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Morris Commercial Vehicles

I have been out of Birmingham for about 46 years, so have been out of touch with most things, but it was with great sadness that I read of the closing of Morris Commercial Cars in 1972. MCC was more than a factory, it was a community. Many generations of families worked there and had strong links with the firm. It had a proud and heroic history.
MCC had photos of the assembly lines after the nightly air raids, with the workers first job in the mornings was to clear away the debris so the war production could commence. I was too young to have personal experience of the war time conditions, but when I started I worked with seniors who had worked there and they told me how things were.
They said that they had a captured German engine which they tested and that it ran on full load for weeks with no problems, something they said they had nothing comparable. They also said that some of the night shift women would not work until they had been "attended" to, their men were in the armed forces. There were a lot of women and few men!
I think the first nail was hammered into the coffin of the British Motor Industry durring my apprenticeship when they gave control to the economists. They then started to produce the car they wanted to sell rather than the car people wanted to buy! I think that the British cars were the best in the world before then. Cars like the Riley, a small limosine, the Wolseley, favourite as a police car. Morris, Austin, Rover, Humber or Hillman. Where are they now.
They started with the 1100 and 1300, then the Mini. The only contribution from the economists was badge engineering. When the Mini first came out, they had one for us to see durring our lunch break over in East Works. I took one look at it and thought it would never sell. I was so wrong. It sold as a Morris, an Austin, a Riley, a Wolseley, a MG and even a Rolls!
A bad photo I remember was a Scottish field, in winter, full of MCC trucks that were waiting to be sold.
I still remember happy hours spent at the MCC club in Ward End, playing tennis, dancing and just socializing. I am a life member of the Morris Commercial Cars Apprentices Association, but it no longer exists. Such is life!!
Yes I was an Apprentice there 1963 - 1968 moved to Cowley to work ay Service HQ.

Yes it was certainly a community.
 
Expa
I have been out of Birmingham for about 46 years, so have been out of touch with most things, but it was with great sadness that I read of the closing of Morris Commercial Cars in 1972. MCC was more than a factory, it was a community. Many generations of families worked there and had strong links with the firm. It had a proud and heroic history.
MCC had photos of the assembly lines after the nightly air raids, with the workers first job in the mornings was to clear away the debris so the war production could commence. I was too young to have personal experience of the war time conditions, but when I started I worked with seniors who had worked there and they told me how things were.
They said that they had a captured German engine which they tested and that it ran on full load for weeks with no problems, something they said they had nothing comparable. They also said that some of the night shift women would not work until they had been "attended" to, their men were in the armed forces. There were a lot of women and few men!
I think the first nail was hammered into the coffin of the British Motor Industry durring my apprenticeship when they gave control to the economists. They then started to produce the car they wanted to sell rather than the car people wanted to buy! I think that the British cars were the best in the world before then. Cars like the Riley, a small limosine, the Wolseley, favourite as a police car. Morris, Austin, Rover, Humber or Hillman. Where are they now.
They started with the 1100 and 1300, then the Mini. The only contribution from the economists was badge engineering. When the Mini first came out, they had one for us to see durring our lunch break over in East Works. I took one look at it and thought it would never sell. I was so wrong. It sold as a Morris, an Austin, a Riley, a Wolseley, a MG and even a Rolls!
A bad photo I remember was a Scottish field, in winter, full of MCC trucks that were waiting to be sold.
I still remember happy hours spent at the MCC club in Ward End, playing tennis, dancing and just socializing. I am a life member of the Morris Commercial Cars Apprentices Association, but it no longer exists. Such is life!!
Expat, I think you hit the nail clearly on its head with the demise of the car industry. Even the mini fizzled after the gimmick wore off!
What is such a shame is that under good management/leadership they can succeed. Mini(BMW), Jaguar and Land Rover (Tata). Same plants, same workers,same equipment. Go figure!
 
This is interesting reading, particularly as it it hot today (22C) and most of us probably have time on our hands.
 
Yes I was an Apprentice there 1963 - 1968 moved to Cowley to work ay Service HQ.

Yes it was certainly a community.
Yes I was an Apprentice there 1963 - 1968 moved to Cowley to work ay Service HQ.

Yes it was certainly a community.
MCC Apprentice,
I served my apprenticeship at Morris Commercial too (1955 to 1960), but I think the story about the captured German engine actually refers to when Wolseley tested captured German airship engines during WW1. Wolseley built airship engines and machinery themselves, so were obviously interested in testing, stripping and inspecting enemy equipment at their aircraft factory.
The complete history of Morris Commercial is covered in my book "Buy British and be Proud of it" and Wolseley's non car products are covered in my book "Wolseley Special Products". This is my way of PRESERVING a bit of Birmingham History.
Boomy
 
My aunt Mary Carr worked at Morris Commercial in Bordesley Green in WW2, I believe she was a machinist on a drilling machine.
It would interesting to see any photos of the work inside Morris during WW2?A7032A02-136B-48C9-9A00-2D049FB136F4.jpeg
 
thanks Eric, I should have shown the whole photo! The person with their hand on her shoulder is my uncle who was in the RAF at the time, well spotted :)
 
Astonian, It was Pathe. but they amalgamated with other companies like Gaumont. I think the bloke in charge was Mr Fullilove or Mr Fulliforce.
Mr Bibb was apprentice supervisor, Alf was foreman Neville Kershaw was leading hand but he went on to be apprentice superviser. I am a life member of the Apprentices Association.
I was working at SU Carbs when there was a fire in East Works, the local people entered MCC and wheeled vehicles out to save them from the fire. A lot of locals worked at MCC of course.
They had a fantastic club for employees in Ward End I think. One night at an apprentices annual dinner, some older apprentices jacked up Mr Bibbs car and took the wheels off. He had an MG sedan. This Forum site is bringing back many memories of things I had forgotton, it is nearly 50 years since I left.
My grandparents, Bert and Deb Wilson, ran the Drews Lane Social Club from around 1962 to 1967ish... We lived in a bungalow on site and there was another bungalow for the groundskeeper who was needed to look after all the cricket pitches, bowling greens and tennis courts. It was a very large site.
 
This is interesting reading, particularly as it it hot today (22C) and most of us probably have time on our hands.
Very revealing article indeed! Also very depressing, doing the same things over and over and expecting the results to change! What you might call snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. So many wonderful innovative brands just cast aside through very poor leadership.
 
Unfortunately, Longbridge turned out absolute rubbish in the late 1960's and 1970's.
The only thing important in British Leyland days, was meeting production schedules, even if cars were not selling, and ended up rotting away on fields.
"Quality" was not in their dictionary!
PA739
 
Unfortunately, Longbridge turned out absolute rubbish in the late 1960's and 1970's.
The only thing important in British Leyland days, was meeting production schedules, even if cars were not selling, and ended up rotting away on fields.
"Quality" was not in their dictionary!
PA739
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
 
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
I spent about 30 years working for BMC / British Leyland, but the build quality of cars built at Cowley was far better than those built at Longbridge.
When Leyland merged with BMC the new ADO 19 "Ant" 4x4, was scrapped because Land Rover objected to it, even though the pre-production prototypes had bodies coming off press-tools. This would have been a fantastic little car, better than some of the Japanese products.
PA739
 

Concepts and prototypes : BMC 9X (1968-87)​

the aborted BMC 9X programme – the ill-fated Mini replacement, engineered by the man who created the original.

Was it the world’s first supermini?


Sheer Genius – 9X: the Mini that never was​

Here we can compare the original mock-up of the 9X design, as built by Pininfarina (top), with the resulting fully-engineered prototype (above).
 

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the stag engine was terrable, allegro body was terrable it flexed and the windows shattered when you jacked it up. the rest of the cars i found ok.
never saw a ANT 4X4 but they looked smart
View attachment 175427View attachment 175428View attachment 175429
the stag engine was terrable, allegro body was terrable it flexed and the windows shattered when you jacked it up. the rest of the cars i found ok.
never saw a ANT 4X4 but they looked smart
View attachment 175427View attachment 175428View attachment 175429
Forgot to mention.
There is a connection here with Morris Commercial, because that is where the pre-production prototypes were built, and plans to put it into production at Adderley Park were already advanced.
PA739
 
Forgot to mention.
There is a connection here with Morris Commercial, because that is where the pre-production prototypes were built, and plans to put it into production at Adderley Park were already advanced.
PA739
i transported a prototype back to the works every time it broke down on test it had to be covered in a tarp:grinning:
 
SOME rubbish - it wasn't all! For example, the Austin 1100 and 1300 were great little cars. The Maxi was very ugly but otherwise it was a good car. The Marina and Allegro have acquired very very bad reputations - yes, they were not good when you compare them to - e.g. - the Escort and Cavalier, but they weren't actually as bad as they've been painted (oh wait, let's not talk about paintwork... :D).

However, the faults with British Leyland weren't confined to Longbridge - the appalling short-sighted decisions in relation to the Triumph Stag engine, turned what should have been one of the all-time classic cars into something of a nightmare for owners.
I had an Austin 1100 which was about as far as you could get from a great little car! Then I bought a Triumph TR 4 brand new, my dream car! When I got the car home from the dealer, the handbrake came off in my hand! Went down hill from there. A close friend bought a Triumph Stag, that thing was trouble looking for someplace to happen! My next car was a BMW 2002 ti it just ran and ran and ran. After 200,000 miles a good friend purchased it and ran it for another 50,000.
 
I spent about 30 years working for BMC / British Leyland, but the build quality of cars built at Cowley was far better than those built at Longbridge.
When Leyland merged with BMC the new ADO 19 "Ant" 4x4, was scrapped because Land Rover objected to it, even though the pre-production prototypes had bodies coming off press-tools. This would have been a fantastic little car, better than some of the Japanese products.
PA739
Ah, Land Rover! About three years ago my wife was sitting in traffic in her Acura when a lady in a LR hit her in the back. The lady apologized profusely that she was late to pick up her daughter. There were no marks on the Acura but the front bumper on the LR fell off! I’m sure that Tatta Motors was not pleased!
 
the first morris commercial van i had was like this one a 1944 Morris Z Series G.P.O. telephone lineman’s van with rubber wings
 

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