i. Prologue 1. Baptism of fire 2. Battle for Triumph 3. Factory occupation 4. Glad to be back 5. Facing up to commercial reality 6. Stage 2 co-op ideology revisited 7. Going our separate ways 8. Advisors return 9. Inherent and irreconcilable contradictions 10. Freedom of the press 11. Retirements and redundancy 12. Government sword of Damocles 13. Partnership negotiations 14. Legal proceedings 15. Japanese negotiations 16. British negotiations 17. New beginnings 18. Optimism or false dawn 19. Confronting reality 20. Coming of age 21. Pay our way or close 22. Cauldron of activity 23. Mandate for change 24. Make or break 25. Crisis management 26. Buying time 27. Politics take over 28. Financial reconstructions 29. Clash of operating cultures 30. More sinister than coincidence 31. Words are no longer enough 32. Capital and labour partnership 33. On the brink of receivership 34. Receivership or liquidation xii. Epilogue
John Rosamond was, like the British motorcycle industry, born in the West Midlands. After leaving school he learnt his trade as a skilled welder, and shortly thereafter was employed by the world-famous Triumph motorcycle factory at Meriden to work on its new oil-bearing frames. A socialist and union man, John was elected spokesman on behalf of his fellow welders. Returning to welding frames after the Meriden sit-in, in 1977 John then became the second and last chairman of the Triumph workers' board of directors, seeing through the continuing development of the acclaimed Bonneville model until the factory's closure in 1983. After Meriden, John was employed by the new Triumph firm in Hinckley before returning to his original trade as a welder, assessing students in the craft until his retirement in 2003.
"A lively glimpse of the Midlands of the 70s. ****" - Coventry Telegraph
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