Memories of Work at Triumph Motors
I worked at Triumph Motors from 1969 to 1987 when it closed.
I worked as a security officer and, apart from the shift patterns being changed to 12 hour shifts, it was OK.
The nightshift was as busy as the day. We had body lorries in and out of B Gate (Till Hill Lane) all night from the Till Hill factory.We also had Harpers lorries from Liverpool bringing bodies down all night.
Christmas times were the worst aIthough there were workmates who would have worked the shifts for you, the managers refused to let us swap. It did cause resentment.
By and large the workforce were a decent lot and only few times was there any animosity toward Gate staff. Canley Road gates were the ones to watch as some of the workforce would leave the shop early and we were told to chain the gates,
When the bell went to finish they would surge towards the gates.
At B Gate the foreman would be at the bottom of the drive and hold workers until the bell sounded. At C Gate -Tile Hill Lane they would wait inside the shop until the bell. At D Gate they would walk up from the factory and arrive at just about the correct time, same with E Gate.
The track TV operators who placed the cars onto the tracks were fascinating to watch. The bodies were on the top floor of the New Assembly Hall, Canley Road and they were in the basement. The screens were black and white and they knew which colour body to send down by the hue of each one.
If people could have seen the cars in the modelling studio that were never put into production they would be amazed. Alas, weak management and not being prepared for the future put paid to it. It’s a shame it has disappeared.
I moved to Gaydon in 1987 and completed my 31 years service as a test driver with a grand lot of workmates.
G Daffron, Radford
Coventry Evening Telegraph