Memories of Abingdon |
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MG 1946; Dennis Hartelius Photo 1994 
Memories of Abingdon
By Geoff Wheatley 2012
I was born in close to Abingdon, home of the British MG Company, my Father worked for MG for most of his life as did many others in that area or traveled to the main Morris Works at Cowley near Oxford. We lived a few miles from the factory and I do recall that these funny looking MG Vehicles passed our door virtually every day, except Sunday of course. When the war started the factory went over to war work and people like my Dad went off to do their bit, what ever that was! Those too old or too young to be drafted stayed on at the MG works assisted by a new brigade of workers on the assembly lines wearing head scarves and pants. For the first time in the history of the Morris Motors Empire women were employed to do assembly work and/or paint, clean and assemble war production parts. Abingdon was no exception and at the peak of wartime production about 300 women worked at MG doing virtually everything that men had done before the war. (I was told by a senior staff member after the war that they often did a better job than the guys who were drafted for war service, but I would be foolish to labor that point!) When the first post war MGTC rolled out of the factory in September 1945 it was the first post war British car to be produced and Billy Morris was very proud of this fact. In total 39 cars were assembled between September and November 1945 every one produced with various bits and pieces collected and stored since 1939 when the factory swung over to war production. Back in the 1980's I found number 19 in Canada in need of some TLC but all there, produced on September 29th 1945. The interesting point was that at least thirty percent of the car consisted of prewar items including a very unique radiator made by Morris Cowley with the words "Victory Model" stamped on the brass plate that also contained a production number 147 1945. There was a barn type building behind the local school that MG used to store all the spare parts from prewar production and these were the basis for starting a single production line just one month after the end of the WWII. MGA Coupe 1959; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2010 
Because of my Fathers long association with MG when it was a small production company with only a couple of hundred employees in the 1930s I had the good fortune to meet many people including the crew who were directly concerned with the production of the MGB. Following quite quickly on the heels of this car was the MGB GT a car whose time had certainly come when it was launched in October 1965 at the Earls Court Motor Show. The sleek design of the car was welcomed by the Motor Media as well as the public and it was fitting that the design of the MGBGT was the result of another Italian design team, the "Pinifarina Company". What may come as a surprised to some readers is the fact that the company management wanted the GT to precede the launch of the MGB Roadster in 1962 but Market Research had indicated that the public were still attracted to an open style MG to follow the highly successful MGA. As far back as 1958 MG were looking at a GT style of vehicle and as early as 1953 Dealer Research had indicated there was a growing demand for a GT version. This had prompted the company to create the MGA Coupe with limited success. There was nothing wrong with the Coupe except that there was no real increase in space, it was hot to drive in the summer and the small trunk was virtually taken up with the spare wheel! This was not quite what the public wanted in the way of a Grand Tourer (GT). Again I had one for a few years and it was an interesting machine if you were under five foot eight and had long legs. The inclusion of an A/C unit would have helped but that would require a completely new type of engine as I found out! Before the GT hit the British public a Belgian coach builder by the name of Jaques Coune designed the "Berlineette" MGB 1800. A rather attractive version of the current MGBGT. MGB GT 1967; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2008 
One could almost think that it was the inspiration but of course that was not true as the GT was on the drawing board almost ten years before. No one is quite sure how many "Berlinette" style vehicles were produced but I have seen a figure of around fifty give or take a few. There could be one or two still around but I can not confirm that. As mentioned earlier the MGBGT got rave reviews when it was launched. One paper boldly said "The Car of The Decade" another "The Car the People have Been Waiting for!" The real secret was that the price was right for a general purpose vehicle with a sports background. For just under a thousand pounds the car was yours however if you wanted a heater, seat belts, radio, or overdrive the price would hit around twelve hundred pounds. In today's exchange rate as I write this that about $2300. The one drawback to owning the GT was its extra weight. The car was over 250 pounds heavier than the Roadster and the performance from a standing start was not that impressive? However, the car could hit a 100 mph once it was rolling and had the new 1800 power unit that was created to help the MGB Roadster that had been launched a few months earlier with what can only be described as a rather ancient design power train. The new five bearing engine that was fitted to the Roadster in late 1964 was the chosen unit for the GT. The total production of the GT was just over 125,000 including the exciting MBC that I have always had a yearning for and the MGBGT V8 that can make the hair stand up in the back of your head by just starting the car! They only produced 2591 of these vehicles and all in GT form. I wonder what a Roadster would have been like to drive on a country English road!
MGBGT V8 1973; Submitted by Rick Feibusch, 2009 
The MGB was certainly the most successful car in terms of production numbers to ever come out of Abingdon designed to last for seven years it almost hit 18 before the factory was shut down for political reasons by the Thatcher government. The rest of the British motor industry was to follow suite thanks to poor management, short sighted investors who could only see this month's bottom line and Trade Unions who spent more time in disputes than in production. Now add a Government who should have never got involved with the Motor Industry but it did way back in the 1950s and never knew what to do with it's new toy. I also think that Thatcher would have viewed the demise of the British Motor industry with a little more consideration if Deloran had not taken the British government for a cool seventy seven million pounds in 1981 and departed holding the cash and leaving about 800 people unemployed and a modern factory built with tax payers money empty.
The Iron Lady had a long memory! © 2012 Geoff Wheatley PS. A few years ago in company with some fellow MG types we visited the MG Club in Abingdon and they arranged for a few of the past employees to join the group. I asked one of the old timers if he remembered my father but got no reply. I assumed he did not hear the question so I let it pass. As we were departing he came over and in a quiet voice said. "I knew your Dad. He had a good eye for the girls!" You find out new things every day! |
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MGC GT Racer 1969
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MGR V8 1994
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MGB 1964
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BMC Rosette
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