George Henry Roesch (c1891-1969) aka Georges Henri Roesch
b: April 15, 1891, Geneva, Switzerland
1914 Came to England and joined Daimler
1916 Chief Engineer Clement-Talbot and later designed the Talbot 14/35
WWII Joined Power Jets
1959 Chief Engineer, Industrial Gas Turbines, Ministry of Supply.
1970 Obituary [1]
Mr George Roesch, (Member), one of the most original and interesting figures in the world of motorcar design in the 1920s, died in November at the age of 78.
After working his way through the French motor industry, he came to England in 1914 and two years later joined Clement Talbot Ltd as Chief Engineer. His genius had to wait until 1925 before it received public acknowledgement. A return to first principles in his design for the Talbot had produced an efficient and profitable engine with a compression ratio of 10:1 and speeds of 5000 rev/min. After gaining such a commanding lead with his engine, he turned to the chassis; in 1932 the transmission was semi-automatic and in 1934 all-independent suspension was under construction and the new Talbot had a backbone frame.
However, while he was a genius as a designer, he could also be extremely difficult as a colleague or as a casual acquaintance. His qualities as a perfectionist made him something of a tyrant and he could often seem devious and perverse. Yet his close friends knew him as a generous host and a very pleasant companion. In his later years he felt that he had been forgotten and yet he was undoubtedly the father of the modern production car. The automobile industry owes him a great deal, and his genius will be greatly missed.