The Gold-Plated Daimler

Though he is one of Britain's biggest industrialists, Sir Bernard Docker is better known in the sensational penny press than in the financial and society pages, and so is his wife Norah. There have been adoring pictures of Lady Docker playing marbles with factory workers, Lady Docker at a party given by one of London's most notorious criminals (Billy Hill), Lady Docker roguishly dancing the hornpipe for an audience of sheepish miners aboard the Dockers' 878-ton yacht Shemara. Although both are millionaires, the Dockers also made generous use of the expense account and position of Sir Bernard, chairman of the Birmingham Small Arms Co., which produces everything from air rifles to $40,000 Daimler limousines. On the swindle sheet were at least two gold-plated Daimlers--one of them upholstered in six zebra skins and costing $42,000. Owned by Daimler, they were built to Lady Docker's specifications and for her use. Said Lady Docker: "We bring glamour and happiness into drab lives. The working class loves everything I do."

Unfortunately. Sir Bernard's company did not. Last year B.S.A.'s business began falling off: profits before taxes slid to $8,000,000 by year's end as the government's anti-inflationary credit squeeze pinched sales. The worse business got, the less the B.S.A. directors and the insurance companies that hold blocks of B.S.A. stock appreciated the antics and expense accounts of their board chairman and his lady. Last week, in a fiery, three-hour meeting, they unceremoniously fired Sir Bernard not only as chairman and managing director, but even as a director.

Pink Champagne. Next day the Dockers called in the press, poured out pink champagne and their hearts. Sir Bernard's father had helped build the B.S.A. empire; Sir Bernard had been chairman since 1938; and his fortune was founded around the company. Said Sir Bernard, cigar in hand, tears in eyes: "I've been sacked, sacked, sacked. When father left the board, they gave him a gold watch. For me they called a special meeting, and the only subject they discussed was my departure. Damnable." Cried Lady Docker even more tearfully: "It's not the loss of the gold cars that makes me feel like this. And weren't they fun? They were like my children. No, it's that lovely party I was planning for 25,000 B.S.A. workers for my 50th birthday on June 23. A tiptop affair --and now it's all off. How could they do this to him after 17 years? Why, he's such a hard worker that he had a through line to the firm from our yacht.''

Golden Dress. One of the big reasons for the final blowup was one of Lady Docker's dazzling schemes: open a Gold Showroom in Paris featuring one of the gold-plated Daimlers. As the idea grew, so did the expense, until finally Lady Docker simply had to have some gear to go with it: a gold-plated dress, a mink cape and a mink-trimmed hat. The outfit cost $20,-ooo but, said Lady Docker: "Since I was doing nothing more than acting as a model, I decided to charge it against tax." When the tax people objected, Sir Bernard tried to bill B.S.A. B.S.A. also objected, and finally Sir Bernard paid for the rig himself, but the incident rankled the other directors. They brought up other charges:

1) shareholders' complaints were not passed on to the board (Sir Bernard: "I do not remember any complaints");

2) Sir Bernard concealed important figures from the directors (Sir Bernard: "They could always look at the books").

At week's end Sir Bernard visited his lawyer, Sir Hartley Shawcross, onetime Laborite Attorney General, announced: "I am going to fight." But Sir Bernard seems to have little chance: he holds only 100,000 out of 2,815,172 B.S.A. shares, and his newly named successor, slim, shy Millionaire John Sangster, 60, whose Triumph Engineering Co. (motorcycles) merged into B.S.A. in 1951, is well thought of. Meanwhile, Lady Docker tootled off to shop for a Bentley (made by Daimler's only competitor, Rolls-Royce), purred: "Actually, I've always loved Bentleys."

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