JAGUAR HERITAGE TRUST NEWS ISSUE 6 November - December … · 2016-01-04 · Jaguar Heritage Trust’s collection of Daimler and Lanchesters on this floor. The Collections Centre

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Welcome to the sixth issue of ‘The Trust’ – the newsletter for the Jaguar Heritage Trust. This festive edition provides an update on our recent move to Gaydon and reports on some end of season events. There is also some news from our Archive team and a look at some activities further afield!

Collections Centre, Gaydon - we’re in!

As the picture above hopefully shows, we have now moved into the impressive new Collections Centre building at Gaydon which is adjacent to the Heritage Motor Centre museum. The move in date was Monday November 9

and the Trust team duly reported for duty and started the task of unpacking and settling into the new office. The Collections Centre is a two storey building with the ground floor housing an office area (the windows to the left of the

entrance lobby) and a storage area dedicated to cars from the Jaguar Heritage Trust collection – some of which are visible through the large showroom style windows further to the left. There is also a 6 bay workshop on the ground floor which can be viewed from above, enabling visitors to see maintenance and restoration work taking place. The upper level of the building will be home to

the reserve collection of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (BMIHT) and it is also hoped to accommodate a few of the Jaguar Heritage Trust’s collection of Daimler and Lanchesters on this floor. The Collections Centre opened to the public for a two week trial period from November 16 and the guided tours proved to be very popular. To support this, the Trust team worked very hard on November 11/12 and managed to bring over 31 vehicles from its

storage warehouse in Coventry to put on display in the new building for the trial period.

Museum Refurbishment: As reported in the last issue, the Heritage Motor Centre museum closed at the end of November for a major refurbishment to take place over the winter months. While this work is taking place, further vehicles from the Trust’s collection will be

JAGUAR HERITAGE TRUST NEWS ISSUE 6 – November - December 2015

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brought over to the Collections Centre to increase the number of cars on display to around 75 when the museum reopens on February 13 next year. With the 8 cars that will be in the Jaguar gallery in the refurbished museum and the 17 that are in the gallery at the Coventry Transport Museum, this will mean that around 100 Jaguars/Daimlers from the Trust’s collection will be on public display in the Midlands – the largest ever number! This will leave only a handful in long term storage as several other vehicles from the collection are on loan to other museums or institutions.

Re-branding:

A special press conference was held at the Classic Motor Show on November 13 to announce that the Heritage Motor Centre

is re-naming itself as the British Motor Museum. The new name and corporate identity will be officially implemented on February 12, 2016 at the opening ceremony for the refurbished museum and the Collections Centre.

Further information can be found on the British Motor Museum website by clicking here.

Retail Activities: As also reported in the last issue, another change that took place coincident with the Trust’s move to Gaydon is that we are no longer offering merchandise or technical publications for sale via our website – the only online ordering channel is via the main Jaguar e-shop at: https://shop.jaguar.co.uk/ We are continuing to sell Heritage Certificates and Prints of archive images, both of which are available to order from our website - http://www.jaguarheritage.com/t/shop

Events Review:

As in previous years, the calendar has finally quietened down but not before a few end of season events that kept the team on their toes in November.

The first of these was the Classic & Sports Car London Show which took place from Oct 30 – Nov 1 at London’s

Alexandra Palace.

This new show attracted over 15,000 visitors who were treated to a motoring feast, with over 300 of the world’s finest classic cars – and bikes too – thanks to a variety of bespoke displays and stands from world-renowned dealers. One of the show’s displays was the “Best British Car Ever sponsored by Autoglym” which featured 10 iconic cars selected by a panel of judges that included McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray and former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.

One of their nominations was the Jaguar E-type and the Trust was asked to provide its famous Series 1 open two-seater, 77RW, which is the first right hand drive convertible E-type made. We were delighted that it was unveiled as the winner of the award by ‘Building Cars Live’ TV presenter Ant Anstead at a special ceremony. We were also delighted that Jaguar legend Norman Dewis, who famously drove 77RW overnight to Geneva to support the car’s launch

BMIHT Managing Director, Julie Tew, announces the new name at the NEC

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back in March 1961 was on hand to join in the celebrations! Jaguar Land Rover also supported the show with some large graphics displays created in conjunction with LAT Photographic that celebrated the Jaguar brand’s 80th anniversary and also the 45th anniversary of the Range Rover.

Hot on the heels of this, a very special event took place at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich factory on November 2 to commemorate the Centenary of the 19 (Fighter) Squadron of the

Royal Air Force. The Castle Bromwich site was chosen because of the factory’s origins as a ‘shadow’ factory set up to produce aircraft just at the start of World War 2 and its proximity to the former Castle Bromwich aerodrome which was where 19 Squadron was first formed in September 1915. In 1938 the Squadron had the honour of being the first RAF unit to receive and fly the iconic Spitfire fighter aircraft and later took part in the Battle of Britain under the command of 12 Group, earning Winston Churchill’s accolade of belonging to ‘The Few’ who saved the nation from invasion.

Between 1940 and 1946 the Castle Bromwich factory produced an incredible total of 11,780 Spitfires (as well as 305 Lancaster bombers) and so it was the logical choice for 19

Squadron’s centenary celebrations – particularly as the aerodrome no longer exists. Around 40 former members of the squadron attended the event and were taken on a tour of C Block where the Spitfires were produced – now home to the Jaguar XJ body construction!

Following this, Air Marshal Sir Ian Macfadyen presented JLR Community Relations Manager Les Ratcliffe with a commemorative signed print depicting a Spitfire and Hawk aircraft flying over the white cliffs of the south coast.

The ceremony was rounded out with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by Ken Wilkinson, the last surviving member of 19 Squadron to have flown Spitfires during

the Battle of Britain. Now aged 97, and living in nearby Solihull, Ken is one of the elite band of ‘The Few’ still with us and it was a privilege for all present to be able to talk to him about his experiences.

A couple of days later on November 4, a special event took place at Silverstone featuring the slightly unlikely pairing of the Trust’s Le Mans winning XJR-9 from 1988 with the very latest 2016 model year Jaguar XJ. However, the explanation is all to do with headlamp technology!

Ken Wilkinson poses by the Trust’s 1938 SS Jaguar 100 – built in the year work started

on the Castle Bromwich factory

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One of the technical innovations on the latest 16MY XJ is full LED headlamps – the first time these have been used on a Jaguar. The new lamps create a distinctive double J beam pattern and a light that is closer to true daylight, allowing objects to be recognised more quickly.

To put these to the test, the Jaguar PR team invited legendary race driver Andy Wallace to come to Silverstone and drive the new XJ in night time conditions alongside the XJR-9 in which he famously won the 1988 Le Mans 24 hour race together with Jan Lammers and Johnny Dumfries.

As well as generating some great photos and a short video film, the event also served to demonstrate how far lamp technology has come in the last 27 years – with the road cars of today providing far better headlamp performance than even race cars capable of more than 200mph could produce back in the 80s! To watch the video and hear Andy’s comments on what it was like at Le Mans in 1988, please click here.

The final major event of the season was the Classic Motor Show held at Birmingham’s NEC from November 13 – 15.

Back in the original halls again this year (much appreciated by those travelling by train), Hall 2 was the centre of attention for all things Jaguar. In a change from last year, the stand operated by the JLR Heritage team covered both brands – the Land Rover heritage logo taking its place alongside the Jaguar equivalent for the first time. Once again, the focus of the stand was on the various JLR Heritage business activities – parts, merchandise, restorations, recreations and servicing/maintenance.

To showcase the recently announced range of recreated E-type body parts, a French registered ‘barn find’ Series 1 E-type coupé was displayed on the stand in its pre-restored condition – sparking the usual debate about whether cars like this should be left in their original condition or not! Surrounding the JLR Heritage stand were all the major Jaguar and Daimler clubs with the usual mouth-watering displays of immaculate or historically interesting cars. Amongst these were a number of cars from the Jaguar Heritage Trust collection.

Firstly, the XJS Club stand featured the 1987 XJS V12 Cabriolet that was originally used by Princess Diana with the interesting modification of a small rear seat which was used to transport the Princes William and Harry when they were a bit smaller than they are now!

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The Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club stand featured no less than three cars from the Trust’s collection, each with its own story to tell. The oldest of these was a 1973 Series 2 Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas that was originally used both by Lord Stokes and Sir William Lyons, finished in a very period Bronze colour complete with a vinyl roof covering!

Next up was the unique Daimler Six ‘double stretch’ limousine from 1995. This car was built by Jaguar’s Special Operations department as a potential flagship and features a 13 inch stretch to the standard X300 wheelbase – the only one made. The interior features a high level of luxury trim, including telephones in the front and rear, privacy blinds and a Sony video recorder with TV screens located in the headrests of the front seats. This was originally a working vehicle, and was used regularly by Sir Nick Scheele when he was Chairman of Jaguar Cars.

The final car was a 2002 Daimler Super V8. As well as being the last X308 model produced, this car saw service with the Royal Family as a relief vehicle and was regularly used by HM The Queen during its first two years. In total, 126,000 cars of the X308 family were made between 1997 and 2002, when this model was replaced by the new X350 aluminium-bodied XJ. The Jaguar Owners’ Club and Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club also had large stands showcasing a wide range of different models from different eras and there was the usual mix of the smaller clubs and parts suppliers.

Archive News: The Archive team at the Trust has a crucial role in preserving and maintaining a vast array of documents and artefacts relating to the history of Jaguar and its predecessor marques. One of its more popular services is the provision of Heritage Certificates which provide all the relevant information on a given car taken from the original records. The Certificate will confirm the original numbers and colour scheme, give the dates of build and despatch, as well as the original destination of the car. Where recorded, the name of the first owner and the original registration mark are also included. For more information, visit our website where Certificates can be ordered online. A key source of this information for older cars was historically the original build ledgers – where all the details were meticulously recorded by hand. Although the ledgers have now been digitally scanned, reducing the need for the originals to be handled, many of them are bearing the scars from early use as factory documents and subsequent years of being examined by archivists and researchers. This has resulted in the Archive team creating a prioritised list of ledgers (by severity of damage), and securing the necessary funding for their conservation. Only one ledger is allowed off-site at a time and, not surprisingly, the top priority was the first E-type ledger which was in very poor condition.

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The work was entrusted to Emma Lloyd-Jones who is a Conservator specialising in book and paper conservation work. Emma worked on the project over the course of about a year, carrying out the painstaking work step by step. Emma’s initial assessment of ‘Car Record Book 46’ didn’t make for comfortable reading: “General damage to binding. Leather part split along front joint. Cloth on front board is completely worn along the edges exposing the grey board beneath, & is lifting along the tail edge. There is no cloth on the back board & the leather corners have lifted, & are almost detached. The sewing tapes have broken along the front joint, the sewing is loose – approx. 40 leaves are damaged & there is extensive adhesive tape ‘repair’. Lacks front marbled/plain flyleaf.”

The conservation work was meticulous and would take too much space to describe in full detail, but the extract below gives some idea: “The sewing was cut at the centre of each section releasing the folds of paper from the binding, the outermost folds required some releasing from the spine linings. Extensive adhesive-tape removal was carried out – this was done by sliding a spatula underneath the tape which lifted most of the adhesive layer as well. Old adhesive tape had discoloured, leaving the browned adhesive in the paper, causing the paper to become brittle & inflexible. Where stickiness from the adhesive remained, most was removed with IDA (industrial denatured alcohol). The curled leaves & paper fragments were flattened where possible. The paper was repaired using layers of Japanese paper adhered with wheat starch paste.”

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The before and after pictures above show the spectacular results that Emma achieved! The ledger is now safely back in the Trust’s archive and conservation work will start in the New Year on the next Car Record Book.

News from the other side… As regular readers will know, the Trust newsletter gets circulated to a global audience of Jaguar Clubs and enthusiasts. This has led to a certain amount of correspondence and communication over the years particularly with our friends in the southern hemisphere where there are a number of very active clubs. Back at the start of the year we were contacted by Philip Prior on behalf of the Jaguar Drivers Club of South Australia to tell us about an event they were planning for later in the year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Series 2 XJ Coupé which was launched in 1975. Dubbed the “Jaguar XJC Muster”, the plan was to gather together as many XJCs as possible in Echuca, Victoria over the weekend of October 16-18.

A full programme of events and activities was planned and Philip produced a special 32 page souvenir brochure for which he invited the Trust to pen a short piece for the welcome page. A total of 32 XJCs made the display day on the

Sunday, a fantastic turnout and probably the largest in the world outside the UK. To read the full report on the Muster and to see some photographs of the many magnificent XJCs that were brought along by their proud owners, click here. Another occasional correspondent is Brian Askew who edits the Jaguar Magazine for the Jaguar Club Northern Region in South Africa.

Earlier in the year, Brian let us know that he was planning a visit to the UK in late June (he has a son living in London) and was hoping to fit in a number of Jaguar experiences, attending events and visiting museums. We were very pleased to welcome him and his son to the Jaguar gallery at the Coventry Transport Museum on July 2 where they were given a personal tour and also had a chance to try out the new simulator which takes visitors on a lap of the famous Le Mans circuit in a D-type with Mike Hawthorn at the wheel that was filmed in 1956!

Brian wrote an article about his experiences in the subsequent issue of Jaguar Magazine and we were also pleased to see that the front cover shot was from this year’s Mille Miglia showing the Trust’s 1956 long nose D-type leading the field through the centre of Brescia with TV celebrity chef James Martin at the wheel.

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Contact Reminder and Update: Following the move to Gaydon, our new address is:

Jaguar Heritage Trust Collections Centre British Motor Museum Banbury Road Gaydon CV35 0BJ

Phone numbers and e-mail addresses are unchanged. A reminder that all enquiries relating to Jaguar Heritage Trust vehicles or event support should be sent to [email protected] or by calling +44 (0) 24 7656 4431. For further information on any of the items in this newsletter or copies of any of the images, please contact Jonathan Partridge on the number above or e-mail: [email protected]

…and finally:

May we offer our best wishes for the festive season and the coming year to Jaguar owners, enthusiasts and all our readers across the world. There is much to look forward to in 2016 with the 20th anniversary of the XK8, the 30th anniversary of XJ40 and the 50th anniversary of the 420/420G and the XJ13!

© Jaguar Heritage Trust – December 2015

www.jaguarheritage.com