Obituary
Professor Merrick Wentworth Taylor OBE HonFIED (PP)
7 June 1938-14 February 2012
The motor manufacturing industry is in shocked mourning following the passing of one of its brightest Captains of Industry in a tragic road accident, whilst airing one of his favoured classic sports cars.
Born in Birmingham a year before the outbreak of World War II, Merrick’s origins encompassed Irish academics and a family bloodline to the renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton.
His career began when he graduated from Birmingham Technical College with his ONC Mech Eng, the first of a string of honours and doctorates achieved throughout his lifetime, culminating in the national honour of an OBE for services to industry and design.
Whether prompted by the adventurous DNA of his Shackleton bloodline, Merrick was drawn to the glamour and technical challenges of the world of motor sport. It became a lifelong passion and, following a three year student apprenticeship with the Rover Company, he joined the entrepreneurial race car builder Cyril Kieft as a hands-on mechanical engineer. Whilst there, he poured his creative talents into the creation of the early post-war 500cc single seat racing cars. The ‘Kieft 500’ was a revolution in the hands of the legendary Stirling Moss.
After working at Orton & Smith of Willenhall and then Kenham Tools & Pressings in Aston, he joined Motor Panels (Coventry) Limited as PA to the Managing Director, quickly moving on to the position of Technical Director.
He established a design and engineering function that was eventually sold within the international market, demonstrating a world class standard and, at the same time, developing a design for a new ‘Motor Panels Standard Cab’ for truck manufacturers, which was eagerly bought by famed companies such as DENNIS and Ford. As Managing Director, he continued to steer the company into a continuous stream of successes and under his leadership they began winning Design Council and IBCAM design awards.
During this time as a major Coventry employer he donned his community hat and joined forces with Coventry City Council to underwrite the World Motoring Centenary celebrations on the streets of the city and undertook the annual sponsorship of the successful Motor Panels Coventry Shakespeare Run. The funding for the Run remained constant under his enthusiastic support, which he personally entered, driving one of his road registered sports racing cars with much gusto and unconcealed joy. He eventually became Chairman and CEO of the company.
He served on the council of the SMMT, The Design Council, The West Midlands Industrial Development Board, Royal College of Art and many other committees. He was also Governor of Coventry University and De Montfort University.
In 1998, Merrick joined the IED as an Honorary Fellow, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to automotive engineering design. He became President in 2000 and served in that position until 2003, when he was awarded the Founders Award for his services to the work of the Institution.
He was a great supporter of the work of the Institution, being a regular attendee
at meetings during his Presidency and beyond, offering guidance and advice, and progressing a number of issues including the Royal Charter application. He also helped to form the EEA – Engineering Education Alliance – which brought together all engineering institutions with the aim of engaging school children in the delights of engineering. Merrick chaired the EEA for the first few years of its existence, and the group functions to this day, under the auspices of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Merrick’s passion for all things motoring and his business success allowed him to indulge his interest in racing cars and amass an enviable collection of Classic vehicles garaged and worked upon with the fastidiousness that was typical of his nature. His 500cc Kieft and rare Formula Junior Taraschi have regularly been invited to appear at Goodwood in trusted hands and just to hear his glee at achieving a class result was a joy, revealing his continuing childlike enthusiasm for the sport that had spanned his lifetime.
Ironically, he was to lose his life in the cockpit of one of his favourite cars, prompting his wife’s observation, tempering sadness with the words: “He left home to go for a drive and has driven direct to Heaven”. He leaves Gisela, his daughters Annette and Julia, sons-in-law Mark and John, his grandson Thomas and a galaxy of friends and admirers. A memorial dedicated to celebrate the life of Merrick Wentworth Taylor OBE is planned to be staged in June 2012.
Martin Hone
The full obituary can be read in the online edition of Engineering Designer:
www.ied.org.uk
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