Derek Pollock MBE
Tributes paid to a real stalwart of the Triumph scene
Club Triumph President, Derek Pollock MBE, has passed away after a short illness. He was 93. Derek’s love affair with Triumph TRS began when he bought a TR2 in 1954. That then had to be substituted for a Standard Ten prior to the arrival of his daughter and was then itself replaced by a TR3A. Three more daughters and a Standard Vanguard estate followed before the purchase of his beloved TR4 in 1963. He was to ensure that this car was kept constantly maintained, running and on the road until his death, and indeed, thereafter.
It was at around the time that he bought the TR4 that he joined the forerunner to Club Triumph, then duly used the car through the next three decades on a variety of club runs, tours, auto tests and rallies.
During a club visit to the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1966, Derek and his great friend Les Mills wondered whether it might be possible to drive all the way around mainland Britain in one go; not perhaps in 24 hours, but maybe in 48. They drew up a plan and successfully completed the run later that year with a handful of fellow club members in six cars representing the six models then offered by Triumph. Since then the Round Britain Reliability Run, as it is now known, has grown into a much larger event with around 120 crews taking part every two years. In 1990 Derek came up with the idea of raising money for charity by asking crews to gain sponsorship for completing the event.
Derek was regarded by many of those who served the Club alongside him simply as ‘Mr Club Triumph’ for several decades. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the Triumph community.
‘Derek was ‘Mr Club Triumph’ to a huge number of people’