One for your 2014 Diaries - 25th May is All Morgans' Day at Waddesdon Manor, Bucks

"ALL MORGANS' DAY"

Sunday 25th May 2014

We have once again been fortunate and reserved the lovely National Trust Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire for the 3rd "ALL MORGANS' DAY" to be held on Sunday 25th May 2014 Sponsored by The Morgan Centenary Roadster 100 Register.

For those of you unfamiliar with Waddesdon Manor, please take a look at their website:

http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/plan-a-visit/

Once again, we shall be supporting our chosen charity, Help For Heroes, the wonderful charity helping our Brave Service Personnel to overcome health problems and devastating war injuries.

Parking in front of the magnificent Waddesdon Manor is available to all Morgan owners in return for a Donation of at least £5 to the Help for Heroes fund. Contact David Harris at:

davidharris144@btinternet.com

The new Morgan Three Wheelers are bound to be a big attraction again in 2014 with over 1000 manufactured so far and we have arranged exclusive parking for them so that they can be viewed "en masse".

The Generous Morgan Community last year raised £2583.38.

The Morgan Centenary Roadster 100 Register looks forward to seeing everyone there, either as a visitor or with your Morgan Car Booked In and Enhancing the Display.

Frank 

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Hotels all Within 20km fromWaddesdon Manor, All Morgans' Day.

The Lion at Waddesdon, 70a. High Street,Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JD - 0044 (0)1296 651 227

The Five Arrows Hotel, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JE - 0044 (0)1296 651 727

The Shakespeare House, Grendon Underwood, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0ST . 0044 (0)1296 770 776

Long Crendon Manor, Frogmore Lane, Long Crendon, HP18 9DZ . 0044 (0) 1844 201 647

The Dinton Hermit, Water Lane, Ford, Buckinghamshire HP17 8XH . 0044 (0)1296 747 473

Hartwell House, Oxford Road, Hartwell, Aylesbury HP17 8NR . 0044 (0) 1296 746 505

The Holiday Inn Garden Court, Buckingham Road, Watermead, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP19 0FY . 0044

(0)1296 398 839

The Holiday Inn, New Road, Weston Turville, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5QT . 0044 (0)1296 734 000

The Premier Inn, Buckingham Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP 9QL . 0044 (0)871 527 8036

The Spread Eagle Hotel, Cornmarket, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2BW . 0044 (0)1844 213 661

The Peacock Hotel, Henton, Nr. Chinnor, Thame OX39 4AH, 0044 (0)1844 353 519

The Oxford Belfry Hotel, Milton Common, Nr. Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2JW 0044 (0)1844 353 519

The Brooklands Trust Recognise My Event With A Publication.

The Brooklands Trust, of which I am a member, has been kind enough to publish the report below about my Help for Heroes Fund Raising Event in April this year.

Here are copies of the two pages. 

Frank

Images from my Limited Edition 2014 Thousand Mile Rally for 'Help for Heroes' Calendar

Most recent years, I have dabbled with creating Calendars for the 'Morgan Centenary Roadster 100 Register' members to purchase using photos of their cars in beautiful locations. The 2014 version is still in the pipeline waiting for suitable photos. 

However, Last year I also created a limited edition of only 5 Calendars with Photos from my 'Solo Around Britain's Coast Roads Trip for Help for Heroes Fund Raising Rally'. You may view the covers here:

http://franks4x4-solograndetour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/my-around-britains-coast-roads-for-help.html

This year I have just created the second Limited Edition of 5 Calendars using same of the best photos taken during my Solo 1000 Mile Rally where I was also fund raising for Help for Heroes. That on line account is still open for anyone who would like to support this years event.

http://www.bmycharity.com/1000milerally

Here are the pages from this years 2014 calendar.

The Front Cover

There they are. I hope that you like them enough to make a donation to the very worth cause that Help for Heroes is, helping our severely injured troops and their families rehabilitate.

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/how-we-help/

Extra Items Found on the Internet Recently

The following are a list of articles I found on the Internet as I researched the 1900 Thousand Mile Trial.

The Peter Stow video on YouTube is particularly good as it shows many of the photos of the original Trial. I will add to this list as I find new links.

29 Oct 2006 - Uploaded by Peter Stow

First Ever Car Trial 1900. Peter Stow·318 videos .... They are of the 1,000 mile trials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNaTf3AlxYQ

AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, ONE THOUSAND MILE TRIAL. BRISTOL, 23-25 APRIL1900. 

http://website.lineone.net/~pete.stowe/pete_1000mTrial.htm

15 Feb 2013 - 1900 January. List of entries. 1900 April 23rd. Organised by the Automobile Club it started from London and went through Bristol, Birmingham,

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1900_One_Thousand_Mile_Trial

Back to 1900 - 1910 ... and not just rich boys' toys, Claude Johnson, Secretary of the Automobile Club (the forerunner of the RAC), conceived a 1000 mile trial .

http://www.lincslouthmcclassic.co.uk/index.php/history/1900-1910/1000-mile-tour/

Help for Heroes sent me the Event Certificate Today

While this Certificate of Thanks carries my name it is dedicated to all of the Kind Supporters of Help for Heroes who took the time to make those most Generous Donations which go to make up this total. 

So, once again, a Very Big Thank You to you all.  

Frank.

The Certificate

The Covering 'Thank You' Letter.

My 'Thank You' Posters sent to each of the Participating Stores during my Event

The following Posters were produced and sent to each store so that they could be put on their Events Notice Boards. Here is a typical example board seen at the Asda Cheltenham Store

A BIG THANK YOU to each and every customer who was kind enough to make a donation into my Help for Heroes Tin.

For The Sainsbury's Calcot Reading Store

For The Sainsbury's Bath Store

For The Asda Cheltenham Store

For The Sainsbury's Worcester Store

For The Sainsbury's Derby Store 

For The Sainsbury's Stockport Store

For The Sainsbury's Preston Store

For The Sainsbury's Lancaster Store

For The Sainsbury's Cockermouth Store

For Sainsbury's Carlisle Store

For The Sainsbury's Peebles Store

For The Sainsbury's Meadowbank Edinburgh Store

For The Sainsbury's Alnwick Store

For The Sainsbury's Fossbank York Store

For The Sainsbury's Harrogate Store

For The Asda Harrogate Store

For The Asda Bradford Store

For The Sainsbury's Lincoln Store

For The Sainsbury's Northampton Store

For The Sainsbury's St. Albans Store

Press Releases with News about My 1000 Mile Rally for Help for Heroes Event.

The following documents are scans of local newspaper inserts about me and my 1000 Mile Trial Fund Raising Event 

The Beaconsfield Advertiser published this piece about 6 weeks before I set off. The photo was taken last year when I was fund raising before my Around Britain's Coast Roads Trip at Sainsbury's Beaconsfield.

Again the Beaconsfield Advertiser inserted this piece the week I set off. The photo was taken of me fund raising at the Beaconsfield Town Hall on the Wednesday 24th April. Here I am carrying the Double Ended Baton made for me by my good friend Jim West, for another 'Relay' event which I had to abandon due to lack of interest. On the trip it proved excellent when fund raising at two places in the same day enabling me to keep the takings for each location separate. 

During the trip on Day 2 my first Fund Raising stop was at Asda Cheltenham where my good friends and Morgan Owner Barry Murray-Upton (3rd from right) brought along his partner Susie Godwin and a group of Help for Heroes Volunteers to help fund raise. Here I am seen with Barry and Asda Community Life Champions Syrita Clarke and Jill Garland.

On my return from my Event, The Beaconsfield Advertiser published this piece using another of my Asda Cheltenham photos showing the whole fund raising team there including my other good friend and Morgan Roadster 100 Register founder David Harris and Help for Heroes Coordinator, Susie Godwin (standing either side of a somewhat red faced me). 

The wording of the piece could be read to suggest that my costs were taken from the £3175.68 collected. 

This is not the case as I funded the whole trip myself, with all donations made going directly to Help for Heroes as may be seen in the summary page of my Bmycharity Website, using the link here.

http://www.bmycharity.com/1000milerally

A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who, like me, believe in the Help for Heroes cause and objectives and for your support for us both through your kind and generous donations.

Frank.

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1000 Mile Rally Report in the November 2013 Brooklands                                                    Bulletin

The Brooklands Trust have been kind enough to recognise us by adding a report  on my 1000 Mile Rally Fund Raiser in the November Issue. Here are the two page copies for your interest. Frank.

Review of my 1000 Mile Rally Project Fund Raising for Help for Heroes.

A Young 'Help for Heroes' Donator at Sainsbury's Cockermouth Store

In summary, this years Fund Raiser  was a Superb Trip with 9 days of excellent, Hood Down Morganing weather (only 2 days of rain). 

City Centre driving is not the best thing in the world but I did enjoy dodging the Tram Line Road Works during a tour of Edinburgh and the slow sojourn through Central London, via Regent Street, Trafalgar Square on to the Finishing Line at Whitehall and then the circuit of Horse Guards and The Mall before heading west. 

During the trip, and while at the 20 stores I met some lovely people responsible for local Fund Raising and enjoyed the days when I was was joined by other Morgan Owners. 

I popped into the Morgan Factory to meet up with MOG MAG Assistant Editor Julia Packer

Roadster Owner David Harris and +8 owner Barrie Murray Upton came along to Cheltenam Asda along with a Strong Help for Heroes Team led by Susie Godwin.

In Carlisle, we made the highest amount of £350 through the excellent presentation set up by Help for Heroes Team of Elizabeth Graham and Tony Richardson.

At Alnwick, NorMog Secretary John Anderson (Right), came along to support me with other Morgan Owners Dennis, Robin & Brian.

    

For quite some time I had been trying to develop a way of raising funds for Help for Heroes during 2013. The Centenary Roadster 100 Register were not planning an event for this year so to hold another Solo Event was niggling away in my head when the February copy of the Morgan Sports Car Club Magazine 'Miscellany' arrived in the post.

An article about the history of 'Drive It Day' included a reference to the '1900 Thousand Mile Trial' and featured a map, cribbed from 'Hero Events' (advert content below ) indicating the actual route used in 1900.

Reading the story and researching about its history quickly became the inspiration for my Help for Heroes Fund Raising Event where I would also follow this route and just two months later I was ready to set off.

The Mog was packed and I had also obtained a healthy supply of Help for Heroes Wrist Bands and Lapel Medal Stickers to offer to donators.

The original 1900's event was the Inspiration and Planning Task of one Claude Johnson, the then Secretary of the Automobile Club (to later become the Royal Automobile Club).  

This current advertisement below from Hero Events gives another perspective on the background to the 1900's Trial. 

http://www.heroevents.eu/Events/thousand_mile_trial/

'Hero Events'

A New Exciting Event Exclusively for Pre-War Cars

July 2014. Provisional dates 12th to 19th July.

Its 1899 and a large number of the people in Britain had not seen a motor car. In fact people are laughing at the idea that the motor car could become a commercial or practical success.

To show off the Motor car an adventure was planned – tour Britain visiting major town and cities, allow the public to see and touch the Motor car and watch them drive by. The event was planned for spring 1900; One Thousand miles as an extensive demonstration trial organised by the Automobile Club. The intent was simple, test human endurance as well as the machinery for reliability and safety.

The idea was a lot simpler than the application.

• At this point in time very few enthusiastic motorists (as they were now called) had driven 100 miles in a single day.
• No one knew how to draw up a time schedule that could be maintained – how long would it take to drive the required distance each day?
• Speed limits at the time were 8mph in towns and 12 mph outside
• Some drivers wanted a 2 hour lunch stop for lunch and liqueurs; others did not want to stop
• To allow the public the opportunity to see the cars up close and personal motor shows were organised in each town and city visited, some just for a couple of hours others all day.
• Rest days were built in – driving an open motor car in all weathers was hard work
• Maps were not very accurate
• Sign posts long the way were non existent
• There were no mobile phones and very few static phones for that matter
• Mechanical assistance consisted of what you could carry and repairs you could undertake
• There were few hotels, en route, that were comfortable enough to house the participants 

Due to all this and many other considerations the event actually took 20 days to complete. There were 53 trade entries (manufacturers) and 31 private entries of which 23 trade entries and 24 private entries made the finish. An incredible feat and an event, with hindsight, that  was the foundation stone of British Motor Industry.

The Veteran Car Club organised a Historic Enactment of the Thousand Mile trial in 2000 to mark its 100 year birthday,. The Thousand Mile Trial was an Endurance event. The Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation will re-run the event for pre-war cars and follow the original trial route, where possible, but complete the thousand miles in 5 days.

http://www.heroevents.eu/files/attachments/1000MT01dLo.pdf

 My own event took place over 11 days of driving as did the 1900 event, commencing on 29th April until 9th May. I followed the original route and direction as far as I could ascertain details of the old roads they would have likely used. 

As, unlike the 1900's wealthy owners, I did not have the benefit of knowing the residents of large Country Houses, such as Calcot Park near Reading and Webeck & Clumber Parks in Lincolnshire, where they probably stayed or just stopped for the occasional refreshment, I booked myself into reasonable cost accommodation near to the same Cities where they indicated that they stopped. 

I focused my fundraising during the trip by stopping with the Morgan at 17 Sainsbury's and 3 Asda Super Stores with the approval of the Management. I staed at each for periods of around 3 to 4 hours and collected donations by standing at the Main Doors in my Help for Heroes outfit holding out my special Double Ended 'Baton' Tins.

At the Morgan Factory, on my way.

Due to the extreme kindness of all of the Store's Customers, I raised just over £2000. 
A further £1067 was raised by Online Donations to my Bmycharity Website, mostly from the Morgan Community who supported me through the 'TalkMorgan' Website. 

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/forum_summary

During the journey I covered a total distance of 1286 Miles. with diversions to the Morgan Factory, a minor diversion around a road blockage near Derby and off route visits to Wetherby and both Elterwater and Cockermouth when I was in Cumbria.

I managed to restrict my Accomodation and Meals costs to just £790.49

The Total Fuel Costs were £252.21

So all in all, my costs were just over £1000 used to raise £3000 which, considering the pleasure of the drive and the experience, was well worth it. (£95 per day is a very good value in my book)

(Last year I spent £3000 to raise £7000 with the help of over £2000 coming from our Waddesdon Day)

Frank

http://www.bmycharity.com/1000milerally