Blogs

2 new vlogs - Forest of Dean tour plus Gus and the Stag

27/2/2022

We just published two great new videos for you to enjoy on our YouTube channel:

"A cold frosty morning in the Forest of Dean" is an early taste of the group touring section's winter tour to celebrate Gar's birthday and features the man himself introducing the runners and riders for the weekend's tour
"In the workshop - Stag V8 engine test Pt 2" features Gus and Tosh nearing completion of their full body restoration and engine rebuild on a lovely 70s Triumph Stag. The choice of body colour may be controversial, but we love it!

Enjoy the videos - and please remember to like, comment and subscribe as it really helps us out and is always appreciated by all those involved in making these videos for you.

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The Lemmon Trust Museum in New Zealand

21/2/2022

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Written by Paul Sweeney.

A Ford Prefect (L) and a Humber Imperial on display at the Lemmon Trust Museum

Last weekend I went with my Kiwi mate Clynt to visit a local museum he'd heard about from his connections in the Vintage Car Club. It's owned by a family trust belonging to the Lemmon family and is almost ready to open to the public - but is currently on hold while the authorities ponder the fire and safety regulation hurdles the museum may need to jump.

However, a quick phone call to Adrian Lemmon gave me the opportunity to tell him about our club and to ask if we could visit and film the collection for our YouTube channel. Adrian readily agreed and a short while later, my partner Billy and I went along with Clynt to take a look around.

The Lemmon Trust Museum contains not just a range of memorabilia and farm equipment from the past, but some fabulous classic and vintage cars and motorcycles. The cars are all British or American. Names such as Bean, Rolls-Royce, Humber, Ford, Napier, Dodge and Studebaker adorn the grille badges.

The collection includes a wonderful 1910 Austin, a Studebaker that once belonged to prominent Napier businessman Gerhard Husheer and a 1950s Humber Imperial that was used during the Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1953 then sold to the Lemmon family once the tour was over. It arrived complete with its set of Royal pennants tucked into the door pockets.

The cars were collected by Adrian's father and grandfather so this is very much a personal collection. Adrian told us that all of the cars are still in working order and could be driven again given a service and some fresh fuel.

I hope you enjoy the little video I made from our visit.

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Herbert Austin's Office

18/2/2022

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Group member and one-time official Longbridge Site Historian Anthony Osborne presents a virtual guided tour of Lord Austin's historic office at Longbridge.

Herbert Austin at his desk

This short film starring Anthony was made by the MG Rover Group in 2002. Known by the workforce as "The Old Man's Office", it was the place where many of Austin’s most important decisions were made. The office was preserved after Austin’s death, although not in its original position on the Longbridge site. In this revised location the Office was not accessible to the public due to operational requirements at the plant and the long term viability of the location could not be guaranteed.

The office has now been dismantled and transferred to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon where it will be displayed to the many thousands of people who make a visit to Gaydon each year. Over the past months the Museum's curatorial team have been carefully cataloguing and recording the objects, fixtures and fittings from the office, before overseeing their painstaking removal and packaging, in preparation for the journey to the Museum.

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2 new vlogs - Forest of Dean tour plus Gus and the Stag

The Lemmon Trust Museum in New Zealand

Herbert Austin's Office