Standard, Triumph & related car companies

I've a sneaky suspicion I saw one at one of the old Coventry Airshows sometime in the 70's, Kaga, and I've watched 633 Squadron dozens of times!!

Midland Red, absolutely 'brill.' above, and my thanks for moving things to their rightful place.

For the first two years of the war, we took a beating on all fronts, plus the bombing, but everything Coventry made for the war effort seemed to go some place else, apart for a few tanks that trained at the clod banks. But the Mosquito was different, here Coventry people could see it put through its paces, in and around Coventry, to me it said a lot. Here was something that would give those Tiger Tanks a hard time, that we had heard so much about, here was a plane that seemed to say we could hit back with a mighty punch. At that time of the war we really needed to see such, it meant a lot more than reading about things. To watch three of those 'mosses' come hedge hopping over the fields was frightening to think what they could do, even if they were plywood and glue. And they were ours, built in Coventry as well, it was morale boosting at its best.

You speak the truth, Kaga. Probably the most under rated aircraft of the war. As for appearance there was only one better, the Spitfire.

My mum did her bit on the Mosquitoes at Canley. She was on the night shift, and she was part of a gang of women who put in all the wiring, then belled it out to correctly identify the wires. She had no electrical knowledge, but they worked strictly to a procedure with a test bell set and paper forms. She said it was next to the (spray) paint shop, and that the fumes form the "dope" were often overpowering.

Fascinating thread - with so much history lost I thought it would be time to try and collate as many of the names of those who worked at the Standard and Standard Triumph. I have set up www.triumphworks.co.uk which is looking to archive names - please have a look and add any names and information of workers you may know. If any difficulty, you can simply post them on this thread. The site is still being worked on and will hopefully build to a great resource - we'll pick out interesting characters and feature them on the site. Thanks a lot in advance

Just as I remember the Canley frontage in its BL days.

Wasn't that referred to as "Fletch" (Fletchamstead Highway) rather than Canley, which was where Ivy Cottage fronted the site?

Not sure Cliff but you may well be right - it was all the same site to me.

My father worked at the Gauge during and after the war, dead opposite, and the area was called the Fletch; in particular, there was a small adjacent pub they used at lunchtime, also called the Fletch.

As some of you know I have been researching the history of Westwood Parish for two or three years. Until 1926 the border between Fletchamstead and Canley followed what is now the bypass. To the east was Canley and to the west Fletchamstead. Tile Hill Lane, between the bypass and the lane's junction with Broad Lane, formed the border between Canley and Whoberley. So, whilst the whole of the Standard site was in Canley, the Gauge & Tool was in Fletchamstead. In earlier times, Canley came under the influence of the Cistercians at Stoneleigh Abbey and Fletchamstead under the Knights Templar at what is now Temple Balsall.

You're quite correct, Pix - in fact, we're all correct The whole of the Standard site bordered by Tile Hill Lane, Canley Road and Fletchamstead Highway was "Canley" The areas fronting Fletchamstead Highway were known as Fletchamstead North and Fletchamstead South South was Standard's first "shadow factory" which produced components for Bristol Mercury military aero engines, and post-war became Standard's Spare Parts Division North became Standard-Triumph design, engineering and motorsport operation Hence why I remember this part of Canley site being referred to as Fletch

Heads up for this year's Standard International Rally, to be held this coming weekend at Woodside, Kenilworth, from mid-day on Friday through to Sunday afternoon - details