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Jack Morgan. A true Pioneer.
It is most unusual to find unmolested cars from the very early days of tethered car racing in the UK, but two of Jack Morgan's cars from the 1940s have turned up again prompting further research to accompany original photos that had been shared with us. We are indebted to Peter Hill for most of the original material that follows.
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Jack retained two of his cars until his death, along with the Lucy Gascoigne MG streamliner that he and Jack Gascoigne had built between them. At this point they vanished before one of his cars and the MG appeared on ebay in the US some while later. Since then both have changed hands more than once, but now we have photos from the current owners we are able to put together the story behind one of the pioneers of tethered car racing in the UK. Jack was President of the Retro Racing Club until his death, and in the first issue of the Club's newsletter described how he became involved with tethered cars, and his subsequent disillusionment with the way the sport had developed. We are so lucky to have this original account of how tethered car racing came into being here. What follows are Jack's own words as written, and here, in the current idiom, we have to issue a 'trigger warning'. The language and sentiments expressed are of the time and reflect the views held by many of the pioneering tethered car racers. |
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"1939, war declared and all power model flying stopped. I had a five foot wingspan model that I had made with a Brown Junior engine, one of the first, along with Col Bowden. Having read about the cars in America with these engines fitted and aircraft landing wheels some of which were friction drive I thought, let's make a proper car with side frames, cross members all riveted in like the full size ones. To this I fitted my Brown Junior engine, friction driven, and I thought to myself, what a clever sod I am so I sent photos and an article to the Model Engineer somewhere about 1946, which they published. Three other model engineers, who read my article had also built model cars, they were (Gerry) Buck, (Jim) Cruickshank and (Bob) Curwen. Jim Cruickshank who worked at a blind factory in London which had a large flat roof wrote to the Model Engineer stating that if any modeller would like to turn up on a certain date they could run their cars on the roof. (this was 1943, not 1946 OTW) |
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On the day mentioned, Buck, Curwen, (Jack) Gascoigne and myself turned up to join him. Cruickshank had built a model of the George Eyston MG which had a centrifugal clutch fitted to the 5cc E.T. Westbury designed Kestrel engine, this enabled him to start the engine and hold the car until releasing it. Gerry Buck's car had a Gwin engine, Whilst Curwen's had a own designed one, Gascoigne used a Hallam and myself with the Brown Junior. We all bumbled round, with Gerry Buck's car being the fastest, and for ever more after that.
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| Jack Morgan at the roof top meeting in 1943 | Jim Cruickshank, Bob Curwen, Gerry Buck Jack Morgan |
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What happened next: We formed a club (The Pioneer Model Car Club) and held a meeting in the Royal Horticultural Hall. Following this the Aeromodeller came into it run by D.A. Russell, (who had also been at the roof top meeting with an American Bunch 'Speed Demon' seen on the right of the above photo) they owned a small aerodrome near Leighton Buzzard called Eaton Bray which had a large concrete turning circle for checking plane compasses, ideal for a race track, and from then on the movement expanded. Regular meetings were held on weekends. Left : Jack's 10cc 'Fox' at Eaton Bray in 1946 |
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On Fridays we would turn up and stay at a hotel in Leighton Buzzard called the Black Swan and take over the hotel, high jinks and what not. Saturday we would go to the track for practice come back to the hotel at night, race on the Sunday then all go home just like the full size people. The motor trade started to give us trophies, Jaguar, Lucas, KLG. Etc. Some quite famous people came to see us race, Goldie Gardner came and stopped at our 'pit', Gascoigne and myself had built a model of his MG Midget, which he had set many records with and so I asked him if he would autograph it for us, as he did not have a pen to hand he scratched his name on the inside of the body. It is still here to this day. Right:- (well it was until a recent repaint in the US) Engraved in September 1947 |
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Various clubs sprung up all over the country, then the Americans started to send over ready built cars, Doolings and teardrop shapes running on one wheel only, this attracted the wrong type of person they were not model engineers at all, but car salesmen etc. who bought these yank cars, put them on the track and did 90mph so slowly the Model Engineers came out of it. It finally packed up with things like the Doolings etc. being so much faster than our scale cars which featured springing fore and aft, clutches etc. A lovely hobby while it lasted." Left: The 'Pioneers' on the roof top in 1945 From Left: |
(OTW It is ironic and indicative of the disillusionment of the way that the sport had developed that every one of the 'Pioneers' seen above had moved on to other model disciplines completely by 1950. Even the most successful of those from the first meeting, Gerry Buck, retired in 1951)
To be continued
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