MINI PEOPLE

Leonard Lord BMC chairman 1952 to 1961 who authorised the Mini's development in 1957.

Sir George Harriman BMC chairman 1961 to 1968. It was Harriman who set the Mini's retail price below its actual cost of manufacture with disasterous results.

Father of the Mini Cooper, Mr John Newton Cooper.

The designer of the Mini's suspension and other Issigonis FWD cars was Dr Alex Moulton, here seen with Alec Issigonis. The colour pics date from 1971. Dr Moulton still has the Morris Mini Cooper 1275S pictured, now fitted with revised hydrogas suspension. He now has a consultancy contract with Toyota.

John Shepherd, one of Issigonis's design team.

Charles Griffin was Alec Issigonis's loyal sidekick in the BMC years. In 1974 he became Austin Morris technical director and instigated the successful Metro. He retired in 1978. His son Brian Griffin was lead engineer on the MGF.



Charles Griffin with Alec Issigonis in 1967.


And in 1974

Charles Griffin with Morris engines chief experimental engineer Eddie Maher. Maher was heavilly involved in the Mini Cooper development programme.




And a pic of Eddie Maher from 1957.

BMC's head of styling was Argentinian born Dick Burzi who added the finishing touches to the Mini's appearance.

Daniel Richmond of Downton engineering became a BMC consultant after he tuned a Mini Cooper 997cc to attain 103 mph. His consultantcy was dropped with the formation of British Leyland in 1968 and he died in 1974. Downton tuned cars were renowned for combining high performance with flexibility.

Geoffrey Iley was the BMC executive who ordered the cessation of Mini production at Cowley in 1968. BMC had duplicated UK Mini production at both Cowley and Longbridge since 1959. He is now a Towcester town councillor.

In 1968 the ineptly and incompetentently run BMC merged with Leyland Group which comprised Leyland trucks, Rover and Triumph cars to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). In effect it was a takeover of BMC, with Leyland boss Sir Donald Stokes, later Lord Stokes becoming BLMC chairman.

The first pic is a standard PR portrait, the second and third images date from the time the 3 millionth Mini was produced, circa 1972. The colour image dates from 2001. Lord Stokes is still very much alive, now aged 93.





Lord Stokes later claimed BLMC lost £20 on every Mini they produced.

From 1968 to 1973 the rump of the former BMC, now known as BLMC's Austin Morris division was run by ex-Triumph boss George Turnbull. The first pic is a portrait, the second was taken at Cowley in 1971. The third image was taken at Longbridge in June 1969 and the occasion was the production of the 2 millionth Mini, with Alec Issigonis in attendance.
The final pic dates from 1970 and the production of millionth export Mini. The man in the car is Gunnar Eik, head of BLMC Norway.




George Turnbull left BLMC in 1973 after losing out in a boardroom battle. He was soon employed in South Korea where he set up Hyundai. He died in 1992.

A 2000 pic of Roy Haynes, who joined BMC from Ford, where he had styled the Cortina MK2. At BLMC he was responsible for styling the Maxi, Marina and Mini Clubman.

BLMC marketing man Tony Ham launched the Mini Clubman onto an unsuspecting world in 1969.

Harry Webster, ex-Triumph, was Austin Morris technical director from 1968 to 1974. He oversaw the intoduction of the MK3 ADO20 Mini and Clubman and the rod change gearbox.
The colour pic is from 1966, the second from May 1969 and the launch of the original awful Austin Maxi 1500 and the last from May 1971 when the 5 millionth BMC/BLMC FWD car was produced. Also in attendance are George Turnbull and Alec Issigonis.





Harry Webster died in 2007.