Britain: The Noble Mechanic

Though he climbed from ordinary mechanic to wealthy viscount, William Richard Morris never forgot his first skill. He built Morris Motors into Britain's biggest automaker, but until three years ago drove a 1939 Wolseley Eight with 215,000 miles on its speedometer —and replaced the parts himself when the Wolseley staggered. The human engine is less easy to repair. Last week at 85, weakened by four operations and a heart condition, William Richard Morris, the Viscount Nuffield, died.

Working for Billy. Along Fleet Street, he inevitably was dubbed Britain's Henry Ford—and the careers of the two in many ways ran parallel....