Westley’s Appoints Managing Director

Alborough Tregear for Westley Richards
Photograph by Terry Allen

As you might imagine, choosing someone to head up a 200-year-old gun company is not a decision made lightly. So when Westley Richards Managing Director Simon Clode passed away in December, the English gunmaking firm’s owners thought hard about who could take his place at the helm. The person who got the nod was Anthony Alborough-Tregear.

Those familiar with Westley Richards should not be surprised. Alborough-Tregear—or “Trigger” as he is appropriately known—has worked with the firm for 15 years, having been hired by Clode right out of college. He did take a break to work for E.J. Churchill for seven-plus years, but then he returned to Westley’s as gunroom manager and most recently served as operations director.

Trigger understandably has mixed feelings about his new position—sad that he attained it due to Clode’s passing but excited for the chance to take the company to new heights. “Simon had excellent taste and did a great job growing the brand,” he said. “And we are going to build on that by focusing on the superb quality of our guns and maintaining standards.”

He also looks forward to ushering in a new ethos at the company. “We have the best gunmaking facility in the world, and we have a young team that is keen and enthusiastic. We are excited to discuss things and want to become known as an approachable company. We don’t want to scare people off with our ‘Britishness.’”

Plans include expanding Westley’s offerings, such as adding a line of tweed clothing along with new leather goods and accoutrements. “We are working on a new website as well,” Trigger said. “And I want to grow the Explora blog, building it up with more in-depth articles. I think the blog is key for the industry, as it engages people and helps generate interest.”

Speaking about himself and Duke “L.D.” McCaa, who heads up Westley Richards’ US agency, in Florida, Trigger said: “I want people to understand that this is not just a nine-to-five job for us. We live it. We’ve done everything from big-game hunting to driven shooting to wildfowling, so we can speak to it. When someone asks me about a double rifle, I have stared down an elephant.”

He continued: “We want to be at the forefront of everything. We want to inspire people. We have a 200-year history, and we want to be around for another 100 years.”

Fans of Westley Richards will find it reassuring that the company is in good hands.

For more information, contact Westley Richards Agency, 850-677-3688. 


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