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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
 Posted - 28/11/2022 : 23:44:42
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I am attempting to fill in the gaps in the known history of my NA0651. It was purchased in January 1935 at the Colmore Depot, Liverpool by a Mr. P.S.P. Morter. Over the early months of 1935, he experienced a considerable amount of difficulty with an inordinate number of small items. The car was returned to the Colmore Depot for service and one visit to the factory in Abingdon.
The next owner I am able to verify was a Mr. Trevor Coe of Saxtead, Woodbridge, Suffolk. I have communicated with him and he confirmed the reason he sold the car was a loss of the nearside rear wheel resulting in a considerable fire. This is confirmed by notes made by the subsequent owners.
However, a question arises by an article written by F.L.M. Harris (General Secretary, MG Car Club) of 12, Holborn, E.C.1 in the October 1935 issue of “The Sports Car”, in which he describes a tour he and several other people took in Germany. He describes an accident in which the car he was driving was rear-ended by a tram driver. The car he was driving is my NA0651, registration plate AKC206. This is borne out by a photograph showing the NA with the registration plate in clear view and the guilty tram. However, no mention is made of Mr. Morter, the presumed owner of NA0651.
So I have a few questions:
1) Had Mr. Morter sold the car to Mr. Harris? If so, when, as the chassis file makes no mention of Mr. Morter after mid-1935, although the Colmore Depot continues to be mentioned.
2) Who was Mr. Harris? Did he purchase NA0651 sometime in 1935 and subsequently go on tour with it?
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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KevinA
New Zealand
670 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2022 : 01:00:00
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Part of the answer to question 2
Frank 'Mit' Harris was the third secretary of the MG Car Club, taking over in 1934 and serving for 10 years.
At the time he was proprietor of The Sports Car magazine in which he regularly reported MG Car Club news and features. His enthusiasm for MG saw him as an active competitor and event organiser as well as maintaining the job of Club secretary through the difficult wartime years. He retired from the RAF as a Wing Commander and died in 1945 at the age of only 4?,
His wife Mary was actively involved with the Club; in the immediate post-war period she was responsible for helping get the Club underway and, in more recent years she donated the Mary Harris Trophy, which remains an annual award with the MMM Register. |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 29/11/2022 : 16:54:11
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Thanks, Kevin. That helps a lot. But I still would like to know how Mr. Harris came to be using NA0651 in 1935, especially on a trip all the way to Germany. Did he buy the car from Mr. Morter or did he simply borrow the car for the tour?
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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Colin Butchers
United Kingdom
1487 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2022 : 11:36:54
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Lew. "Mit" Harris was quite important in the M.G. world in 1935, and I think that it would have been possible for him to borrow a car from a trader or friend to test the car's performance.
Colin B. |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2022 : 16:13:29
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THANKS, Colin. I wonder if there is any way to see what cars he owner during 1935? It seems unlikely that he would borrow a car given that he was in London and the car, if still owned by Mr. Morter, was in Liverpool.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3242 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2022 : 03:15:15
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I have done a bit more digging and found that both the original owner {P.S.P. Morter) and Mit Harris were both members and officers in the RAF Balloon Branch, Mr. Harris being the more senior officer as he received his commission during WWI. He is listed at that time as a flying officer with the Airship branch.
So it is likely that they may have known one another. That may have led to Mr. Harris buying or borrowing NA0651. However, I still seek to determine the early ownership history from 1935 to 1973.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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NA0651 Mystery
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