I thought they were leaf springs?
Carl, John's referring to the front suspension bit (see attached at the end).
While the rear uses a leafspring, the front's a double 'wishbone' type suspension with a coilover shock arrangement (a MacPherson strut design on those Triumphs) like this...
The coils provide the main suspension at the front, the leaf spring at the rear, while the shocks all round do as they are named, attempting to smooth out the minor but violent bumps and keep the wheels in contact with the road surface and thus maintain grip.
This is quite a good page explaining the assorted suspension types over the years.
