Arthur can still remember the day that Doug Hele got the news that it would be factory policy to race Triples at Daytona. At that time, at the end of the 1969 season, Arthur Jakeman was already one of Meriden's most experienced race mechanics. He had worked under Doug Hele on twins prepared for Daytona, and when Percy Tait campaigned a 500 on British and European circuits, Arthur and his Experimental Department colleague, Jack Shemans, were his regular mechanics. All three made their weekend expeditions on an unofficial basis, in unpaid free time.

Arthur joined Triumph at sixteen, working in the Service Department for two years before doing his compulsory national service from 1948 to 1950. Returning to Meriden, he was employed on road machine production, assembling Triumph sprung-hub assemblies, and then telescopic forks, until his wish to be transferred to Experimental was eventually granted in 1964.

Heavily involved in the official 1970 campaign, the hours were long and irregular and Arthur was one of the core of technicians who assembled the team Triples, his speciality being cycle parts preparation and fabrications. He became Ray Pickrell's spanner man for a string of successes in 1971 and 1972.

Don & John           
Woodward