A MERIDEN MINNOW
As if the atrophy itself, combined with catastrophic corporate mismanagement, flawed designs and dubious marketing were not enough to battle with, there was the toxic, and worsening, relationship between workers, management, and unions. The so-called British disease. And if the motor industry appeared to be suffering more than its share, try newspaper publishing, mining and steel production.
However for our purposes, the epicentre of the battle was in the British Midlands – the London-based AMC (AJS, Matchless, Norton, Francis Barnett and James) having already disappeared in 1966, when it was acquired by Manganese Bronze Holdings, a family company whose primary business was manufacturing marine propellers. MBH was owned by Dennis Poore, son of the founder, a successful amateur racing driver, qualified engineer, WW2 Wing Commander, and founder of the venerable British motor sport magazine The new entity was named Norton-Villiers, and its primary aim was to
