In the early 80’s Triumph’s doors at Meriden finally closed. However all was not lost, an enthusiast and entrepreneur by the name of Les Harris acquired all spare parts and a few ex-Triumph workers and kept a Bonneville 750cc model in production and the British motorcycle industry alive. Albeit with a weak pulse, it was a vital pulse nonetheless. This gave enough time for John Bloor, who held the Triumph name, to get the show at Hinckley up and running in ’91. Les can be considered an important player in the history of Brit-Iron, allowing it to continue on for over a continuous century, now heading healthily ahead into the 21stC. Triumph currently manufactures 46,000 units per year. Les passed away in 2009 aged 69 surely feeling content with his lifes worth. At his funeral he was given a roaring salute from pallbearers consisting of members of the Royal Signal Corps motorcycle display team: the White Helmets. Tribute indeed!