I would not mind going myself, these chaps have been sitting around for over 40
years waiting to be interviewed, and all of them have a story to tell, its not
just the stuff you can print, its the rest, who was wasting money, who was
having affairs with who, who claimed who's design, an so forth, it makes writing
a lot easier when you know and understand the background of how the factory
worked, some amazing stuff.
For instance, a starting wage in the middle fifties was L500 a year for a
qualified and proved designer, if you made an instant impact your wages leapt to
L1000 per year, and that was the wage everyone wanted, they knew once they had
that jump they were at the top, but little did they know, when Ken Howes arrived
he started on L2000 a year which was a lot more than the head of the design
office, it is interesting to point out, that nearly all Rootes designers ended
up at Fords which was considered the place to work, and Ford considered Rootes
designers as the best and thats why they were only to pleased to take them on.
What concerns me is a lot of books have been written about Fords, Rovers,
Diamler and Standard Triumph and yet the guys I have spoken to, who designed
them have never been contacted never mind interviewed, amazing. If I can find
them so can everyone else.
So you have now decided to pay your own air fare, yes!!!
Chris
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