Opening of the MG Museum Room

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Opening of the MG Museum Room - 26th May 2007

MG's Heritage Finally Recognised:

It is nearly 27 years since the curtain came down on the MG assembly plant at Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Of course it was huge blow to the town, the factory being the major employer for many of the residents. Since that date, and during the intervening years, many of the thousands of MG enthusiasts world wide have made a pilgrimage to the town hoping to find out something of the heritage that made MG the world’s most popular sports car.

Their journey was rather a forlorn one for unless they knew the whereabouts of the MG Car Club's headquarters, or were fortunate enough to bump into an ex-employee, they would find no obvious signs that MG once inhabited the town. People of the town will tell of seeing tourists aimlessly driving around looking for signs of the former company and then just driving away. In some cases they would be directed to the McDonalds or the Thames Valley Police Station which now occupies the land where the factory gates stood. In fact the only remnants of the factory as closed in October 1980 still standing are the 'B' block sheds 4, 5 & 6, now the home of Oxford Engineering Company. Since that day in 1980 one man in particular has campaigned for the town to have a fitting tribute to the MG marque, that man is Brian Moylan, who has been supported by Simon Pedrazzini. Brian joined MG in 1950 as a mechanic in the service department - up until 1963 owners could return their MG to the factory for servicing or repair. Brian moved from the service department into the competitions department as a mechanic, where he remained until about six months before the factory closed, leaving to take the position as manager of one of Morris Garages' sites in nearby Oxford.

On Saturday 26th May, Brian’s campaign bore fruit, with the opening of a room dedicated to the memory of the MG factory in the town’s museum. The Museum is housed in the County Hall, located in the market square in the centre of the town, which dates back to 1678 and whose architect was an assistant to Sir Christopher Wren. The arrival at the museum in 2006 of a new curator, Dr. Lauren Gilmour who, on asking visitors to the museum what they expected to see, was told by many "something about MG", - this was the catalyst for the creation of the room. The room is reached by climbing the stairs around the walls of the tower that leads to the roof from the main museum room. As you ascend, there are a series of poster boards that give a timeline to the factory, its products and its staff. On reaching the upper landing there are some rare production drawings of MGs and on your right is a door leading to the MG room. Although the room is not very big, it is crammed full of interesting artefacts, most of which belong to Brian himself. Display cabinets show items relating to the activities of the Works Social Club, record breaking, items from the factory (can you guess the significance of the time on the clocks?), the car clubs, competitions and Cecil Kimber. The last even has the monogrammed suitcase that Kimber was carrying when he met his death in a freak rail accident at Kings Cross Station in 1945. Finally along one wall is a life size 3D effect photograph of the production line.

The exhibition, entitled "The Men who MG" was officially opened at 11.00am on Saturday 26th May by Bill Wallis, president of the MG Car Club. Please note the exhibition is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 4.00pm. Although judging by Brian’s enthusiasm I suspect, and hope, it is only the beginning of a bigger and better permanent tribute to "The MG".

To accompany the exhibition Brian has written an excellent photographic record book, published by Veloce, entitled "MG’s Abingdon Factory" and priced at £12.99. Visit www.veloce.co.uk for details.

Text: Martin Charles
Photos: Malcolm Bailey