[6
APR 00] COVENTRY
AND WARWICKSHIRE PROMOTIONS NEWS
Industrial Legend Honoured In City
A
German-born industrialist who founded one of Britain's most famous
motoring marques is to be commemorated in Coventry.
Siegfried
Bettmann, founder of the Triumph Company, will have a plaque unveiled
in his memory on the site of his motor factory in Cathedral Square,
Priory Street in the city centre on Thursday, 13 April.
The
works was blitzed in 1940, and the factory dispatch bays are now the
site of Coventry Cathedral’s Chapel of Industry.
It
is the only case of a cathedral being built on a former factory.
The
plaque will be unveiled by retired engineer Gordon Maycock, who was
born in Coventry. He is the author of a new study of Bettmann, which due out this
summer.
Also
present will be the Provost of Coventry, the Very Reverend John Petty,
and a 1919 Triumph motorcycle, made at the Priory Street works.
Siegfried
Bettmann, born into a Jewish family in Nuremburg, came to Coventry in
1889 and set up the Triumph Company as a cycle company. He later
became mayor of the city and lived until 1951.
Peter
Walters, spokesman for Coventry and Warwickshire Promotions, said:
"As
the founder of the Triumph Company, Siegfried Bettmann made a
tremendous contribution to Coventry. He also played a major role in
the life of the city and was a significant benefactor too.
"At
a time when relations between Britain and Germany are somewhat
strained over Rover and BMW, this is one motoring partnership that we
are very keen to celebrate."
The
Siegfried Bettmann plaque is number eight in the list of Coventry
Heritage Plaques.
Among
those commemorated so far are the poet Philip Larkin, jet engine
pioneer Frank Whittle, industrialist John Siddeley and children's
writer Angela Brazil.
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