM production TT race 1971-75

Now I'm really jealous. The event was a gathering organised by the NMM themselves an was attended by a lot of the members of the Vintage motorcycle club and others. Also there with Les Williams was Norman Hyde. These are the people I need to talk to when I try to put this bike back together. The engine is reputed to have been rebuilt by Tony Healey and certainly looks the biz, what it sounds like when its finished is another matter. It's funny, when word got about that I'd got this bike I was given all sorts of bits. "I got these when I worked at Triumph"

Thanks for sharing the factory photos Greeny - sad as they are Not a lot of late factory photos around

Les Williams in his unit at Kenilworth was a great, I'd go over for a light bulb and spend an hour or two with him talking to me about how they developed the C range Triumphs. At the time I had a rough looking Tiger 500 but when I pulled up his face would appear with a grin on it as he liked to see them still used. He's on the far right in this photo with Doug Hele when they were developing what was to become the Triumph Daytona racing works bike.

Great photo - dad's eyes lit up when he saw it. L-R : Jack Shemans (who's father worked in the Experimental Department in Priory Street pre-war), Arthur Jakeman (who still lives in Meriden), Doug Hele and Les.

Arthur Jakeman was the father in law of a lad I was at tec with. He (my mate) used to regale us of Triumph bikes and what Arthur was doing in the comp shop. I was into Japanese bikes then so wasnt really interested.

Yes Arthur Jakeman made a suprise visit when the 60th anniversary of the 'Gaffers Gallop' went through Meriden last year. Some of the Gallop with Arthur Jakeman (middle behind the stone).

This album of mine is open to the public so hope you can view the images.

Amazing what those early bikes could do. Did you notice the back to front wording on the building?