Siegfried Bettmann adopted England as his home and created the Triumph Company, and was even elected mayor of Coventry. If he'd never left Germany, would he still have created one of the most famous motorcycle companies of all the past 100 years?

He left Germany at age 22, went to work for White Sewing Machines, and a year later began Triumph Cycles. WW1 proved to be the kick off for success, and by 1918, Triumph was Englands largest motorbike manufacturer.

66 employees of Triumph were KIA in WW1, and Bettman commissioned a memorial for them built in Coventry's London Road cemetery in 1921 

In the 30's the car and motorcycle business suffered from the great depression, and they were bought up by Ariel

https://triumphbicycles.wordpress.com/early-triumph-history/