The second International Relay Race was held at the Brooklands circuit in 1932. The winning team of three Hornets was made-up of two 1932 Eustace Watkins Daytona Specials and an earlier 1931 Eustace Watkins International model. The International was driven by Edward Erith who is seen here in the same car as he drove that day – GO 6468. In May of that year Erith took his Hornet to Lewes in Sussex having entered the annual speed trials on the downs. Alongside Erith in this paddock shot is a late 1931 Kent registered Swallow Hornet Special while yet more Hornets await their turn behind the leading duo. (LAT Motor Sport negative)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

A 1933 Somerset registered 1933 MG J2 Midget (YD 6854) is seen here taking part in the driving test section of the 1935 MCC Torquay Rally & Trial. The details of this rally are not recorded in Donald Cowbourne’s book ‘British Rally Drivers – their cars and awards’ therefore the crew of car number 173 will have to remain unnamed. This is a restored version of LATplate C7066

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

Little is known about the car and crew in this paddock image. It was taken at Donington Hall on the occasion of just the second race meeting to be held at the venue on 13th May 1933. The man standing behind the car has a cardboard tag hanging from his lapel labelled ‘Mechanic’ while both crew members pose for the camera in their crash helmets. The remainder of their attire is more appropriate for a trip to the pub rather than 20 laps around a race circuit. (LATplate C460)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

This image perfectly illustrates the genetic ties that exist between the pre-war Morris Minor and the first MG Midget. The photo was sent to the Network in early 2009, just a few months after the website was established. The limited information captured at that time included the name of the correspondent, a Mr Norman Edwards and the vehicle’s chassis number 2M/651. This of course identifies and dates the car as a 1929 MG Midget, the vehicle registration confirming this and identifying its place of registration as being Manchester. While the photo is undated and could have been taken at any time during the last thirty years, it’s clear that it has been heavily modified at an earlier stage in its life, someone fitting what looks to be a home-built body while also replacing the original Midget radiator with that from a 1932 Morris Minor. The Minor radiator badge has also been removed and replaced with that from an MG. The much-revised car’s front valance is of later construction and was not an original fitment on either model. Although not listed on the Triple M Register (at least, not with this chassis number) the car is known at the DVLA, their database recording it as being first registered in October 1929. It, therefore, seems likely that it is still out there somewhere. Let’s hope so.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

This superb cutaway image of a 1932 MG F1 Type Salonette first appeared in the 11th September 1932 edition of The Autocar magazine. There is little else to add other than to say the drawing was authored by noted technical artist, Max Millar.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

The 1935 RSAC Scottish Rally took place between the 10th and 14th June. Sixteen MG’s took part including Midget BXA 23 which was driven by D.R.B. Duffy who bought it home in eighteenth position of the forty-one cars in his class that made it to the finish. The rally was as much a test of endurance than of skill as the event ran for four days through some of Scotland’s most picturesque but demanding terrain. (LATplate C6404)

LAT plate C440 is dated 13th May 1935 in the LAT portfolio but was almost certainly taken on 13th May 1933 as the plate number places it among the May 1933 sequence. This dramatic shot of car no. 19, a 1932/33 Wolseley Hornet Eustace Watkins Daytona Special was taken at Donington Hall at only the second ever car meeting to be held there, the  first such meeting taking place just two months earlier. The outcome of this incident is unknown.

Peter Brock found this reference to the incident in Motor Sport:

Round they came again, and this time J. T. Ridd went onto the grass. Somehow all the cars got round and we waited for the next circuit. Patrick was well in the lead, followed by Briault, who came up to the bend at a great speed. He clapped on his brakes, the tail of the Hornet decided to become the front, and with a screech of tyres the car turned right round. Briault took his bearings, and set off, but not before Doctor Hawes on another Hornet had robbed him of second place. The crowd, with typical British disregard for the niceties of driving, gave Briault a rousing cheer.

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

This photo was taken in July 1935 during the course of the Eastbourne Concours D’Elegance or Coachwork Competition. The event was one of a series of south coast ‘beauty pageants’ held each summer in the resort towns of Brighton, Ramsgate and Eastbourne. They attracted huge crowds and large entries throughout the thirties and it was to these events that the equivalent of today’s motoring exotica gathered. This rather overdressed MG, owned by a Captain Short is being examined by Eastbourne’s Lady Mayoress, while Major Gowen from Fawlty Towers looks on. Can anyone recognise the model hidden behind the plethora of badges? (LATplate C 7041)

The Triple M series of MG’s all belong to a family of models that commenced with the 1929 MG Midget and continued through to the mid-thirties via a long string of four and six cylinder OHC engined cars that forged the marques identity.

This atmospheric night shot was taken  in the early hours of 28th December 1935 near Shaftesbury in Dorset. The occasion was the 21st running of the MCC’s London-Exeter Trial, the cars having left the start in Virginia Water, Surrey a few hours earlier. The three recognisable cars here are are the Midgets of N.E. Bracey (‘P’ Type BPL 999)  and J.H. Summerfield (‘P’ Type JB 4611). The Ford V8 3.6 litre behind the two MG’s is that driven by F. Allott. While Allott and Bracey both went on to win Premier Awards, Summerfield retired his car before the finish.  (LATplate C7825)

JHT 400 is an MG Magna engined Wolseley Hornet Special. Originally registered in Birmingham in 1931 as a Wolseley Hornet Saloon (OG 7528) it was initially rebuilt as a plywood bodied trials special in 1936 by owners T.C.G. Butler and C.C. Evans. The car was then campaigned both before and immediately after the Second World War. Evans named the car ‘Ophelia‘ after hearing a comment by a passenger bouncer “Oh, feel your wheels gripping” following its second conversion when the seats and hence more weight was moved further to the rear.  Ophelia and crew achieved some success and notoriety while taking part in many national reliability trials during this period. The first of the three images to be seen here (competition no. 65) was taken in Gypsy Lane during the course of the 1946 Colmore Trial while the Motor Sport snippet caption tells us that OG 7528 was appearing in the 1937 event of the same name. The venue and date are not known for the third image.