Jack Pickard RIP
TVR's first employee dies aged 83
John (Jack) Pickard, one of the key figures in the early days of the development of TVR, sadly passed away in Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital on 27th November 2003, aged 83.
Jack was Trevor Wilkinson’s first employee in 1947, when the earlier Trevcar Motors became TVR Engineering. He worked alongside Trevor at the company’s original former wheelwright shop in Beverley Grove on all of the early TVRs.
When the company moved to new premises at the Hoo Hill works in February 1956, he became shop foreman where he stayed until company bankruptcy in late 1962. Jack rejoined TVR under Martin Lilley’s ownership in the mid 1970s working firstly in the Development/Crash Repair shed before moving on to become the Body Shop Foreman, finally leaving the company in the early 1980s. During this time he was instrumental in the various changes – including the development of the 3000S – that were made to the M Series.
Jack was a perfectionist who trained many of the young workforce to take a pride in their work, to weigh up any job looking at all angles before commencing work and, above all, never to rush in.
He stayed extremely enthusiastic about TVR up to the end and indeed only two weeks before his death was presented with a copy of the Mike Mooney book, The Griffith Years, by TVR Car Club Blackpool Regional Organiser and current TVR employee, John Mleczek (who had been trained by Jack and whose father, Jozef, had also worked alongside Jack and Trevor at TVR).
He was particularly interested in TVR No 2, the oldest TVR in existence but also in the current crop of supercars produced by the Factory and remained in close contact with many of the long serving members of staff.
His funeral took place at All Hallows Church in Bispham on Friday 5th December 2003. He will be sadly missed and our thoughts go out to his wife Mary, children John and Ruth and grandchildren Amy and David.
Jack Pickard (right) with Trevor Wilkinson (left) reunited at Beverley Grove
in 1997 at the TVR Golden Anniversary celebrations
organised by the TVR Car Club.
Photo © John Mleczek, TVR Car Club
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