tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71278046667776182402024-03-13T14:15:19.440+00:00British Motor Museum Volunteers' BlogBMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-9338651139593469542023-12-21T14:16:00.000+00:002023-12-21T14:16:25.093+00:00Volunteers Outing to Bletchley Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWX6do1Boox_E49AaSsozIXtP8hap4o_K7LOpV2CLR2trKj2lYbtZA5vP7w1WVwAl9cIbtYeepqdmbS5alOwuGHMN5Nbx3uLJXkPs3nKurW_-bbTAZ3P-Atoc-32CJX1tdhonxbsc7Gksl-4Lny6mimz3Y3E-wFnM4gRxDbt-DJ-UZBYpIu5B4rbhdDY/s1276/Bletchley%20Park%20Tour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1276" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWX6do1Boox_E49AaSsozIXtP8hap4o_K7LOpV2CLR2trKj2lYbtZA5vP7w1WVwAl9cIbtYeepqdmbS5alOwuGHMN5Nbx3uLJXkPs3nKurW_-bbTAZ3P-Atoc-32CJX1tdhonxbsc7Gksl-4Lny6mimz3Y3E-wFnM4gRxDbt-DJ-UZBYpIu5B4rbhdDY/w413-h278/Bletchley%20Park%20Tour.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><p>Volunteering at the British Motor Museum offers many highlights throughout the year, whether it's new and exciting vehicles being added to the collection, new projects and activities, or engaging with the many interesting people who come to visit the Museum’s extensive collection of historic British cars.</p><p>Another highlight, that comes every year is the Volunteers' "annual outing". This often involves a trip to another museum, such as the new Silverstone Museum last year and Brooklands the year before that. We’ve also been fortunate to view the London Transport Museum Reserve Collection and the Jaguar Land Rover Classic workshops near Coventry. </p><p>Most years, our outings are related to vehicles or transportation, but this year, the Museum had arranged something rather different for us – a visit to Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes. So, on 13 September, nearly 50 volunteers boarded the coach at the Museum for the 45-mile trip to Bletchley. A great benefit of the Museum's location, right on junction 12 of the M40, is that we can easily get to most places. Upon our arrival at the Visitor Centre, we were greeted with tea, coffee and biscuits, plus a brief overview of the museum’s large layout and attractions. We also split up into two groups for an hour-long guided tour.</p><p>Bletchley became the principal centre of Allied codebreaking during WWII. It housed the Government Code and Cypher School, which regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers. The most important and well-known were the German Enigma and Lorenz cyphers, decoded by people like Alan Turing.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIGDnJvIB7PCypiZIkhUqVgy3PwvFrVGuijN_xX1mBdnb0zm6fYKnQFGS3LBVO6pqClBnl7DA6TzxL4f1GmxgsFtADgmiRJa5NULaMXatGm-w4PwSl_34-yYEgZXOCbl341I5ccQ4h4jRPVnk-V4GdQqIUQUXhVYRVXA019PM0zAKCFU4IjQ4kYyG3Fg/s1154/Bletchley%20Park%20Main%20Office.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1154" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIGDnJvIB7PCypiZIkhUqVgy3PwvFrVGuijN_xX1mBdnb0zm6fYKnQFGS3LBVO6pqClBnl7DA6TzxL4f1GmxgsFtADgmiRJa5NULaMXatGm-w4PwSl_34-yYEgZXOCbl341I5ccQ4h4jRPVnk-V4GdQqIUQUXhVYRVXA019PM0zAKCFU4IjQ4kYyG3Fg/s320/Bletchley%20Park%20Main%20Office.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main office at Bletchley Park</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In addition to our guided tour, a great audio tour was available to fully explain how the whole site at Bletchley was run during the war in great secrecy. At its peak, nearly 10,000 people, three-quarters of whom were women, worked at Bletchley and its outstations. This is reflected in the large number of buildings on site, referred to mainly as huts or blocks, with the centrepiece being The Mansion (the main headquarters), built in 1883.</p><p>Finally, for those interested, the garages and stables that adjoined the Mansion contained several fascinating wartime vehicles. The day was another excellent outing, for which we volunteers must thank the British Motor Museum and our coordinator Hannah Leese for organising.</p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-52522441501102705482023-03-27T12:50:00.001+01:002023-03-27T14:53:31.562+01:00Volunteer Update and News - March 2023<p>Our last blog was dedicated to Sonja <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Dosanjh,
who retired as</span> our Volunteer Coordinator after a 17-year association
with the Museum. So, we’ll start this one by welcoming our new Coordinator,
Hannah Leese, who takes over the mantle of looking after the 92 strong
volunteer work force. Hannah, a native of Devon, studied Film & TV
production at university and has been working at the Museum since 2016. She
started in the Marketing Department, but then in 2019 took on the role of HR Coordinator,
which now encompasses this additional role.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the end of last year, 18 volunteers received their 10-year
service awards from Museum MD Jeff Coope. All were from the initial intake of
30 volunteers, recruited during the summer of 2012. As explained in our last
blog, vehicle inspection and recording data were the first tasks undertaken,
before the new Collections Centre came on stream.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsBBk2rryY7etQHBb3MCjJyo24wLOXM0aIW1ZMTnRyHrby380u5n1BdcxOZmF75_aqVhlGzMOIplpPB3q6jePx9bOqztsnt-zmzkuYC3CjzwyIyfThGP_Aiib1e_rb00p2OUddzp_E07k6cA-6IJcwFFvV0TjJevfR_5ORVl5TGEAcmnSGbDrm5tq/s3321/20230310_112137.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1727" data-original-width="3321" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsBBk2rryY7etQHBb3MCjJyo24wLOXM0aIW1ZMTnRyHrby380u5n1BdcxOZmF75_aqVhlGzMOIplpPB3q6jePx9bOqztsnt-zmzkuYC3CjzwyIyfThGP_Aiib1e_rb00p2OUddzp_E07k6cA-6IJcwFFvV0TjJevfR_5ORVl5TGEAcmnSGbDrm5tq/w400-h208/20230310_112137.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">However, since then volunteer numbers have significantly
increased, as have the numerous tasks we now undertake, both inside and outside
the Museum. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bulk of the volunteer force is still very much involved
with guiding and tours. Whilst this was originally just focused on the
Collections Centre, as the Museum expands, we are now assisting with guiding in the main building as well. We’re also getting involved in the many
special events, such as quiz nights, car gatherings and shows that the Museum
regularly puts on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Four volunteers are still involved in vehicle data collection
and recording, as the Museum collection constantly grows with new acquisitions.
A more recent sizeable acquisition was the transfer of around 50 vehicles from
Vauxhall Motor’s vehicle collection, which now reside at the Museum.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A small team of volunteers continue with various restoration
projects, the most recent one being the refurbishment of the large
collection of display engines the Museum had in store. Their current project is
the part restoration of a 1936 Rover Speed 14 - pictured below with doors
removed.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdl__WInz6A8jmrMOJVFUlz9TGeoWqer8UFhycY_DK_eO4bjAaoONRsRnevaZTl1tFmLgfoHeTv2rrUHVeMkZRUjlqB2kFbSMF59bPEOf5I1EWeesFrLFdQndt0EcPHFJZZLJwCUHLAmiLJi9ykQSimVeCv3RR3rEFwQSbHC_bMcph5GP1xFACL0P/s4608/20230301_150207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdl__WInz6A8jmrMOJVFUlz9TGeoWqer8UFhycY_DK_eO4bjAaoONRsRnevaZTl1tFmLgfoHeTv2rrUHVeMkZRUjlqB2kFbSMF59bPEOf5I1EWeesFrLFdQndt0EcPHFJZZLJwCUHLAmiLJi9ykQSimVeCv3RR3rEFwQSbHC_bMcph5GP1xFACL0P/s320/20230301_150207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQaJj58hKl691PqNiVq2omB3UtgSKk-m64FvKGZ-Q3Kr8ZiAhNtIpUQhvy-4lFQKoFm5mu7QfYxqNRCgi4a4h3XK4Dn33Zf8VOJuG2lI7x2B35CUjBKQBw6RQOux6GWvysye1fXszXZfIUpwl_Vtb4pc-XSlTgf5k2B9RO6btTTc9QyRgxc9L7YUQ/s4608/20230306_153849.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQaJj58hKl691PqNiVq2omB3UtgSKk-m64FvKGZ-Q3Kr8ZiAhNtIpUQhvy-4lFQKoFm5mu7QfYxqNRCgi4a4h3XK4Dn33Zf8VOJuG2lI7x2B35CUjBKQBw6RQOux6GWvysye1fXszXZfIUpwl_Vtb4pc-XSlTgf5k2B9RO6btTTc9QyRgxc9L7YUQ/s320/20230306_153849.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Refurbish projects –
the 1936 Rover and numerous display engines</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Museum’s archive section has always had a volunteer
presence and the number has increased to around eight over the last few years.
Recent additions to the archive collection have come from both Lucas and
Vauxhall, which all need sorting and collating. It’s an interesting fact, that
hardly a week goes by without someone donating something from the motor
industry’s past, all of which need attention.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recording history, literally has been largely the task
volunteer, Vince Hall. Oral history is an important and always interesting part
of the Museum’s mission. Vince interviews people involved in the motor
industry, both past and present, many of them his fellow volunteers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whilst the above activities have largely been in place since
the beginning, it’s the creation of what is known as the Outreach Team that has
generated many of the new projects over the last couple of years. Led by Emma
Rawlinson of the Learning and Engagement Team, approximately 25 volunteers are
now actively involved.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the first projects was going out into the community,
visiting care homes, dementia cafes, health and well-being groups and schools,
with a large collection of motoring memorabilia. This has recently expanded
during the cold spell and current economic climate, with Warm Hub centre
visits, which have sprung up in the area. Not only have these been a success
and a great stimulator, but they have also helped in promoting the Museum and
its mission to serve the community. Some of the groups mentioned, particularly
schools, also make visits to the Museum and again the volunteers assist with
the tours and object handling.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA0rk4Aj2wpTn27szDdV0-tn6UAHPtkcSK5RU31HUofoSYJRrs87wpxSzuBg4izuhjcOEozqUK3sBJrKWCD-ihZAImXw4-9aAsj8MPjREsnzcWeEuXBapU02UynpP2zH2jaeqiDuwX5YZLJjI1pCeTjbjWxsxZE6p75Lijj-DwqqmWS3melkSH07R/s4393/20230119_120820%5B1%5D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2706" data-original-width="4393" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA0rk4Aj2wpTn27szDdV0-tn6UAHPtkcSK5RU31HUofoSYJRrs87wpxSzuBg4izuhjcOEozqUK3sBJrKWCD-ihZAImXw4-9aAsj8MPjREsnzcWeEuXBapU02UynpP2zH2jaeqiDuwX5YZLJjI1pCeTjbjWxsxZE6p75Lijj-DwqqmWS3melkSH07R/w400-h246/20230119_120820%5B1%5D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volunteers at their
first Warm Hub visit</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The Museum was an early contributor to the STEM project,
which has now grown into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and
Maths). Recent projects have included helping nearby MOD Kineton with a series
of learning sessions, whilst six volunteers are currently preparing and
distributing STEAM bags as part of the Community Pantry project.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Finally, we have around 18 volunteers, who over the last
couple of years have been preparing and are now delivering talks on various as
aspects of motoring history related to the Museum. 7 talks have now been
completed and approved. They are: Wizardry on Wheels – The Mini; The Most
Beautiful Car in the World – The E-Type Jaguar; From Farm to Front Line – The
Land Rover; History of the British Sports Car; Evolution of the British Motor
Industry; The Car’s the Star and The Crown and the Car. All run for around 45
minutes, with over 60 relevant and interesting slides for most talks. All talks
can now be booked, for delivery at an outside venue, or at the Museum. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">It is hoped most, if not all the talks, will be delivered
during the Museum’s 30<sup>th</sup> Anniversary week - 14<sup>th</sup> to 20<sup>th</sup>
August. More news on that will follow, but one thing is sure, the volunteers
will be playing a big part during the week.<o:p style="font-size: 11pt;"></o:p></p><br /></span></div>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-10089233435878329072022-12-06T14:01:00.002+00:002022-12-06T14:29:38.519+00:00Thank you and a happy retirement Sonja<span style="font-family: verdana;">As the year comes to an end, the volunteer team at the Museum is marking two significant milestones: the tenth anniversary of the start of the volunteer programme, and sadly, the
retirement of our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Sonja Dosanjh. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This blog is all about Sonja, whose retirement concludes a 17-year association with the Museum. It all started in 2005 and for the first five years she did part time casual work in the shop, the pay desk, and as an educational assistant. She was also running her own dog walking business at the time.
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdI1p7CqMRjKbcSLzx1wDNIvGuYnqfRJJ8FhvstGNsaK3KABfhD-fODoJQfUfXj_MPoqWRs_phbmVJ25XletvhECLdbrwOXFyRIw7dKZh-LstScvxegNPiUjjcHhqtJfGyi1ShphAH7TzOdglsJLZm-Hj7mcOdOFrza7Vd0Eo5O8iaxsKg81YUQqN/s1236/DSC04717.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdI1p7CqMRjKbcSLzx1wDNIvGuYnqfRJJ8FhvstGNsaK3KABfhD-fODoJQfUfXj_MPoqWRs_phbmVJ25XletvhECLdbrwOXFyRIw7dKZh-LstScvxegNPiUjjcHhqtJfGyi1ShphAH7TzOdglsJLZm-Hj7mcOdOFrza7Vd0Eo5O8iaxsKg81YUQqN/s320/DSC04717.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Sonja’s previous and successful career was working in backstage managerial roles in the world of theatre. In 1972 she was Assistant Stage Manager with The Cambridge Theatre Company, followed by stage management roles at The Belgrave Theatre and The Oxford Playhouse. She had a short stint at BBC Drama. In 1982 she became Company Manager at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon, a role that lasted for 20 years. Her career has seen her rub shoulders with some of this country’s leading actors: Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Judi Dench, to name a few. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Towards the end of 2011 the Museum’s plan to build a new Collections Centre was well underway and this included the recruitment of a team of volunteers to help run it. A volunteer co-ordinator was required and the right person, at the right time, was already working casually at the Museum! Sonja applied and was awarded the position in January 2012. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Her first tasks were installing risk assessments, policy and procedures, as well as setting up a recruitment programme. In March 2012, the Museum took a small stand at the Classic Car Club Expo and recruited MG aficionado Brian Rainbow as its first volunteer. Other recruiting initiatives were undertaken and interviews with Sonja and the curator started in the July. An initial group of 30 volunteers was assembled by September, with its first task being to survey the Museum’s 250-plus reserve collection of vehicles. The Collections Centre was completed in November 2015, with the official opening in February 2016. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since then, a lot has happened and Sonja has been at the forefront of it all. We currently number 94 volunteers, all recruited, interviewed and managed by Sonja. We carry out many different roles throughout the Museum, working as Museum & Collection Centre Guides and supporting areas including oral history, archives, family & lifelong learning, restoration and vehicle data collection. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of our activities have been managed quietly and efficiently by Sonja, who works part-time on a flexible 3-day week as needs arise. Her main priorities have been creating and juggling monthly rotas, arranging private tours, administering expenses and logging our hours. In addition, Sonja has been instrumental in nominating the volunteers for annual awards at various local and national museum and heritage award schemes. Thanks to her efforts, we’ve been shortlisted for quite a few and in 2017, Vince Hall won an award at the West Midlands Volunteer Awards, for his oral history work. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Museum continues to be very generous in its support of the volunteers and this extends to providing an annual day out. Again, Sonja plays a big part, having arranged trips for us to the Land Rover factory at Solihull, Brooklands Museum, London Transport Museum and Bicester Heritage.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMN_-3o3WZR7uLCD2TYuac9mC5YlUDoQEbea4EUCABQSnm4okUCA8AtSBnhp-96m9IysduBN5MKUGw93AfBBU4FNiiSNhG6fUxbS0R6X4sXVF61t3vSHizVyUzbG4itsfOHlJ1iGkPBItN_U6QK_L9p1BL2Ked8E_gpclUNLmMsKa1Nn3nGg5KEGO/s3928/IMG_2524.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1946" data-original-width="3928" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMN_-3o3WZR7uLCD2TYuac9mC5YlUDoQEbea4EUCABQSnm4okUCA8AtSBnhp-96m9IysduBN5MKUGw93AfBBU4FNiiSNhG6fUxbS0R6X4sXVF61t3vSHizVyUzbG4itsfOHlJ1iGkPBItN_U6QK_L9p1BL2Ked8E_gpclUNLmMsKa1Nn3nGg5KEGO/w400-h199/IMG_2524.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">The last annual day out organised by Sonja – November’s trip to Silverstone <span style="text-align: left;">Interactive Museum.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">When asked what she’ll miss when she retires, the answer is very definitely all the friendships she’s made among the growing volunteer force. She always tries to meet the day’s volunteers for a morning coffee before they start and this will leave a big hole in her morning routine. She says she enjoys the many fascinating stories that emanate from volunteers past careers. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The other question we’d all like to ask is, what will she do following retirement? As we expected, Sonja already has plans: she’s going to do some volunteering! She is exploring opportunities with The Heart of England Trust, The Canal and River Trust and the local mobile library. Also - and we volunteers may be able to help here - she’s on the lookout for a small reasonably priced camper van. She loves independent travelling and exploring. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">We’re all going to miss you Sonja and must thank you for all the behind-the-scenes work you do to make volunteering such a pleasurable experience at the Museum. We’re sure you’ll be allowed the odd free pass to pop in and see some of us occasionally, for morning coffee, in the future. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span><b style="text-align: left;"></b><span style="text-align: left;">A big thank you, on behalf of all the volunteers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">BY ROGER GOLLICKER, VOLUNTEER</span></div></span></div>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-11261773873756284892022-08-17T09:00:00.001+01:002022-08-17T09:00:00.199+01:00Life in Cars<p>‘Life in cars’ is an inter-generational project which will help the Museum create connections with local communities and for them to engage with each other. This involves telling life stories with cars, through art.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LXoshi6eKa7uKk2LD8QBFrKFrcaBVU3zVeg-02TrlunSVNgwfbSHpHLp3uh7iMqpoj170MmxM2gp-sJBVQuIvnoiRCebSozKusIEgMuZv8ci5q7s0DfxcY4C0ITi0HYDtIKMa72QVcfZ1DOF3xUUS4oSKrStTqXWsdzNVfG8rGTsX0fXBZ-KG05z/s3024/Life-in-cars-clay-modeling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3024" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LXoshi6eKa7uKk2LD8QBFrKFrcaBVU3zVeg-02TrlunSVNgwfbSHpHLp3uh7iMqpoj170MmxM2gp-sJBVQuIvnoiRCebSozKusIEgMuZv8ci5q7s0DfxcY4C0ITi0HYDtIKMa72QVcfZ1DOF3xUUS4oSKrStTqXWsdzNVfG8rGTsX0fXBZ-KG05z/s320/Life-in-cars-clay-modeling.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volunteers clay modelling cars with the elders</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />The Museum chose to connect with two communities, one a group of young people with autism, learning disabilities and people with other differences. They all enjoy art and creativity. The second group are the ‘Elders’ a mix of two communities, one from an African-Caribbean Dominoes group and the other, an isolation and loneliness group in an inner city. All the Elders have a story or two to tell us about life and cars!<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseVoueYN2nrKDxQUZlTIJAiMzCAFwNm--hOl2rLDRrcbQBH8ohq6w1nhL5Z_YXD8Qw9Zo21bngnu8sL450BuQPfvPVcGxHLe9Zz1nR8PrbJHfv1t8Wc8XI8X10NCyEKardOXkVAmdUFBE59FkrrgtT21KWYTvD4V7-7ePNydFKzRPPUdcw12h1iKC/s1080/Life-in-Cars-elders-crafting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseVoueYN2nrKDxQUZlTIJAiMzCAFwNm--hOl2rLDRrcbQBH8ohq6w1nhL5Z_YXD8Qw9Zo21bngnu8sL450BuQPfvPVcGxHLe9Zz1nR8PrbJHfv1t8Wc8XI8X10NCyEKardOXkVAmdUFBE59FkrrgtT21KWYTvD4V7-7ePNydFKzRPPUdcw12h1iKC/w320-h240/Life-in-Cars-elders-crafting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">African-Caribbean Dominoes group crafting</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A team of our Volunteers have been working alongside the Museum's Life Long Learning team to collect and record stories from the Elders, for the young people to create artwork from in various mediums such as storyboarding, hand printing and ceramics.</p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2KSIXXr0Gsth6takJ7wf-lEHcsCr5HcrEALgLUu4WMRNB3wg2fe7EEspMd35QnZQa4cJEGYPEazvOejZbC0l18PHhc93ERJSfiLSvEo2yC-ETNLRgBPBF80ofPQeWAIRzKCKSMRcphhGqSnkIqM6VnFLxIvxlEbWarb8apJi8Et-_m8fhhakcIgd/s1080/Life-in-Cars-artwork-on-a-table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2KSIXXr0Gsth6takJ7wf-lEHcsCr5HcrEALgLUu4WMRNB3wg2fe7EEspMd35QnZQa4cJEGYPEazvOejZbC0l18PHhc93ERJSfiLSvEo2yC-ETNLRgBPBF80ofPQeWAIRzKCKSMRcphhGqSnkIqM6VnFLxIvxlEbWarb8apJi8Et-_m8fhhakcIgd/s320/Life-in-Cars-artwork-on-a-table.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Admiring the lino cut artworks</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>The finale will be an exhibition of this journey and work, to the general public which will open in late August 2022. The Exhibition will be a body of work encompassing the story of stories that have been embraced by the young people as artists.</p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-15840769786150332482022-07-20T12:59:00.005+01:002022-07-20T13:16:42.312+01:00Meet our Volunteer Co-Ordinator<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I’m Sonja Dosanjh and my role as Volunteer Co-ordinator involves overseeing all aspects of volunteering for the British Motor Museum. I work three days a week. I work with my colleagues across the Museum to identify Volunteer projects and to help turn them in to reality, writing role profiles (job descriptions), leading to advertising opportunities and following through with the selection and induction process.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zwdPqfqeQ-4k9UYbCfR68tuHWob0D81YC_DY3ofrcoEFuXy_sfeER0AyYn2yea3wBT25iD8oXU_XqqDn-xRe9VVj1OeOivc2YcBfeMfUqDRo18fQZk8vv6YjRiE7tbBHy8NVXQGh8BiEb8UQJOdtz7P0sZfsRavBsfH_c-lUBPz-7ATCpr1btvn4/s2592/Coronation%20Festival%2012%20July%20-13.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zwdPqfqeQ-4k9UYbCfR68tuHWob0D81YC_DY3ofrcoEFuXy_sfeER0AyYn2yea3wBT25iD8oXU_XqqDn-xRe9VVj1OeOivc2YcBfeMfUqDRo18fQZk8vv6YjRiE7tbBHy8NVXQGh8BiEb8UQJOdtz7P0sZfsRavBsfH_c-lUBPz-7ATCpr1btvn4/w320-h240/Coronation%20Festival%2012%20July%20-13.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sonja Dosanjh on the right</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each month I produce a rota, which informs our Volunteers and the organisation of who’s doing what and where, over a seven day opening. Allocating guides for public and private tours, arranging Volunteers for special events, on and off site, making sure everyone has the correct uniform and name badge, being a listening ear and providing the always essential cake, are all in a day’s work.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are risk assessments, procedures and policies to keep track of and application forms to absorb and act on. I record Volunteer hours and prepare an expenses spreadsheet each month. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">National Volunteers Week occurs in early June each year, giving us the opportunity to publicly thank our team. This year some short videos were made of Volunteers talking about and showing the projects they are involved with. You can watch these on our YouTube channel.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeBW5wvnu9UDeSnGr44iPzg1H9Wcpsu-063tKB1qLKVXH0-lq6J4IbxzzaG27VckaNKWAdKfklDYmJ9LLJEUVA0_D6IwRw4isiKUm37uaEoSMw_0eC6hf_FYxqLPCu93FXkXPeeZh-JcNFWwlBgnvTMq7vpn794jBKsjd5YQezDBBOx2BGKS9GeFJ/s2592/6%202014%20July%20Summer%20Outing%20Acton%20Depot.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="2014 Volunteers visit to the London" border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeBW5wvnu9UDeSnGr44iPzg1H9Wcpsu-063tKB1qLKVXH0-lq6J4IbxzzaG27VckaNKWAdKfklDYmJ9LLJEUVA0_D6IwRw4isiKUm37uaEoSMw_0eC6hf_FYxqLPCu93FXkXPeeZh-JcNFWwlBgnvTMq7vpn794jBKsjd5YQezDBBOx2BGKS9GeFJ/w320-h240/6%202014%20July%20Summer%20Outing%20Acton%20Depot.JPG" title="2014 Volunteers visit to the London" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;">2014 Volunteers visit to the London </span><span style="text-align: left;">Tran</span><span style="text-align: left;">sport Museum Store</span><span style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each year I organise a Volunteers’ ‘annual outing’ to see how other places do it. We’ve had a bit of a gap with Covid but it’s returning this year, with a trip to the SS Great Britain in Bristol. Previous trips have included visits to Brooklands, London Transport Museum Stores in Acton and Birmingham Museum Stores.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjjDwEy3MetFg6TNq5LGK3eotGieFNrNOZZCwiLT9f9YdrmnYyWKIHDRUlMUwtZ3txSV8SS1SSYqz6t04MUS2Q5vUTHF7cebFcUyBX_NPE-yGcA9JxLR4A-zk9pRmVykPKx72sg0K6gg715IlKLr2vd9FFZxXiMFiuEDC9vNk3pkyNGijYGPxxT7O/s2592/DSC04929.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjjDwEy3MetFg6TNq5LGK3eotGieFNrNOZZCwiLT9f9YdrmnYyWKIHDRUlMUwtZ3txSV8SS1SSYqz6t04MUS2Q5vUTHF7cebFcUyBX_NPE-yGcA9JxLR4A-zk9pRmVykPKx72sg0K6gg715IlKLr2vd9FFZxXiMFiuEDC9vNk3pkyNGijYGPxxT7O/w320-h240/DSC04929.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">2019 Visit to Brooklands </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3872" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dGlIcnu7LaEgw1PWKZcuqjlwYGkXq1Q0EfcCPQbmHVgsmhKPgU0xk9joEuTpuU4ST8dsZ6ybCw8vbfvnahVW9UbsQAAcLbOzXtCoPHCjoRb_1bdvJ1P8cOSdgc3y5nQmK70BujOVMeSZLBErtzMYstB5nc_vE3PRGXX5CFCz0u5FwLYMy0Pg6JVN/w320-h214/Volunteers%20with%20restored%20MGA%20Chassis%202013.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;">2013 Volunteers with restored MGA chassis</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.comWarwick CV35 0BJ, UK52.188876699999987 -1.480979123.878642863821142 -36.6372291 80.499110536178833 33.6752709tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-12722428686538711122022-05-24T13:00:00.000+01:002022-05-25T08:56:06.625+01:00Volunteer Restoration News<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMUVcXu13txCPpjf19irHR-u6WXnU63Bv03leQZdLSB0JIQfColJmFnAAR-EGMDrjxvdkbBqIM9bnFzRpEZMarUdRkvbg-nUEzCQfNjySrS6paYwnxJHhe9P25zzH9QlxVYuDBp5PLQUX2siuPy1frHaCHXLvMq0uuzQWuVzrM5i-rGmQhfeCgtNv/s2000/IMG_0238.-Austin-chassis--on-arrival-web.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="2000" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMUVcXu13txCPpjf19irHR-u6WXnU63Bv03leQZdLSB0JIQfColJmFnAAR-EGMDrjxvdkbBqIM9bnFzRpEZMarUdRkvbg-nUEzCQfNjySrS6paYwnxJHhe9P25zzH9QlxVYuDBp5PLQUX2siuPy1frHaCHXLvMq0uuzQWuVzrM5i-rGmQhfeCgtNv/w584-h369/IMG_0238.-Austin-chassis--on-arrival-web.jpg" width="584" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />When the Collections Centre was opened
in 2016, a review of all the exhibits in the
Museum collection was carried out. This
review identified display engines and chassis
that would be of interest but needed to
be repaired or cleaned. Today, a number
of those engines are on display in the
Collections Centre and many have been
restored by volunteers. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">These 12 engines include an Austin-Rover
S series single cylinder development unit,
revised from the E series used in the Maxi
and Allegro and which was probably used for
combustion chamber development.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is an interesting version of the Riley 2.5
litre, which shows its many internal parts. It
was fitted to the RM model and later to the
Pathfinder. With twin camshafts it was quite
advanced for its time. In contrast, many cars
up to the 1950s used side valve engines and
another of the refurbished engines would
have been found in a Triumph Mayflower.
Performances have improved a lot since then,
with this engine producing only 38bhp from a
1247cc block. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpL5z5blPx2Q4kSQti0IW8qo7DK0MwsXMKdQofn3AlTteQ9acIHQVXBGTjelEaMm-fhDvfOh6Bmq8vM_39Arww6RNw-C9XwlnzzYnSaAYyk4DhJx-JI0OvvWAmPNZyurK6ifHaoaZCjEMWYqAXwqwWbLe-SOP5vDoMPCY4nanS0FM_x22NiNDYAYp/s2000/Riley-engine-as-found-web.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpL5z5blPx2Q4kSQti0IW8qo7DK0MwsXMKdQofn3AlTteQ9acIHQVXBGTjelEaMm-fhDvfOh6Bmq8vM_39Arww6RNw-C9XwlnzzYnSaAYyk4DhJx-JI0OvvWAmPNZyurK6ifHaoaZCjEMWYqAXwqwWbLe-SOP5vDoMPCY4nanS0FM_x22NiNDYAYp/w275-h206/Riley-engine-as-found-web.jpg" width="275" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmkf8vUjB2EwTGulEhChLt3Ppbcm3ksuqGKmfJ5fxea2v0_BjNn9Zlo-XtVaYznm_a5q4HFIZt1KZ45Zry6nFiD8xODFWhSf5ucVBOx_Dlfyef6hDWK7kJX9fdRV3DgGvbAnYNV7Z4muHlskGUsxTEHvKiwKY1DoC4JDZWQYCqypNJfGk5PX6nfKn/s2000/Riley-engine-finished-web.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmkf8vUjB2EwTGulEhChLt3Ppbcm3ksuqGKmfJ5fxea2v0_BjNn9Zlo-XtVaYznm_a5q4HFIZt1KZ45Zry6nFiD8xODFWhSf5ucVBOx_Dlfyef6hDWK7kJX9fdRV3DgGvbAnYNV7Z4muHlskGUsxTEHvKiwKY1DoC4JDZWQYCqypNJfGk5PX6nfKn/w277-h208/Riley-engine-finished-web.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Riley engine before and after restoration</i></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The latest project is an Austin Devon
chassis which started life in 1948 when the
Longbridge Apprentices were given the
task of producing an exhibit promoting the
new car. The Devon and the Somerset that
followed would be some of the last cars still
employing a chassis, as this was the start of
the change to monocoque construction.
This chassis would travel around Britain
extolling the virtues of the new model but
also showcasing the engineering capabilities
of the apprentices at the Longbridge factory. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In fact one of our volunteers, Cameron,
remembers seeing it on display in Edinburgh
in his younger days.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> The restoration work has been separated
into three categories: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. Brakes, steering, suspension and wheels. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Chassis, drive shaft and rear axle. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. Clutch, engine, gearbox and exhaust. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The general condition considering its age
and storage is what you would expect, with
no serious rust. The main problem being the
chrome of which there is a lot which is now flaking off and none of it is restorable. Cleaning
and painting is underway and a challenge
is to match the chassis’ original existing
metallic finish paint. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">BY JOHN RATHBONE, VOLUNTEER </span></p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-71702038310401109312022-04-12T13:00:00.000+01:002022-04-12T13:00:02.656+01:00Our Volunteer Guide Project<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaftcYj8cHYb6xXBlJwNyhqEOrt5BDFKmEDpKvXDEkW7ZwwpkHVsQLXp7qQwc1BbKVueYFpl7zDqtM2OirgFOu1ElRN15YyEDcV-8PMmp6_H0NltidhiGjOGOWcRau-_vjJCMnUo8ub0SYI4qhP3hXHJCINjJK5KiqFRJBNu4wSN2p1LpoEC9tHDXW/s2000/Volunteers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="2000" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaftcYj8cHYb6xXBlJwNyhqEOrt5BDFKmEDpKvXDEkW7ZwwpkHVsQLXp7qQwc1BbKVueYFpl7zDqtM2OirgFOu1ElRN15YyEDcV-8PMmp6_H0NltidhiGjOGOWcRau-_vjJCMnUo8ub0SYI4qhP3hXHJCINjJK5KiqFRJBNu4wSN2p1LpoEC9tHDXW/w609-h217/Volunteers.jpg" width="609" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Our Volunteer Guide project started when the Collections Centre opened in February 2016
and the involvement of the 80 Volunteers has been vital to allowing visitors access to the
collection. In fact, we could not open the building without them. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So successful have they been in welcoming visitors, giving tours and interpreting the
collection, that it was decided to introduce Volunteers onto the main Museum floor this
spring, to enhance the visitor experience. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This has meant our existing team of 80 have had to absorb details of many more vehicles and,
for me, has resulted in a recruitment campaign to increase the team by 20-30 people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The process starts with a Role Profile posted on the website, this generates application forms,
leading to an informal chat over coffee with the Curator and myself. An induction follows
for those chosen, a handbook given, uniforms and name badges ordered, a “walk and talk”
through the collection with Stephen, Head of Collections, and Cat, Curator, and the new team
are ready to start. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This month we welcomed 18 new Volunteers, who will be split between the Museum and
Collections Centre. So, please say hello when you visit.
We hope that whatever personal motivations and goals are, we can help to fulfil aspirations
for volunteering through good quality training, excellent support and the opportunity to
make a difference by sharing old skills and learning new ones. And, we hope, making new
friendships. Giving time and skill to the Museum must be enjoyable for the Volunteer; that
in turn gives enjoyment and education to all who visit the Museum while helping to preserve
and protect the heritage and legacy of this great place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you to all the Volunteers who give
time to the community and to us at the
British Motor Museum.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">BY SONJA DOSANJH, VOLUNTEER CO-ORDINATOR</span></p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-14771306736895119772021-11-26T12:46:00.003+00:002022-04-12T12:53:35.978+01:00Volunteer History Talks - The Most Beautiful Car in the World.<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj4n_nNJ_ztbOchLJ8j6QB_yRVO4NTsmA9zLe1VFTtbbQh8diokrqHmLS_HJYqh_eCZwB3pT7r_JN-izz0QrxxL8NQOPJu8eNb8lcWMLu9swU5o-g8wTnfBfobqJxf3rsP06P1m3FXI7mi1kGOaS_6m-TT7BM3vO5S5h7Oqevc_Z7UqTdOG-utJgM/s2048/History%20talks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj4n_nNJ_ztbOchLJ8j6QB_yRVO4NTsmA9zLe1VFTtbbQh8diokrqHmLS_HJYqh_eCZwB3pT7r_JN-izz0QrxxL8NQOPJu8eNb8lcWMLu9swU5o-g8wTnfBfobqJxf3rsP06P1m3FXI7mi1kGOaS_6m-TT7BM3vO5S5h7Oqevc_Z7UqTdOG-utJgM/w499-h375/History%20talks.jpg" width="499" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="color: #666666;">Graham Robson and Cameron Slater outside
the Lord Leycester Hospital with a Series 2
E-type from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust
Collection.</span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The Jaguar E-type was sixty years old this
year. Obviously, such a significant event in
motoring history could not be left unmarked
so the E-type became one of the series of
History Talks which the Life-long Learning
Team has devised. The E-type team of
volunteers Roger Gollicker, Andrew Pollard,
Graham Robson and Cameron Slater, faced
the small problem of a deadline – the talk
had to be ready for performance by 15
March – the exact anniversary of the E-type’s
launch in 1961. We had about six months to
do justice to this fabulous motor car and we
made it – but only just. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Very soon ‘The Most Beautiful Car in the
World’ moved from being a working title for
the talk to being the actual one. After rather
a long Covid-affected gestation period it is
difficult to remember whose idea it was to
call the talk that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the days when we all sat a long way away
from each other, it soon became evident
that there was a person at the meetings
who knew a great deal about Jaguars and
certainly about this one but wasn’t actually
one of the presentation team! That man
was Tony Merrygold, who is the Vehicle
Collections Manager of Jaguar Daimler
Heritage Trust (JDHT). His fund of stories
showed us almost immediately that with his
input, we had a real gem of a presentation.
The team could happily research the facts
Page 5
The Most Beautiful
Car in the World
and the history, but Tony’s fund of stories
promised glamour, humour and real personal
experiences. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inevitably, there were many revisions of the
script - we are currently on version 16 - but
it’s been a very rewarding process. The
culmination of all that work was, of course,
to present to a public audience. So far, we
have done that twice. Once to a group of
lovely people who had booked the talk as
a birthday present for one of their Jaguarmad friends, via the wonders of Zoom. The
second was as part of the Warwick Words
Festival when we faced a live audience of
about 95 people in the Great Hall of the Lord
Leycester Hospital in Warwick. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course, we were not alone. Emma
Rawlinson and Bryony Goodwin from LifeLong Learning were always there to help and
Karam Ram at JDHT was a wizard at finding
the right image. We all enjoyed being part of
this project and we hope our audiences get
as much out of it as we did.</span></p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-6020600487253050432021-08-16T08:42:00.000+01:002021-08-16T08:42:32.569+01:00Plenty of volunteer action now the Museum has reopened<p> As our last blog explained, whilst the British Motor Museum (BMM) was closed during lockdown, a small group of volunteers were still busy at home preparing a number of motor related history talks. We’ll return to the talks later, but now with the easing of lockdown on 17th May and the reopening of the Museum, the whole 80 strong volunteer group is busy once again on an increasing number of activities.</p><p>Our restart coincided with National Volunteers Week and the Museum celebrated the occasion and our return by inviting all the volunteers to a thank you luncheon. At the event, 23 volunteers received their five-year service awards. Next year, to highlight the success and longevity of the volunteer programme, the original intake of volunteers will receive its 10-year awards.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2DSjYhrDWc/YRZHGebYqrI/AAAAAAAAAxc/6j0RKI6UPpsuKK_kfYJuwHpJG_GmT2abgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/August%2B2021%2B-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2048" height="422" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2DSjYhrDWc/YRZHGebYqrI/AAAAAAAAAxc/6j0RKI6UPpsuKK_kfYJuwHpJG_GmT2abgCLcBGAsYHQ/w563-h422/August%2B2021%2B-1.jpg" width="563" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volunteers who attended the National Volunteers Week luncheon</td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the luncheon, the Museum’s managing director, Jeff Coope, revealed the BMM’s five-year plan. Some exciting plans for the future expansion of the Museum were announced, creating new opportunities for the volunteers in the years to come.</p><p>Back to the present, the majority of the volunteers are now returning to what they like doing best - guiding, assisting and informing the many visitors at the Museum. At the time of writing, the Museum is only open Friday to Monday, but full opening will commence during the school holiday and following the ending of lockdown restrictions.</p><p>The volunteer programme now covers many other activities, some of which have been covered in past blogs, like restoration, vehicle data collection and oral history recording. </p><p>The Outreach and Presentation team are back in action, having recently hosted a visit by Towns Thorns Care Centre – pictured below. The team is available to either host visits at the Museum, or make visits to health & wellbeing, or community groups bringing museum objects and memorabilia. Further details can be found <a href="https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/learning/community" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m-CfKOeVRAo/YRZII2C3BcI/AAAAAAAAAxk/006IFCheYJ4zHjDvrK3QdNYgWWWuNHwlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1850/August%2B2021%2B-%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1850" height="375" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m-CfKOeVRAo/YRZII2C3BcI/AAAAAAAAAxk/006IFCheYJ4zHjDvrK3QdNYgWWWuNHwlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w560-h375/August%2B2021%2B-%2B2.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><br /><p>Another initiative recently started by the Museum is its participation in the STEAM scheme, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths. Five volunteers have agreed to help the Museum with their involvement by becoming STEAM ambassadors.</p><p>Back to the creation of a series of history talks. Now rehearsed, completed and signed off, we are able to deliver the following talks; The Mini - Wizardry on Wheels, The Most Beautiful Car in the World – the E-type Jaguar, The Evolution of the British Motor Industry and The Car’s the Star. In the planning stage we have; The History of the British Sports Car and Royal Cars.</p><p>Around 12 volunteers have been taking part in this rewarding project, which will also see them deliver the talks, either at the Museum, out in the community, or even in the current climate, via Zoom. More details can be found <a href="https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/learning/community-history-talks" target="_blank">here on the Museum’s website</a>.</p><p>All the talks last around 45 minutes and contain a large number of photos, drawings and illustrations from the Museum’s vast archive collection. A 15-minute taster video, given by one of the volunteers, can be viewed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC-NrG9y7-g" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Finally, at the end of July, the Museum will have a stand at the annual Silverstone Classic meeting, which as usual will be hosted on all three days by our volunteers. So, why not pop along and say hello?</p><p>Before you plan your Museum visit, always check our website <a href="http://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk">www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk</a> for the latest information and any possible restrictions.</p>BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-2316049226855842322020-07-06T11:44:00.003+01:002020-07-06T11:44:36.344+01:00Still volunteering, but this time at home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Stay at Home is a slogan we’re all now very familiar with, but the opportunity has not been wasted on around a dozen or so of the Museum’s volunteers, who’ve been working on a programme of talks and presentations on motoring related subjects.<br />
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With one already completed - The Mini - Wizardry on Wheels, the others currently in progress are: - The History of British Sports Cars, The Evolution of the British Motor Industry and Royal Cars.<br />
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When things return to normal these talks will be presented by the volunteers, either out in the community, or at the Museum. It’s planned for talks to last around 45 to 50 minutes, accompanied by a wealth of interesting slides and the occasional video clip.<br />
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As can be imagined, with the Museum’s large collection of over 300 British - manufactured vehicles and its renowned and comprehensive Archive, we’re not short of information or resources. The task is of course to collate all the research, pick out the defining moments and present it in an interesting and entertaining manner.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8ftwdUQ4G4/XwL_JuXEHvI/AAAAAAAAAs0/4cEH9OsfVp86X6csnPPZoXlznuaWMapCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vol-blog-Jul-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="599" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8ftwdUQ4G4/XwL_JuXEHvI/AAAAAAAAAs0/4cEH9OsfVp86X6csnPPZoXlznuaWMapCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Vol-blog-Jul-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening slide from the Mini talk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The talk on the Mini, which celebrated 60 years in 2019, was presented at the Museum just before lockdown to a group of 40 people from Caversham Heights Society. This talk was very well received, having been presented and largely put together by volunteer Roger King. Roger, a BMC apprentice from 1960 to 1966 and a former Director of Public Affairs at the SMMT, is a big admirer of the Mini.<br />
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The other talks in progress are very much the work of groups of between three and four volunteers, who have an interest in their particular subject. Whilst lockdown has slowed things down a bit, the wonder of Zoom has come to our rescue with regular discussion groups. In fact the history of the British sports car has recently had a complete initial Zoom run through, including the slide presentation.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nK3_uFxOBfM/XwL_kBmRpYI/AAAAAAAAAs8/DkoEVzlG4D4ttOjew_s8xN-sRMBOqXShACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vol-blog-Jul-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="849" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nK3_uFxOBfM/XwL_kBmRpYI/AAAAAAAAAs8/DkoEVzlG4D4ttOjew_s8xN-sRMBOqXShACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Vol-blog-Jul-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Mini talk - One of several early Issigonis sketches</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There have been some interesting debates amongst the various groups on their subjects, particularly on content and format. Whilst the Mini is a fairly straightforward and well documented story, the others are wide ranging and need more detailed research and structure. An example for instance was our original debate on sports cars. What is your definition of a sports car? Ask half a dozen car enthusiasts and you’ll probably get several different answers (we did), but we hope you’ll agree with our final definition.<br />
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We’re fortunate that the Museum contains many of the vehicles that played a key part in the evolution of the British motor industry – telling the story in a simple and entertaining way is now the challenge. Royal Cars is somewhat different, allowing us not only to talk about a wide range of vehicles, 16 of which we have in the Museum, but also stories related to their royal owners. Unfortunately at the moment, planned research trips to the Royal Mews and Sandringham House have had to be postponed, so we can’t complete the talk for now.<br />
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The Museum, even with little or no promotion, has already received quite a lot of interest in these talks, so new ones are already in the pipeline. As with the other talks, the Museum is well stocked with vehicles and information relating to the subject matter, particularly car sales brochures from yesteryear.<br />
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When things return to normal we’ll be able to give you more details about our talks programme. The volunteers will then be able to deliver them at a venue of your choice or maybe at the Museum itself, where a tour of the collection can be part of your visit. Keep your eye on the Museum’s website and Facebook page for further announcements, or contact <a href="mailto:community@britishmotormuseum.co.uk" target="_blank">community@britishmotormuseum.co.uk</a></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-42877821344939608592019-10-15T11:01:00.001+01:002019-10-15T11:01:54.120+01:00The Outreach and Presentation Team<br />
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This blog has described many of the various activities and
duties in which volunteers are involved at the British Motor Museum. One group that
has so far avoided the spotlight is the Outreach and Presentation team,
volunteers who are becoming more and more active in the local community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Formed in 2015, the original function of the group was to
visit local clubs, societies and institutions etc. where presentations focussed
on the promotion of the refurbishment of the main Museum, plus the construction
and subsequent opening of the new Collections Centre. Known then as just the
Presentation team, it comprised of about eight volunteers.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hykdlq9a4jU/XaWXDUDbW2I/AAAAAAAAB7c/bvmJ5WTilgEMfdj9m4qvKqCgcfDhd-l0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blog-post-25-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1308" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hykdlq9a4jU/XaWXDUDbW2I/AAAAAAAAB7c/bvmJ5WTilgEMfdj9m4qvKqCgcfDhd-l0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/blog-post-25-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Some of the team at a
recent training meeting<o:p></o:p></div>
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As part of the Museum’s commitment to help and become
involved in the local community, in 2017 the group evolved into the Outreach
and Presentation team – currently comprising around 14 volunteers. The Outreach
programme is where between three and four volunteers visit outside
organisations where, in the majority of cases, their members need special care
and attention. These will typically be; dementia cafés, Alzheimer’s Society
groups, and care homes, as well as isolation and wellbeing and mental health
groups – people for whom a visit to the Museum itself may not be practical or
desirable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Museum, as you would expect, has a huge collection of
motoring memorabilia, so it’s a selection of some of the most interesting items
that we take with us to show these groups. Their reaction has really proved the
worth of these visits. Often, even the more mundane items, will bring back
memories or stimulate conversation and interest. Also the chance to hold and
look through items such as old driving licences and pre and post war car
publicity photos, plus examples of old and modern car parts, nearly always
manages to inspire a story from the audience.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pDusSAowRQ/XaWXNS-02rI/AAAAAAAAB7g/EXNlUldh3yATWRjw_ikWuakwURutZmIkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blog%2Bpost%2B25%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="981" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pDusSAowRQ/XaWXNS-02rI/AAAAAAAAB7g/EXNlUldh3yATWRjw_ikWuakwURutZmIkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/blog%2Bpost%2B25%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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A small selection of
some of the items<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />As an alternative to us going out to visit groups, we can
also arrange and accommodate special group visits to the Museum itself. All our
usual memorabilia items will be available to view, as well as a guided tour of
sections of the Museum. Refreshments can be provided if required and the Museum
is well equipped and designed for wheelchair use.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hvNfyzGK0N0/XaWXNsArUrI/AAAAAAAAB7k/Xlwi45_DIXMV7tB6r6EseZmhvP9xuuEKACEwYBhgL/s1600/blog-post-25-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1220" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hvNfyzGK0N0/XaWXNsArUrI/AAAAAAAAB7k/Xlwi45_DIXMV7tB6r6EseZmhvP9xuuEKACEwYBhgL/s400/blog-post-25-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The team in action at
what is a relatively small group</div>
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We’ve attended around 75 visits since the programme started
and are likely to end up visiting around 40 this year alone. The visits
normally last about an hour and we can attend any suitable venue within about
an hour’s drive from the Museum in Gaydon. Another attraction to a couple of
our recent visits has been our restored 1960 Standard Ensign. When available,
this provides a great chance to remind people what sixties motoring was like
and how basic most cars of that age were. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mNCIxi5wK6k/XaWXNoRBjsI/AAAAAAAAB7w/V78fXYs4IdYw5qVERKjFeNOxqE-v6gnrACEwYBhgL/s1600/blog-post-25-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1073" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mNCIxi5wK6k/XaWXNoRBjsI/AAAAAAAAB7w/V78fXYs4IdYw5qVERKjFeNOxqE-v6gnrACEwYBhgL/s400/blog-post-25-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Our restored Standard
Ensign brings back memories of sixties motoring<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />The group’s next project will be a re-launch of their
original Museum presentation to local organisations etc., but with the added
bonus of a short talk on one of three motor related subjects. These are likely
to be about the Mini, British sports cars and the evolution of the British motor
industry.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />As a result of these new initiatives and the growth in the
number of requests we’re now receiving we need more volunteers. So, if any
existing volunteers want to join the team, or anyone else reading this is
interested in becoming part of the team, then please get in touch with our
volunteer coordinator Sonja Dosanjh on 01926 927820. Further details can be
found at the bottom of this website page <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/about-us/get-involved/current-vacancies">https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/about-us/get-involved/current-vacancies</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SrrZyzKJKuk/XaWXODcNg4I/AAAAAAAAB70/50lLMG1Y0MwRurYiprlh7msnf3nlgHEtQCEwYBhgL/s1600/blog-post-25-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="571" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SrrZyzKJKuk/XaWXODcNg4I/AAAAAAAAB70/50lLMG1Y0MwRurYiprlh7msnf3nlgHEtQCEwYBhgL/s400/blog-post-25-6.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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Further information and booking details for visits can be
obtained from Emma Rawlinson, Family and Lifelong Learning Officer on 01926
927823<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-89307795210340120412019-07-08T13:51:00.002+01:002019-07-08T13:51:54.082+01:00Into the Woodies <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Collections Centre volunteer and guide</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Cameron Slater, </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">writes
another fascinating blog with a family connection.</span></div>
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There are many surprises in being a volunteer at the Collections
Centre of the British Motor Museum – visitors with amazing stories, visitors
with unexpected cars, visitors from faraway places, and so on, but let me tell you about one very big
surprise that, for me, was much closer to home.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was browsing the bookshop section of the Museum shop one day and
came across a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alvis Cars
1946-1967 The Post War Years</i> by John Fox (Amberley Publishing 2016). I
already owned John Price Williams’ book of almost the same title, but on the
basis that you can never have too much of a good thing, I bought the Fox book
too. I have always had a soft spot for Alvis cars since I bought my first
one<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>a 1959 TD 21 -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in 1975 for £250.
Since then I have owned a 1964 TE 21 and a 1937 12/70 Saloon.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Fox book is an interesting collection of pictures of all the
cars Alvis produced between 1946 and the end of their interest in car
production in 1967. Now, despite my fascination with Alvis cars, there’s one
model I’ve never been interested in – the TA14 - which I’ve always thought was
a fairly dull car. However, its Utility derivative, the Shooting Brake - the
Woodie - has always been a source of amazement that so many different styles
could evolve around one very elderly chassis design.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So as I flicked through the TA14 section of the book and came to
the two pages devoted to the Shooting Brake, I was suddenly struck by the name
‘Gaze’ in the accompanying text. This is my wife’s family name and it’s quite
an unusual one and here it was in reference to pictures of two TA14 Woodies
with bodies by Gaze. So that’s what started my hunt through the Woodies, my
wife’s family history and the history of the TA14.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">William H Gaze, the son of a master carpenter, founded the firm of
building contractors, W.H. Gaze & Sons, in 1879 in Kingston on Thames. He
was my wife’s great grandfather. The business thrived and, according to Gaze’s
obituary in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Surrey Comet</i> in 1934,
the firm was responsible for the appearance of much of the centre of Kingston.
Their first major contract was for St Luke’s church with the accompanying
vicarage and school. In 1902 the company built the Kingston Public Library,
which was opened by the Scots-Canadian philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. As the
business grew, it moved into bigger and bigger premises in the town and by the
time of William’s death in 1934, W.H. Gaze & Sons employed over a thousand
men and had a weekly wages bill of around £6,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Over the years the firm developed other interests such as
furniture-making and carpentry but their most famous legacy is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gaze All-Weather, Non-Attention Hard Tennis
Court</i>. This was patented by Gaze and examples of these tennis courts were
installed in many of the large properties of the wealthy in and around Kingston
and by various municipal authorities. Indeed, the Corporation of Torquay
invested in 21 Gaze Hard Courts on which the Davis Cup of 1937 was played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when my wife, Jeanne, first attended The
Weald School in Billingshurst, she was amazed and delighted to see the W.H.
Gaze logo on the net supports of the school tennis courts. The logo is a
stylised version of an Egyptian hieroglyph in the shape of a gazelle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So far, so fascinating and I’m grateful to my wife’s sister,
Lynne, for giving me access to her researches into the family history. But she
didn’t know about the Alvis connection. Now, by 1947 the W.H. Gaze company must
have been highly skilled in wooden construction of all kinds. As builders, they
would install wooden windows, doors, staircases, panelling and a host of other
features of house building. In 1943 all their carpenters were diverted into war
work, building wooden landing craft for the D Day invasion the following year
and, rather gruesomely, coffins, presumably for the inevitable fatalities of
the invasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After the war, therefore, it would have been, I guess, another
useful business opportunity to use the skills of their carpenters to build
wooden bodies on the chassis of established vehicle manufacturers. In the
immediate post-war period, the wooden-bodied shooting brake or utility was a
popular body style since car manufacturers were bedevilled by the shortage of
steel. A wooden body, therefore, made a lot of sense to both manufacturers and
buyers because Woodies were classified as commercial, so buyers did not have to
pay quite high levels of purchase tax which were imposed on new cars at this
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to Alvis,
manufacturers such as Allard, Lea Francis, Austin and Morris all delivered
chassis to coachbuilding and other companies to be turned into Woodies. The
main museum at Gaydon has a very well preserved Allard P2 Woodie, which was
originally part of the James Hull collection. The difference with this
particular model is that the body was built by the Allard company itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So while W.H. Gaze & Sons was not an established coachbuilder,
it did have a pool of highly skilled and experienced carpenters who would have
been able to turn their hands to any kind of wooden construction. Now there was
no TA14 Shooting Brake built at the Alvis factory in Holyhead Road in Coventry,
so all of them – and they were very popular – would have been built by outside
firms. The chassis were delivered already fitted with front bulkhead, dashboard
and driver and front passenger seats which were trimmed in leather in contrast
to the utilitarian accommodation of the rest of the car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is thought that somewhere around 500 TA14 chassis were
delivered to outside coachbuilders. It is not known how many bodies Gaze built
on the TA14 chassis, but Colin Peck in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">British Woodies from the 1920’s to the 1950’s</i> (Veloce Publishing
2008) believes that the number was ‘significant’ and that the firm also built
bodies for Lea Francis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However, Gaze did not sell or market the cars under their own name
and it is more than likely that most of the bodies were ordered by Alvis
distributors such as Brooklands of Bond Street, Vincents of Reading and
Reliance Garage of Norwich. These companies would then brand the cars with
their own logo suggesting that they were the constructors and thus contributing
to the situation where W.H. Gaze is almost unknown as a manufacturer of motor
car bodies. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There were, of course, a number of well-known coachbuilders who
used the TA14 chassis as the basis for their work. The standard saloon was
bodied by Mulliners of Birmingham who also produced a drophead version. Another
drophead version was built by Tickford of Newport Pagnell. Richard Meade of
Dorridge also produced a drophead as did Carbodies of Coventry. There was a
very attractive two-door coupe version by Duncan of North Walsham, Norfolk and
A.P. Metalcraft of Coventry produced the body for the TB14 which was the two
seater, open-top, sporting body on the TA14 chassis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I began by saying that I thought the TA14 was a dull motor car.
No</span>w, I’m not so sure, especially since I’ve discovered that I’ve married into
the family who helped make the Alvis TA14 the most popular Woodie of its day.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And here’s another thing: the man who persuaded the Earl of March
to turn the disused airfield at Goodwood into a motor racing circuit was called
Tony Gaze – but that’s another story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-90668544283897917712019-03-21T12:23:00.001+00:002019-03-21T14:43:41.869+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="font-family: calibri; text-align: left;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13.86px;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">1960 STANDARD ENSIGN (Part 19)</span></b></h2>
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<b>The final and time consuming work towards completion</b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
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It’s been some time since our last blog on the Ensign, as progress with some of the final tasks has been slow. This relates to three main areas; preparing and fitting the interior trim, investigating and fixing oil and water leaks and attending to a long snagging list, prior to the car’s MOT test.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The trim fitting cannot be rushed and of course this has to be done in the right order. Items such as the dashboard, glove box, courtesy lights and switches, door window winder mechanisms, locks and springs take time to fix and adjust. Then there are the door cards and cappings to fit, together with all the handles, levers and locks. New red carpet and underlay were acquired for the boot and cabin floor. The cutting and fitting took a lot of time and patience, but it really started to transform the look of the interior. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://volunteers.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/p/1960-standard-ensign.html#part19">Click here read the full restoration story</a> </b></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-3167124921456340572019-02-25T14:36:00.002+00:002019-03-05T09:32:49.991+00:00Come and join us – the Museum requires more volunteer guides<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since the refurbishment of the British Motor Museum and the opening of the Collections Centre just over 2 years ago there’s been a large increase in visitor numbers. The Museum has also been the recipient of a number of awards, the latest being the prestigious VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Welcome Accolade. As a result the Museum is in need of more volunteers, particularly at weekends, to help in providing and maintaining a great customer experience in the Collections Centre.<br />
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So, if you’d like to join our volunteer team and have the time to help us between 11am and 4pm on a Saturday or Sunday, then our Volunteer Coordinator, Sonja Dosanjh would love to hear from you.<br />
The role is about offering a warm and friendly welcome, giving visitors an experience they will want to repeat. You can bring the history of the collection to life for people of all ages.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCLqipo5htc/XHP9HNkw2BI/AAAAAAAAApc/vDugTNDw7OMrlW-tU8tPf4-MJ4FMk0eIwCLcBGAs/s1600/2018%2BDecember%2BGroup%2BPhoto%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCLqipo5htc/XHP9HNkw2BI/AAAAAAAAApc/vDugTNDw7OMrlW-tU8tPf4-MJ4FMk0eIwCLcBGAs/s400/2018%2BDecember%2BGroup%2BPhoto%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Some of the volunteer team at a recent gathering<o:p></o:p></div>
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Throughout
the year, particularly during the summer months, the Museum site becomes the
home to many types of external events, shows, car club meets etc., which really
gives a buzz to the whole place, not normally experienced in the week. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Below are
three quotes from weekend volunteers which sum up the experience very well:-<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Volunteering at the weekends is incredibly
rewarding; it is great to see how people react to the vehicles in the
collection. For older visitors it's a trip down memory lane and a
conversation that usually starts – “Have you got a..." and ends
with a happy anecdote or two from the visitor. T</i><i>here's a
real sense of job satisfaction from knowing that you've enhanced someone's trip
to the museum.</i></div>
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<i>Volunteering at the British Motor Museum is a
really rewarding and fun experience. Engaging with visitors about cars they
have owned, helped build or wanted since their childhood is a fantastic way to
hear new stories and share your own knowledge of the amazing vehicles and their
history.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div>
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Volunteering at the Museum has introduced me to new
people, enabled me to learn new knowledge and skills and above all, share my
passion for the unique collection we have at the British Motor Museum. I
wouldn't hesitate in recommending volunteering in the Collections Centre -
here, we look after and share with our visitors some real gems in the
collection, enhancing their experience by sharing knowledge and inspiring
younger visitors through some of the awesome vehicles housed within its walls.</span></i><i><o:p> </o:p></i><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So, if
you’d like to know more, then do contact Sonja by email at <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:volunteers@britishmotormuseum.co.uk">volunteers@britishmotormuseum.co.uk</a></span>
or give her a call on 01926 927820 or check our website.<o:p></o:p></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-47336991270273907292018-11-12T16:23:00.000+00:002018-11-12T16:23:11.708+00:00The Little Big One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volunteer and<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Collections Centre Guide<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
Cameron Slater </b>writes yet another fascinating blog, this time reflecting on
the challenge of getting his 1955 MG back on the road.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As you may have seen on the Museum’s Facebook pages, my 1955 MG
Magnette ZA made its maiden voyage under my ownership from my home in Stratford
upon Avon to the Museum for my Tuesday shift at the Collections Centre. Now
this is no big deal, you might say, since it’s a round trip of only about 30
miles and people bring classic cars to the Museum all the time. Well, you’d be
right, I suppose, but for me it was a momentous occasion and one of the things
that made it so was the reaction I got from Sonja (our volunteer coordinator)
and my colleagues on the day, John Saunders and Dennis Allen. They were hugely
enthusiastic about the arrival - at long last – of my car, because I’d been
boring them with tales of its progress (or lack of it) for about the past year
or so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cameron with his MG Magnette ZA outside the
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And I think this illustrates one of the joys of working in the
Collections Centre as a volunteer; you can always count on colleagues to
understand what you’ve gone through to get your ’restoration project’ back on
the road, to give freely of their knowledge and experience of old cars and how
to fix them; and you can always count on them to give you a hard time when they
think you’ve done something really stupid! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I bought the MG last year in late August as a restoration project.
Despite this, it looked quite good from about ten feet away and it started, ran
and stopped, and although the interior was pretty ropey, we’re not talking
basket case here. However, it was clear that I had some work to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now, on the Time Road in the main museum there is a very fine ZB
Magnette. It’s not so very different from the ZA so a close examination of its
beautiful interior, it’s more or less flawless bodywork and its original engine
acted as an incentive towards getting some work done on my new acquisition and
getting it back on the road. And that’s another benefit of working at BMM – you
can see some of the best examples of particular models which then give you an
ideal to work towards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The MG Magnette ZA was introduced in 1954 but was not liked by
your typical MG enthusiast because it used the monocoque body shell from the
1952 Wolseley 4/44. It did, however, have a twin S.U. carburettor engine, a
more luxurious interior and rather more energetic performance than the
Wolseley. The designer was Gerald Palmer and you can also clearly see his
influence on the BMC cars of this period in the much bigger Wolseley 6/90
(1954) and the Riley Pathfinder (1953). The ZB Magnette was introduced in 1956
with a slightly more powerful engine and minor changes to the exterior chrome
work and this is the model you will see on the Time Road in the main museum. MG
also offered the Varitone version of the ZB which had a larger, wrap-round rear
screen and two-tone paint combinations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KHkvUGKhwdE/W-moUPsGxfI/AAAAAAAAApQ/pSZcmjwvoW4iI_e8cybJJvlm85tFrBqkACLcBGAs/s1600/IMGP2989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1579" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KHkvUGKhwdE/W-moUPsGxfI/AAAAAAAAApQ/pSZcmjwvoW4iI_e8cybJJvlm85tFrBqkACLcBGAs/s400/IMGP2989.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Museum’s MG Magnette ZB on the Time Road</td></tr>
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‘Magnette’ was an old-established name for MG. It started with the
Magna in 1931 which was a very respectable sporting two seater in its day which
went on to carry a number of body styles. ‘Magna’ is Latin for ‘big’, since you
ask, so, for example, <i>magna femina</i>
means ‘a big woman’. Then, in 1932, MG introduced the famous K1 and K2 Magnette
series. Magnette is a kind of
combination of Latin and French and could be translated as ‘the little big
one’. The Collections Centre has a lovely 1936 NB Magnette with a beautiful
1271cc 6 cylinder engine and I always draw people’s attention to this car in
any tours I do. The MG octagon badge is everywhere on the car and even the
sidelights are octagonal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But to return to my own Magnette, the first thing I usually do
with a ‘new’ car like this is to get the wheels off and have a look at the
brakes. Things here could hardly have been worse. The brake shoes were worn,
certainly, but on all four wheels the pull-off springs were fitted in front of
the shoes rather than behind them and the beehive retaining springs simply
weren’t there. The drums were all badly scored and the rear drums were working
as a kind of reservoir for the oil in the rear axle (if there was actually any
oil left in there). So that was two
fairly major jobs that needed to be done before I could even think of taking
the car out on the road; the brakes I could deal with, but I wasn’t so sure
about the axle seals and bearings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next thing I discovered was just as dangerous as the state of
the brakes. The S.U. fuel pump is mounted in the boot and the feeder pipe to
the carburettors runs under the floor and bends up into the engine bay. Now I
think we would all expect this fuel line to be either copper or steel. Wrong!
Some previous owner with either a warped sense of humour or a desire for
self-immolation had run a plastic pipe, of the sort you would normally use for
windscreen washers, from pump to carburettors and had fed it up into the engine
bay through a tight space already occupied by the downpipe from the exhaust
manifold; there was about a centimetre separating them. I sorted that one out
very quickly!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There were other little idiosyncrasies that became clearer as I
worked on the car. The original engine for this car is the BMC “B” Series
engine of 1489cc; however, the number on the bulkhead did not match the
registration documents I got with the car which now has the later 1622cc engine
from either a Wolseley or a Morris. So a previous owner had changed the engine
for the later, more powerful one but had neglected to tell DVLA. (Actually, I
haven’t got round to that either.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The other thing I hadn’t got round to was the problems with the
rear axle mainly because I had never tackled this before and my facilities at
home are a bit limited to deal with this kind of job. So I approached one of my
local garages and after some discussion and a look at the workshop manual they
agreed to take it on. Just as well they did, because one of the hubs was very
reluctant to move and I do not have the kind of heavy lifting gear they had to
use! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then there’s the electrics. I’ve removed miles of redundant wiring
from behind the dashboard and the engine bay but it’s still a bit of a mess.
Neither the trafficator switch (yes, I’m still using trafficators) nor the horn
button on the steering wheel boss works; the switch for the trafficators is now
under the dashboard on the left and the horn is under the dashboard on the
right. There’s no panel light and the
wiring for the sidelights, fog lights and headlights is bizarre – but they all
work. The thing that didn’t work was the dipswitch so I thought this would be
an easy fix. Wrong again! A job that I thought should have taken, oh, let’s say
about half an hour at the most, took me five days! The details are too painful
to remember but involved seized nuts and bolts, broken drill bits, angle
grinders, skinned knuckles and a very painful back for about a week after the
damned thing was finally installed. Just
another example of the joys of classic car ownership!<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the middle of October, which was a couple of months more than a
year after I had bought the car, I was feeling pretty confident that it was
roadworthy and keen to try it out on the road. The day of my CC shift, I
thought, would be a good opportunity for a first drive and so it was. The car
behaved pretty well on the whole, although you forget how awful brakes were in
the 1950’s! Still with no mishaps it got me to Gaydon and back home again to my
delight and surprise. Sonja showed much more confidence in it than I did when
she said “It was never in any doubt.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is, of course, still much to do. The seats have several
tears in the leather, the door cards are wrong and need to be replaced, the trafficators
need to be replaced with flashing indicators, the windscreen washers need to be
brought up to date and so on …… and on …….. and on. But maybe someday I’ll be
able to bring it to the Museum, put it beside the ZB on the Time Road ……. and
then realise that there’s still a lot to do before it reaches that standard! <o:p></o:p></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-41594127396442737642018-08-17T16:11:00.003+01:002018-08-17T16:11:47.630+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tales from Overseas<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Volunteer and Collections Centre guide <b>Dennis Allen</b> gives an interesting account of the friends he has
made during his time at the Museum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two way interactions with visitors to the Collections Centre
is probably one of the most important parts of my role of a volunteer. They
often want to know a little about me, my involvement in the British motor
industry, what vehicles I have owned in the past. Where I come from and
countries I have visited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Equally I make the same enquiries of visitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the last thirty months I have met lots of interesting
people from all over the world as well as the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most memorable to me are visitors from New Zealand and South
Africa, my two favourite countries and I have exchanged email addresses with a
few visitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I received the following email from New Zealand:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello Dennis<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm the guy from New Zealand that you were so
kind as to show around the British Motor Museum.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had a fantastic trip but the highlight for me
was the Museum and Collections Centre... I have attached a photo of my
latest restoration project. A 1956 Daimler Century Drophead. I also managed to
purchase a number of rubber seals and grommets etc. when I was in the UK and
this has enabled me to progress on a couple of my other projects. I hope
all is well with you and thank you.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Regards<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wAqGgCRFWBk/W3bkupGFT3I/AAAAAAAAAok/LlJvFqonJlQUwRh04_iqW3NZxPjacAb4wCLcBGAs/s1600/tales%2Bfrom%2Boverseas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="892" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wAqGgCRFWBk/W3bkupGFT3I/AAAAAAAAAok/LlJvFqonJlQUwRh04_iqW3NZxPjacAb4wCLcBGAs/s400/tales%2Bfrom%2Boverseas.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been fortunate to visit New Zealand three times in the last 5 years and following suggestions from some of our visitors have visited:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1) The Wow Museum (World of Memorable Art & Classic Cars) situated in Nelson on New Zealand's South Island. www.wowcars.nz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2) Southward Car Museum situated just outside Paraparumu which is 35 miles north of Wellington on New Zealand's North Island. <a href="http://www.southwardcarmuseum.co.nz/">www.southwardcarmuseum.co.nz</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Both are well worth a visit if you are in the area.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While visiting South Africa last year I went to the Franschoek Motor Museum which is 40 miles from Cape Town. <a href="http://www.fmm.co.za/">www.fmm.co.za</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This came about following a visit to the Collections Centre from a lovely South African couple, who lived not far from Cape Town. We got on well talking about cars, the motor industry, life in South Africa and places to visit. I mentioned that my wife and I were touring in South Africa a few months later and they said to let them know when and we could meet up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, this is exactly what happened. A few months later they picked us up from the Cape Town Waterfront and drove us to the Franschoek Motor Museum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The museum is located on the L'Omarins/Anthonij Rupert wines estate and as well as the winery there is horse stud farm and a racing track and off-road course. Fiat launched their Alpha Romeo Giulia there last year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were introduced to Wayne Harley the Museum Curator, last year he rode a 1934 Triumph 350 3/1 in the Durban to Johannesburg Motorcycle Rally (700 kms) - the DJ Run, starting 77th and finishing 61st.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We then met Lorenzo Forella, the workshop manager, who took us on a guided tour of the museum. The collection of 80 cars and some motorbikes are located in four separate buildings around an open grassed courtyard. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<cite><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The vehicles were arranged in groups of four or five so about 20 in
each building. Lorenzo explained that there were other vehicles not on display
but the collection did change from time to time. He jokingly told me off for
ignoring the four Ferrari's but I told him (tongue in cheek) that we lived in
Royal Leamington Spa and saw them there all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></cite></div>
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<cite><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a pleasurable and informative two hour tour with Lorenzo we left
the museum and took a scenic tram ride (an old style charabanc) taking in the
picturesque views of the estates and surrounding Franschoek Wine Valley. This
ended at the wine estate bistro where we had lunch (delicious tapas) with a
glass of wine of course.<o:p></o:p></span></span></cite></div>
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<cite><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were then driven back to Cape Town late afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></cite></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">A really fantastic and amazing experience that came about just by
talking to Museum visitors.</span></cite><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-87336639398877174332018-06-13T14:12:00.002+01:002018-06-13T14:13:03.965+01:00Walkinshaw, Tullius and racing Jaguars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Collections Centre volunteer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alan Toft</b> tells a fascinating story
about model cars, his love of motorsport and his favourite car at the Museum,
the Jaguar XJR9.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the time
of my 11<sup>th</sup> birthday my mother asked me what I was going to do with
my birthday money. I replied that I was going to buy the first Dinky Toy with
'fingertip steering' – this happened to be a model of the Jaguar 3.8 Mk 2 not
unlike the one we have in the Museum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She replied
that I was now too old for that sort of thing – she never explained what I was
supposed to replace 'that sort of thing' with – something in the line of sex,
drugs, and rock and roll, I assumed! So she was even less impressed when the
next thing I wanted to buy was the 45 single recording of Del Shannon's 'Little
Town Flirt'!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So I do
wonder what she would think of the display cabinet at my home in Vancouver that
is filled with 50+ 1/43 scale models of racing cars that I have either seen
race or just wish I had. In the latter category are two cars which are part of
our Museum collection. The first is Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell March 701 and the
second is my favourite car in the Museum – the 1988 Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9 in
which Andy Wallace won Le Mans, but developed a gearbox problem at
Coventry Motorfest recently and prevented me seeing it running the next day! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YZLKtOA6_tg/WyEYARZQRTI/AAAAAAAAAoU/Q5AfiLwq3oQgE1LCRmMo4SlCrMVrBf5VQCLcBGAs/s1600/Jaguar_XJR9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1200" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YZLKtOA6_tg/WyEYARZQRTI/AAAAAAAAAoU/Q5AfiLwq3oQgE1LCRmMo4SlCrMVrBf5VQCLcBGAs/s400/Jaguar_XJR9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1988 Le Mans Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There's
something about this car – it could be that I admired the designer, Tony
Southgate, because he also designed my favourite F1 car, the 1971 Yardley BRM
P160 which I saw Peter Gethin drive to victory in the Victory Race at Brands
Hatch, a race in which his teammate, Jo Siffert, sadly died. I used Yardley
aftershave for years because of that car!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Or it could
be because I admired and respected John Egan, who pulled Jaguar back from the
pit of British Leyland, supported the racing efforts in America and Europe, and
who forged a strong relationship with Sir William Lyons and allowed him to pass
away knowing that his company was now in good hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But I do
wonder if it really should have been called the XJR9. Bob Tullius, and his
Group 44 team, were loyal Triumph and the Jaguar supporters through some tough
times. He raced Triumph TR3's and 4's until he raced his XJR1, which is the
lovely Series 3 V12 E-type that is in the Museum and which I did see driven at
Coventry Motorfest. I used Quaker State oil in my car in Canada because of this
car! Hey, I'm loyal to racing sponsors!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bob used
the nomenclature XJR2, 3, and 4 for the Jaguar XJS's that he raced after the
E-type, and for which John Egan arranged support ,and then he had Lee Dyktra
develop the gorgeous XJR5 that we have in the Museum and which first took
Jaguar back to Le Mans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So when,
following his wonderful success with the XJS in Europe (another car I saw
running at Coventry Motorfest) Jaguar understandably asked Tom Walkinshaw to
take over the task of winning Le Mans, I thought it somewhat rude that they
named his first prototype the XJR6. Sure, the IMSA XJR5, with the overly
complex 48-valve engine, may not have been a Le Mans winner given the different
rules between WSC (and especially Le Mans) and IMSA, but Tom Walkinshaw could
have developed his own naming convention! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, I
think that Tullius's XJR7, and the XJR8 he built that had no relationship to
the TWR XJR8, are the best looking XJR's ever made! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I liked the
TWR XJR6 in the original Jaguar green but it was Gallagher's 'Silk Cut' money,
arranged by the king of sponsor-seekers, Guy Edwards, which probably ensured
success. One of Guy's personal sponsors was Barclays International and I used
to watch him race Lolas in those colours in F5000 and in 2-litre sports cars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Tom
Walkinshaw was honest with Jaguar about how long Le Mans domination would take.
The XJR6 of 1985 and 1986 was fast and won races, the 1987 XJR8 won the WSC
World Championship, but the 1988 XJR9 was, to me, the highpoint for the V12
engine. My cabinet does have a model of the 1990 XJR12 Le Mans winner, that
came later, but pride of place goes to the 1988 Silk Cut XJR9 that won Le Mans
and the 1988 Castrol XJR9 that won Daytona.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There are
so many links from these cars to the Museum. Walkinshaw knew that the 24-valve
V12 Jaguar engine, even when it grew to 7.4 litres, was becoming uncompetitive,
certainly in terms of acceleration, against the turbo Porsches and
Sauber-Mercedes, amongst others, and that's why he bought the design rights for
the normally-aspirated Metro 6R4 engine from Austin-Rover and had it totally
revamped to allow twin-turbos before he put it into the WSC Silk Cut XJR11 in
3.5-litre form and the IMSA Castrol XJR10 in 3-litre form. By 1991, the IMSA
XJR10 was being sponsored by Bud Lite which is an old Native American word
meaning 'Dishwater'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This engine, suitably modified for road use,
made its way into our production XJ220, of course, whilst the road-going
version of the XJR9, the XJR15 that we have in the Museum, got the V12. The
turbo V6 engines had limited success in Europe but did better across the
Atlantic, especially in 1991 when the much improved XJR16 was introduced. In
1989 the XJR11 wasn't ready for Le Mans and 3<sup>rd</sup> was the best that
could be achieved with the XJR9. The
XJR11 was much more reliable in 1990 but the V12 was used for the endurance
events like Le Mans, where pole position didn't matter – interestingly the
winning Silk Cut XJR12, with all the Ross Brawn instigated changes, was built
from the chassis of the 1988 Daytona-winning Castrol XJR9, whereas our 1988
Silk Cut XJR9 was never raced again after its victory at Le Mans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By then
Jaguar was Ford-owned so, when turbos were banned in WSC, it was easy to slide
the Ford HB Cosworth 3.5 litre into a new Ross Brawn-designed XJR14 for 1991
and dominate the championship. However they still had to race the new-livery
Silk Cut XJR12 at Le Mans and they finished 2<sup>nd</sup>, 3<sup>rd</sup>, and
4<sup>th</sup>. I just bought a model of this car and need to apply the Silk
Cut logos! And no-one begrudged Johnny Herbert his win in the Renown Mazda 787B
Rotary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jaguar left
WSC at the end of 1991 when the Gallagher's Silk Cut sponsorship ended – the
XJR14's and XJR12's raced in America in 1992 and 1993, but Ford had other
issues by then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Still it
was a wonderful run. I sat in the Museum library a couple of weeks ago and
browsed the copy of Leslie Thurston's wonderful book 'TWR Jaguar Prototype
Racers'. It's one of those books where you say 'I have to own a copy' and the
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust was happy to sell me one at a very reasonable
price and I received it in two days! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was
mentioning this to fellow volunteer Tony Bagley recently and he told me Leslie
Thurston built those wonderful large-scale models that hang above the XJ13 in
the Museum – I've spent hours staring at those models and I want 1/43 scale
models of all of them – I also want one of the Suntec-sponsored Japanese XJR12
and could be persuaded to house a Bud Lite car!
And I tend to watch our video of Jaguar racing success at least once a
week too – I never tire of it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But I was
thinking who, if I had the chance to go back, I would most like to have dinner
with and grill about XJR's. I was thinking John Egan, Tony Southgate, and Tom
Walkinshaw but then I realized who I respected most – it would be Bob Tullius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So, at the
height of the XJR14's success, Jaguar left WSC to the Le Mans-winning Peugeot
905's. And yes, mother, there's three of them in the display cabinet at home
too!! But I need to clear the DVD's off
the top shelf – there's more Jaguars coming! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<br /></div>
BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-21981873552479527872018-04-18T09:55:00.000+01:002018-04-18T09:55:08.361+01:00A Star in an Exorbitantly Priced Car<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volunteer
Collections Centre guide <b>Cameron Slater</b> tells a fascinating
story of what he believes to be the Star Car of the Show at the British Motor
Museum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">S</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">tar
quality is a very rare thing. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The X
Factor</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Britain’s Got Talent</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Voice</i> spend millions every
year searching for people who have it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From
its very beginnings, the Hollywood film industry has based an entire philosophy
of business, art and entertainment on the idea of “The Star”. Since then, every
form of entertainment has had to have “The Star of the Show”, “The Top of the Bill”;
today’s leading film actors are not just stars but megastars … and so the hype
goes on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was reflecting on this one day in
the Collections Centre while I was gathering my thoughts for the 1.30 tour.
What, I wondered, was our “Star of the Show”? The 1955 Bentley Continental
Fastback? The Queen’s P5B Rover? The 1936 MG Magnette NB? The very last of the
Issigonis Minis? Well, no – it’s none of these, and not even the very latest Land
Rover Discovery either. I decided that the real Star of the Collections Centre
had to be the 1950 Daimler “Green Goddess” DE36 Drop-head Coupé, which is from
the Jaguar</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Daimler</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heritage Trust collection.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">' </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And I am not alone in this because it’s
one of the cars about which we get more questions and comments than any other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YL5HV0OauKg/WtcFyHlZ4LI/AAAAAAAAAoE/-Xc4xWz8L-ArlI2lRKZn4cE_BHXqQXO3ACLcBGAs/s1600/47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="934" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YL5HV0OauKg/WtcFyHlZ4LI/AAAAAAAAAoE/-Xc4xWz8L-ArlI2lRKZn4cE_BHXqQXO3ACLcBGAs/s320/47.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1950
Daimler “Green Goddess” DE36 Drop-head Coupe</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now this is hardly surprising. The car
is a supercar long before the name was thought of. It’s enormous and magnificent
with the flowing lines of its coachwork by Hooper, painted in a two-tone design
of silver-grey and deepest blue and the hood is made from the best black
mohair. It’s powered by Daimler’s own<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>eight cylinder, five and a half litre engine which develops 150 hp and
gives the car a top speed of …… 83mph!! This hardly compares with the 200mph
plus performance of today’s McLaren or Bugatti Chiron, but the Daimler is not
made for speed; it’s made to be a statement about real star automotive quality
and in any case, it weighs in at a shade under three and a half tons. You only
have to open one of its two doors to feel the weight and to appreciate the
engineering that has gone into that wonderful, solid, metallic ‘click’ when you
shut it. So there it sits, lording it over everything else around it. A Star.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The information board tell us that it
was one of seven such cars built to the design of the original Green Goddess
(because it was painted green, since you ask). The Hooper-bodied Coupe was
introduced at the 1948 London Motor Show although the DE36 chassis had been
available since 1946. The first Green Goddess was run by Sir Bernard Docker,
who was at that time the Chairman of BSA Industries, the owners of the Daimler
Motor Company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those of us who have reached a certain
age will remember Sir Bernard and Lady Docker who were, I suppose you could
say, the Posh and Becks or maybe The Kardashians of their day. Their
extravagant exploits in the London social scene of the early fifties kept the
gossip columns (and frequently the front pages) of the popular newspapers full
of tales of a lifestyle that the rest of the country could scarcely imagine in
their wildest dreams. Where our Green Goddess is chromium plated, theirs, I
seem to remember, was gold plated and they tended to favour zebra hide and
ivory for interior trimmings. All this in the early 1950’s when the country was
still reeling from the after-effects of the Second World War and when just
about everything was severely rationed. Nothing succeeds, as they say, like
excess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But back to our information board
which also tells us that the first owner of the Daimler was a New York opera
singer called James Melton. Now I have been going to ‘The Opera’ since the
early 1970’s and I know a bit about opera stars of the past, but I had never
heard of James Melton. So I did some research and I discovered a Star in an
Exorbitantly Priced Car (with apologies to Jeremy Clarkson). Our Daimler which
James Melton bought and had shipped out to New York cost £7,000 in 1950. I
looked this figure up in an inflation calculator website and the 2018
equivalent is £235,200. So this guy must have been some opera singer to be able
to spend that kind of money on a car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Many hours of internet-surfing later,
I discovered that he wasn’t just an opera singer – he was a popular recording
star, a film star, a radio star, a television star, a concert singer and, yes,
an opera singer; and it wasn’t just one car – it was a hundred cars and he
owned his own motor museum, first as the Melton Museum of Antique Automobiles
in Norwalk, Connecticut from 1948 until 1953 then as the James Melton Autorama
in Hypoluxo, Florida until his death and the closure of the ‘Million Dollar Museum
of Motoring Memories’ in 1961. So, yes, some opera singer!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Melton was born in 1904 in Moultrie,
Georgia. His musical abilities were obvious from an early age and developed
during his time at Florida State University. He went to New York in 1927, determined
to be a singer and joined a singing group called Roxy’s Gang at the Roxy
Theatre. He then joined a vocal quartet called The Revellers as lead tenor and
performed with them across the USA and in Europe until 1933. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But from the late 1920’s he was also a
recording star in his own right. He had a beautiful light lyric tenor voice of
the kind that was very fashionable at that time. He recorded for the major record
labels of the day - Brunswick, RCA and Columbia - with a repertoire that
included such gems of popular sentimental song as<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1934 James Melton went solo and
established himself on concert tours (including one with George Gershwin) and
on network radio. However, as the thirties progressed, Melton’s style of singing
began to go out of fashion and he found himself competing with a new, popular style
of singing-star such as Bing Crosby. Melton continued to broadcast on national
radio, but he knew his career was at a major turning point so decided to become
an opera singer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now, today, this would be a very
unusual step, but Melton made it work. From 1938, he appeared in various
regional opera companies in the USA, singing major roles in operas by Puccini,
Verdi and Donizetti. His operatic career reached the heights when, in December
1942, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York where he remained
as a leading tenor until 1950.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
During the 1950’s, however, James
Melton’s career went into decline. He had been a star in almost every form of
musical entertainment, but time and alcohol began to take their inevitable toll
of his voice and the huge popularity of singers such as Mario Lanza, Frank
Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Perry Como meant that Melton gradually disappeared
from the scene. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
As I said earlier, James Melton’s other
passion was his fine collection of historic motor cars. He was, in fact one of
the world’s earliest private collectors of historic cars, especially from the
period the Americans call The Brass Era and we in Britain call The Veteran Era.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
By the time he set up his first
museum, The Melton Museum of Antique Automobiles, in Norwalk in 1948, he had
amassed about fifty-five cars as well as bicycles, car accessories, model
trains and music boxes. As the collection grew, it became clear that the
Norwalk museum had become too small and Melton built its replacement in
Hypoluxo, Florida. So in 1953, the James Melton Autorama was completed and in
typical show business style the cars were driven – under their own power - in
cavalcade and with maximum publicity from Norwalk to the new building in
Hypoluxo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
The collection by this time numbered
about a hundred cars, some of them extremely rare and important. The oldest was
an 1893 Custom Steam Coach and the collection had a number of early steamers
including a Stanley Steamer Mountain Wagon and a White Steamer. It also
contained a 1900 Rockwell Hansom Cab which was thought to be the first New York
City taxi, a fabulous 1913 Peugeot “Skiff”, - a Type 150, 4 cylinder, 40hp
roadster with a 7478cc engine. Melton’s personal favourite was, apparently, a
1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost which had been the very first Silver Ghost to be
imported into the USA.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
So I don’t think it’s a coincidence
that, in the great days of his musical career, he often appeared in a radio
show called <i>The Firestone Hour</i> which
was sponsored by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; his own weekly radio
show in the thirties was sponsored by Texaco; his weekly television show in the
fifties was called <i>The Ford Festival</i>
and was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. And it was Melton who first sang <i>Back Home Again in Indiana </i>over the PA
system at the opening of the Indianapolis 500 in 1946 which then became a
tradition that continues to this day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
Our Green Goddess, therefore, is not
only a star in its own right, but in 1950 was bought by a genuine star in the
old Hollywood tradition. And you can see both the car and the star in the YouTube Video below...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-1bFKBWR5nI/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-1bFKBWR5nI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
Alternatively you can watch it via YouTube visit <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bFKBWR5nI</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
The
visuals accompanying the music include a photo of James Melton and friends, in
front of the American Airlines office somewhere in New York, with our very own 1950
“Green Goddess” Daimler DE36 Drophead Coupe right there in the foreground of
the picture – where the real stars always are. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-62356383847452146652018-03-14T12:14:00.001+00:002018-03-14T13:18:05.154+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">1960 STANDARD ENSIGN (Part 18)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><br />
</span></b></div>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px;">The engine runs and the car moves – a big day</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px;">
<b><br />
</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.86px;">Our last blog described how, for just a few seconds, the restoration volunteers finally managed to fire up the Ensign again for the first time in many years. However, because the car is located on the first floor of the Collections Centre in the public viewing area, any further running would have to be done in the workshop. So recently, following a final check over and the completion of the instrument wiring, the car was ready for its short decent to the workshop below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 13.86px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCj1c2k_PPI/Wqj_HrkYElI/AAAAAAAAAns/lZoGqVOHLLEg0UAXjBOCpOGWkouYB8JHACEwYBhgL/s1600/ensign%2Bpic%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="842" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCj1c2k_PPI/Wqj_HrkYElI/AAAAAAAAAns/lZoGqVOHLLEg0UAXjBOCpOGWkouYB8JHACEwYBhgL/s320/ensign%2Bpic%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">The Ensign on its way down to the workshop in the vehicle lift</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13.86px;">As the photos illustrate there was a good turnout of the restoration team, who were on hand to help or just watch this big test of their hard work. So, with space cleared in the workshop, connection to the exhaust extraction system in place and around two gallons of petrol added, everything was set up for the big moment. Whilst the team could smell petrol, they weren’t totally convinced it was finding its way via the pump into the carburettor and the engine initially lacked any sign of life. However, a quick check of the still exposed fuel tank and then a look at the workshop manual confirmed that the car’s reserve tank tap was in the off position!</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13.86px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: calibri; font-size: 13.86px; text-align: left;">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13.86px;"><a href="http://volunteers.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/p/1960-standard-ensign.html#1960STANDARDENSIGN">Click here to read the full story and see if the Standard ensign </a></span></h3>
</div>
</div>
</div>
BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-66365470328925716742018-01-04T11:24:00.001+00:002018-01-04T11:26:19.301+00:001960 STANDARD ENSIGN (Part 17)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Fitting the fiddly bits and the engine fires</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Progress on the Ensign has been quite slow recently, due to the time involved reassembling all the fiddly bits on the car. Everything was photographed when the car was originally stripped down and this pictorial record, plus the extensive workshop manual we acquired have proved invaluable as the rebuild has progressed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fitting of things like door seals, lock mechanisms, wiring looms, brake pipes, steering column and engine ancillaries has taken many hours. Even what should have been the fairly straightforward job of refitting the front and rear windscreens was not without its problems. New rubber seals had to be sourced and then cut and the actual fitting process required a bit of expert help from the Museum’s workshop staff.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fixing the door lock mechanism and inserting the chrome strip in the rubber window surround</span></div>
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However, the most encouraging news on the project for some time has been that the engine, now installed with all its ancillaries, was at last fired up recently for a short period. Just to recap the engine is a 1670cc OHV straight four, which we believe had done around 83,000 miles. The block had a slight crack, which we’ve had professionally repaired and new pistons and rings have been fitted. A new water pump was required and the original radiator was refurbished with a new core. Given that the car currently resides on the first floor of the Collections Centre a further running and testing of the engine won’t be possible until we can move it into the workshop. The fact that it appears to work OK, has been good for morale.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwhNmeornWZHBEUQagb1B534x9TNYGfajr6MJnt4LJ2mXAwq4t3AmwTgLQGF5RkzGv76IJHGLtM8U2Kjz1Gvg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b><a href="http://volunteers.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/p/1960-standard-ensign.html" target="_blank">Click here read the full restoration story</a> </b></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-9423402595706810322017-11-15T09:20:00.003+00:002017-11-15T09:20:52.338+00:00Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Volunteer Collections Centre guide </span><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Cameron Slater</b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> tells an interesting
story relating to nostalgia and how one car in the collection brought back
teenage memories.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the satisfying things about being a guide
in the Collections Centre is seeing people’s reactions to cars that were once
important to them. It’s the Nostalgia Factor and we see it all the time. “I
passed my test in one of those” or “My dad used to have one of those” or “That
was my very first car”. Now, although I can tick off four cars in the Museum
that I have owned at some point in my classic car career, I was never
particularly affected by the Nostalgia Factor because I’ve got loads of
photographs of them and some very vivid memories of good and bad times with all
of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Until, that is, I started putting together my
tour for visitors to the Collections Centre. I usually begin on the first floor
with the 1900 Daimler and contrast it with the 1950 <i>Green Goddess</i> Daimler which neatly illustrates 50 years of
automotive development by the same company. It’s a good talking point and gets
people thinking about the differences between the two Daimlers and about the
way cars have developed over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My next talking point is the 1912 Rover Landaulette
which, at some stage, belonged to Lord Catto, who became Governor of the Bank
of England in the 1940’s. So there’s a lot of mileage (sorry!) in this car in
terms of the changing role of the motor car and the rise of the car as a part
of business life and the distinction between the wealthy owner and the
not-so-wealthy driver or chauffeur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
1912 Rover Landaulette is on the first floor of the Collections Centre<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As I did some research into the history of the
Rover, however, I discovered that it had been part of the Sword Collection. Now
for those of you who think this is part of the Royal Armouries in Leeds, let me
set you right. John Cuthill Sword, born in Airdrie in 1892, was a wealthy
businessman in the West of Scotland who built up a transport empire which
included Western SMT Buses, well known to all who travelled in Glasgow and the
west of Scotland in the 40’s and 50’s and Midland and Scottish Air Ferries,
which flew out of Renfrew airport and which, much later, became British Midland.
Over a number of years, Sword amassed an outstanding collection of veteran and
vintage cars, many with a Scottish connection. So there were Albions,
Arroll-Johnsons, Beardmores and Argylls as well as Daimlers, Sunbeams and other
famous and exotic marques.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sword died in 1960 and part of the car collection
was put up for auction in 1962, and this is where my nostalgic memories begin.
I would be about 15 or 16 at the time and totally obsessed with cars of all
kinds since childhood. My dear old Dad suggested that he would take me to East
Balgray, the Sword estate in Ayrshire to the viewing day for the Sword
Collection auction. Of course I jumped at the chance and we made our way into rural
Ayrshire along with a large proportion of the petrol heads of all ages in
Glasgow and the West of Scotland and places much further afield.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The cars were stored in barns and sheds and my
recollection, at a distance of more than fifty years, is that most of them
seemed to be in pretty poor condition. But this was a major sale because some
of the cars were very rare and most of them had never been seen since Sword
acquired them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">All this came back to me when I was looking
into the history of the Collections Centre’s Rover Landaulette. And the
Nostalgia Factor was not so much about the cars, but about my old Dad who’s
been dead for more than twenty years now. He was often a bit distant and his
job meant he spent a lot of time away from home, but on that weekend in 1962,
he must have thought that I would enjoy seeing these marvellous old cars and
that it would be a day out for just the two of us. It had the added effect that
it brought us a bit closer together; not only did he start letting me drive his
company car – which was a pretty risky thing for him to do (away from the
public roads of course) - but when the time came, he got me through my driving
test at the first attempt, aged 17. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And I never looked back – at least not until I
discovered that the 1912 Rover Landaulette in the Collections Centre had been
in the Sword Collection all those years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-19563212399992530062017-09-29T10:10:00.001+01:002017-09-29T10:10:38.947+01:00Awards time for volunteers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since
August 2012 when 53 volunteers were recruited, by the then Heritage Motor
Centre, as part of their lottery funded campaign for the building of a new
Collections Centre. During that time we have carried out full vehicle surveys
of every vehicle in the collection and all relevant mechanical data, renovated
cars and engines, attended shows and exhibitions and worked on an oral history
project. Then in February 2016, we finally became guides at the new Collections
Centre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The class of 2012 in
the motorsport section of the main Museum<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of the original volunteers, 27 remain actively involved at
what is now the British Motor Museum, in some or all of the above activities.
To recognise our five years of service the Museum, and its Managing Director
Julie Tew, kindly invited us all to a reception recently where we were all
thanked for our dedicated service and help. Twenty three of us were able to
attend and were presented with a certificate and a five year service badge,
followed by tea/coffee and a specially made, rather large chocolate cake.</div>
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It should be pointed out that since the Collections Centre
opened in 2016 and with an increasing number of visitors, a lot more volunteers
have now been recruited. We now number around 80, allowing four guides per day
to be on duty for the full seven days of the week that the Museum is now open.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFCF9JE2GHc/Wc4NepHD5SI/AAAAAAAAAl8/fpQm2UPq38wuwPcUkQZnda9qHtHRQO4gwCLcBGAs/s1600/44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="132" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFCF9JE2GHc/Wc4NepHD5SI/AAAAAAAAAl8/fpQm2UPq38wuwPcUkQZnda9qHtHRQO4gwCLcBGAs/s200/44.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ_2xAIyOXs/Wc4NeuV0q9I/AAAAAAAAAmA/7EQ9wJk0OXcHPiLy1LuHK6WPKCVbFgVgACLcBGAs/s1600/44a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="649" height="132" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ_2xAIyOXs/Wc4NeuV0q9I/AAAAAAAAAmA/7EQ9wJk0OXcHPiLy1LuHK6WPKCVbFgVgACLcBGAs/s200/44a.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The
cake, in all its glory is shown above, together with Julie Tew presenting
Oliver White with his certificate and badge. Oliver incidentally has in fact
been a volunteer for over 11 years, having started well before the current
volunteer programme began. He’s a former BBC editor who spends a lot of his
time in the sorting and labelling of film material for the archives department.</div>
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The
awards news doesn’t end there though, as for the second year running, the
British Motor Museum had two entries accepted for the annual West Midlands
Museum Development Volunteer Awards. The ceremony was hosted by BBC presenter
Sarah Bishop at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 19<sup>th</sup> September. Volunteer
Mark Bradbury was nominated for the individual “Above and Beyond” category for
his work in moving, collating and displaying the Museum’s artefacts, whilst
Vince Hall was nominated in the “Collections” category for his work leading the
oral history team and in particular for all the editing he has undertaken. Both
finalists received recognition of their achievements from the judges with Vince
declared the worthy winner of his category.</div>
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Above
are some members of the oral history group alongside one of the recently
installed audio consoles in the main Museum. Vince is in the pale blue jumper
knealing at the front and his Winners’ tile plaque is shown on the right.<o:p></o:p></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-25984183461787352312017-07-19T15:54:00.001+01:002017-07-19T15:56:43.108+01:00Great British Women in the car industry – a volunteer reports<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During June, volunteer Ian Hicks, who played a large part in organising the Museum’s Symposium back in March, received an invitation along with Emma Rawlinson, Family and Lifelong Learning Officer, to attend Autocar’s celebration of Great British women in the car industry. This is Ian’s account of the day;<br />
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This is the second year that Autocar magazine has recognised and celebrated the rising women stars of the British Motor Industry. The event, to inspire more women to consider a career in the industry we love, was hosted at the home of English Rugby, Twickenham stadium.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">The panel on stage</span></div>
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The current imbalance between the numbers of men and women in the industry is dramatic. By shining a spotlight on those who have both reached the top, and the industry's brightest rising stars, Autocar and the organisers hope more women will consider the rich, exciting careers that are open to them.<br />
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The day was really inspiring with talks and panel discussions with the great and the good from across the British Motor Industry. There were some interesting insights into development of the Land Rover Velar, and the Riversimple hydrogen powered car, a whole new concept in vehicle “ownership.”<br />
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It was inspiring to see how many women had achieved senior roles in the automotive industry, Emma and I had a really enthusiastic conversation with Helen Emsley, the Head of Design at General Motors in US. It was interesting to hear how they do all their styling in-house and have their own model-makers, carpenters and artists-in-clay to create and better control their vehicle styling.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Emma and Ian</span></div>
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Emma and I were able to network and build contacts for future events at the Museum. As ever, it was really gratifying to hear pretty well everyone had heard of British Motor Museum and were all, to a man (or maybe woman) really complimentary about what we do.<br />
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-235570719514385162017-06-20T14:32:00.000+01:002017-06-20T14:32:01.113+01:001960 STANDARD ENSIGN (Part 16)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Assembly now well underway</span></b></div>
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It’s been some time since our last blog on the Ensign, which covered the decisions and processes regarding the vehicle painting. Whilst some areas of the bodywork will still require final attention, the rewarding job of assembling all the components, including the engine, is now well underway.</div>
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The saying goes, “every picture tells a story” and the following photos clearly illustrate some of the work the restoration volunteers have undertaken recently. It is perhaps worth reminding readers that this whole restoration project has been done by different teams of volunteers working on different days, and been coordinated by a log written up after each day.</div>
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The first of these photos shows the new door seals that were required being fitted. The second shows glue being applied to the roof interior prior to the sound proof padding being attached. At this stage the car was still attached to the swivel vehicle frame, which allowed the car to be worked on at various upside down angles.</div>
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These photos clearly show the engine bay before and after the engine was fitted. Again some new parts were required as can be seen, with a new brake servo on the left and new copper brake pipes in the centre.</div>
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With most of the wiring now installed in the car, things like the front and rear lights can be fitted</div>
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Following the installation of the engine, the gearbox has now been fitted as well. As you can see the interior wiring looms are now all in place, so one of the next tasks will be to fit the dashboard and all the instruments.</div>
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So, as this last photo shows, our Ensign is looking something like its original self again. There are still a lot of fiddly jobs to be done and a few minor problems to solve, but at long last the end is in sight.</div>
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Don’t forget when visiting the British Motor Museum you can see the Ensign being worked on. It’s situated on the first floor of the Collections Centre and the volunteers will be only too happy to chat to you and answer any queries you may have.</div>
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To read the full restoration story <a href="http://volunteers.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/p/1960-standard-ensign.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">click here</a></h3>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127804666777618240.post-40806075405525169842017-04-05T15:58:00.001+01:002017-04-05T15:58:31.391+01:00The British motor industry: what is the road ahead?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A Volunteers
view</span></h3>
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On 25 March, several volunteers attended a new
Museum initiative, a one day series of lectures, open to the public, devoted to
the future of the British Motor Industry.
Five well-respected and industry-leading professionals gave an overview
of where the British car industry is today, how it got there and how they
expected it to evolve over the coming years. Volunteer Ian Hicks played a
significant role in organising the event as he described in our previous blog. Here
he now gives his scenario on what that future might look like in 40 years time:
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<b>Spring 2057</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephen gets into his L segment personal transport, ready
for his drive into work. The journey will take him around 30 minutes each way,
apparently, the same amount of time people used to commute to work 100 years
ago. Whilst he prepares to drive off, he
reflects that the 1990’s phenomenon of telecommuting and virtual offices never
really materialised. People still needed to travel to their places of work,
they still needed to interact with people and things. <o:p></o:p></div>
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His personal transport, the latest Changhong model, built in
Coventry, is a single seater. Despite its battery and electric drives, it
weighs in at a mere 150 kg and has a range of 150 miles before it needs
recharging. This is perfect, since 98% of his journeys are 50 miles or less. On
the occasions Stephen wants to take the family out for weekend trips or
holidays, he contacts Changhong from his “connected car” and they arrange a
family size electric vehicle as part of his “servicisation” package. There’s no
longer the need to purchase or contract hire the largest vehicle to suit all
needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Checking the controls of his personal transport, he selects
the FOHOBO controller for his commute. This is a recent innovation, where he
can select “Feet-Off” where the car controls speed and braking only; or
“Hands-Off” where the car controls position and direction or “Brain-Off” where
the car operates in fully autonomous mode.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On his way to the Motor Museum, where he is curator, the
speed of his car is controlled by smart loops set into the road, relaying speed
information to the car’s controller. Despite more autonomy in controlling cars,
there are still strict speed limits in place, mainly to protect pedestrians,
cyclists and those drivers still not using fully autonomous cars. Even though
cars have been in use in Britain for over 150 years, there’s only been one
four-year period, 1930 to 1934 when drivers and their cars have not had to
comply with speed limits. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephen contemplates his latest acquisitions for the Museum’s
collection; it’s a 2025 Jaguar G type, a fully-electric vehicle and the last
model ever produced at Castle Bromwich. The car is in lovely condition, and the
crew at the museum will be able to maintain the mechanical components and even
the electric drives. However, the
software controllers for the FOHOBO and environment connectivity are no longer
made and with over 10 million lines of software are beyond the skills of his
support crew and challenge even the most dedicated software developers, who are
a dying breed these days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephen Laing
(Curator) far left and the panel of leading industry experts<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tata were one of the winners in the so-called Brexit impacts
when UK distanced itself from the European car market. The Brexit negotiations resulted in high
tariffs imposed on UK produced cars being sold in Europe but strong demand in
the other regions of the globe meant that the Jaguar brand was able to sustain
its market position. It was a pity about Europe, but in common with other
manufacturers, Tata needed to produce vehicles that complied with global
specifications, producing cars with regional variations meeting local
specifications wasn’t good business. The success of Tata and others with UK
manufacture was to be applauded, but UK was still only the 13<sup>th</sup>
largest producer in the world…. Exactly the same position as it occupied in 2017.
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As he arrived at the Museum, he thought back to something
he’d read recently in the Museum archives. Back in March 2017, a British MP,
Sir Greg Knight had advised Museum attendees that now’s the time to buy and own
a classic. How prophetic Sir Greg was. Since then legislation, environmental
concerns and the wholesale replacement of petrol stations with supermarket
charging points meant that internal combustion cars were no longer viable, even
on the shortest journeys. Of the 500 cars in the collection, this meant that
over 350 were genuinely just museum pieces……. But that didn’t seem to stop the
public being really interested in this transport of yesteryear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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BMMVolunteershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14357871470796104643noreply@blogger.com0