Alick Dick Chairman of Standard Motors

Alick Dick Managing Director 1955-1960 and Chairman 1960-1961 of Standard Motors

 

Alick Dick was at Chichester High school for Boys from 1928 to 1933. He was in the same year as my uncle, Harry Murgatroyd, and a close friend of his. The Martlet of December 1933 records that A.S Dick passed his Oxford University Matriculation Certificate with credits in English, History, French, Mathematics, Biology and Geography. He joined the Standard Company in Coventry at the age of eighteen as an apprentice and at the age of 37 he became Managing Director of the company. (There was a close family connection in Alick Dick securing this apprenticeship. John Black, the Chairman of Standard Motors since 1929, was married to the daughter of Mr Hillman of Hillman Motors and it so happened that Alick’s uncle was also married to another of Hillman’s daughters).

The Daily Express at that time wrote the following article in 1960.  In fact, a year later Alick Dick engineered a takeover by British Leyland, thinking that the merger would benefit the company by increased economies of scale. Sadly, he was pensioned off by this new giant and he went off to Volkswagen as their Industrial Relations guru. One can only presume that this blow dampened his ambition since little was heard of him after that.

“The “wonder boy” of Britain’s car industry, Mr Alick Dick, has reached the top job in the Standard – Triumph International Company. For Mr Dick, now managing director, is to become managing director and chairman, says the company’s annual report.

The present chairman, seventy-year old Lord Tedder, who had a serious illness recently, is retiring as chairman, but will stay with the company as president. Mr Dick, 44, is now not only the youngest managing director in any of Britain’s big car making firms . . . he is also the youngest chairman.

He was the “brain” behind the revolutionary and successful Triumph Herald car. The annual report was Lord Tedder’s last job as chairman.  In it, he warns the Government that the car industry may not be able to keep up exports unless restrictions on hire purchase are eased at home. Lord Tedder says competition in all export markets is becoming more intense, and adds: “Unless we can work from a stable and profitable home base, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain or expand our foothold in overseas markets.”