Our 2021 Car Club of the year

Now ladies and gentlemen… a drum roll please!

We are delighted to announce the winner of the Lancaster Insurance Car Club of the year for 2021 is …The Morris Register Club!

One of the most dynamic and creative clubs in the country has transformed the way Morris enthusiasts can engage and enjoy their classics in a way that has seen the club’s membership grow to over 2,000, with new fans joining from all over the world.

But it’s their youthful innovation that marks out the club for special recognition in 2021 as their loan car scheme has been a major success in the attempt to fire the imaginations of the younger generation, and to attract and develop a new wave of classic lovers.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be named Lancaster Insurance Car Club of the year and it’s a reward for those people who’ve worked so hard to make the Morris Register Club such a friendly club to be involved with”, says acting Club Secretary Jim Riglar, “Like so many other classic clubs, Covid hit us hard as we rely on volunteers to provide club services, but with online events to replace the physical ones, we’ve come through and are looking forward to a busy 2022”.

The Morris Register welcomes new members with or without a car. The club marked its 50^th anniversary in 2010 and following the delay through covid, it celebrated its diamond jubilee a year late in 2021, but it’s the nod to youth that has captured the real attention.

“We realised our members were largely in their fifties or older and so we came up with a competition for younger enthusiasts to apply to loan a 1939 Morris 8E Tourer for a six-month period to enjoy all the attractions a classic can bring. We believe if we can capture the imagination of a new generation of enthusiasts then the health and wellbeing of classic car lovers everywhere will be secure for years to come.

“Adverts were placed in the motoring press seeking candidates, and the car was handed over at the Classic Car and Restoration at the NEC, where it was used as part of the Morris Register’s display. We’ve planned to loan the car to one of our member’s sons for 2022 due to covid restrictions, with a return to an open competition the following year. We think it’s been a terrific scheme and one of the recipients David Allanson has since become totally involved in the club and has totally redesigned our website ‘

“I couldn’t believe I was chosen”, says David Allanson who’s now the club’s official webmaster. “I was at the NEC and saw the competition to win the use of the car, entered and got an email to say I’d won. I couldn’t believe it. Funny thing was the first time I actually drove, it was out of the NEC hall on the Monday morning, and I was petrified anything would go wrong. Thankfully once I got used to the brakes it was brilliant.”

David was forty when he won the loan car and says it’s an experience, he’d recommend to anyone.

“I started using a map again and always country roads. I went to visit friends in the New Forest and the only time I used a dual carriageway was the last 18 miles back to my home in Royston near Cambridge. It was wonderful!”

Here’s a picture of David Allanson driving his loan car, the 1939 Morris AT Tourer:

The Club website hosts an online shop for spares and merchandise as well as providing a forum for discussing all things Morris. There is a wealth of archive material with details of a burgeoning calendar for club events.

The club is always represented at the big car shows including the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC in November, but it’s their National Rally at Thoresby Park in Nottinghamshire that brings enthusiasts together from all over the country.

“We had over 400 vehicle entries in August, with about a thousand people attending the event during the two days of the rally” said Jim “and we’re hoping for something similar again in 2022.”

The club covers all Morris vehicles designed before 1940 and a range of vehicles that were in production from 1913, including the Morris Oxford Bullnose up until the 1953 Morris Eight series Z Van. Between them, the members own over 4100 pre 1940 designed Morris vehicles.

The most popular model is the 1935-48 Morris Eight range with more than 2,250 owned by members. The next popular car is the 1929-34 Morris Minor range with more than 500 vehicles belonging to club owners.

So what is the fascination with the Morris, what makes it so special?

“Wow that’s a difficult one” says Jim, “My own fascination began because my grandfather owned a 1934 Morris 10. Now to own something that’s 70 plus years old, which is still quite easy to run and maintain is wonderful. It’s a part of British industrial heritage, and that makes it very special!”

Andrew Evanson, our Senior Operations Manager was the first to say well done, “Congratulations to all at the Morris Register from the whole team at Lancaster Insurance for winning the prestigious ‘Club of the Year’ award. We were particularly impressed by the club’s loan car project which serves to draw a younger audience to the club and we’re delighted to sponsor this activity by providing free insurance for the car. We’re always looking at ways we can innovate to encourage younger enthusiasts to join our hobby and have discounted club insurance schemes in place for young owners of Morris, MG, Austin, Citroen 2CV and Mazda MX5’s.”

To contact the Morris Register Club, you can email : info@morrisregister.co.uk