It's

This is the worldwide club for all owners and enthusiasts of Standard Cars

"Dedicated to the preservation of Standard Cars 1903-1963"

A delighted David Eley with Club Chairman Peter Lockley and certificate.

Honorary Life Membership is only awarded infrequently and then only to members who have made a significant contribution to the life of the Standard Motor Company or the Standard Motor Club. It was a great honour to us in that David Eley accepted our offer of Honorary Membership. The award was made at the recent West Midlands lunch. Rarely can there have been a more deserving recipient.

David started at "the Standard" as an apprentice in 1934, the same year that Sir John Black became Chairman. A skilled and talented engineer, he rose through the engineering hierarchy, to become chief of Engine Design. He lead the team that designed the "SC", code name for the ohv Small Car engine that first, at 803cc, went into the Standard 8 of 1953. The team, under David's guidance successively developed the engine, first to 948cc, for the Standard 10, Pennant and Herald, then onwards and upwards until its final application in the Spitfire 1500, ending in 1982. Along the way he was responsible, amongst many other things, for the six-cylinder variant as used in the Vanguard 6 and Triumph GT6.. David retired in 1982 after an astonishing 48 years service to the Standard Motor Company and its successors.

Its now more than 20 years further on and we are pleased that David is taking an active part in Club life and he seems to be turning up regularly at our events. He presented a long line of prizes at last year's International Rally. The photograph below shows him presenting one of those awards.

Congratulations, David, thousands of Standard and Triumph owners the world over owe you a debt of gratitude. We hope that our small gesture goes just a little way towards repaying you.

David Eley presents a prize to the owner of a a prewar Flying 8 Tourer at the Standard International Rally - are  you watching, Pat Ging?

David Eley's contribution to Engineering at the Standard Motor Company is presently being serialised in articles in "Triumph World", available from all good Newsagents.

Report and photographs by the Webmaster