The Morris Minor Owners Club with around 12,000 members, is one of the largest classic car clubs in the country. It is divided into 10 different areas and we are in Area 1 which covers the whole of northern England. There are 14 branches in Area 1 and the Barnsley Branch covers the area of South Yorkshire. Whilst most of our members are from around Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield we do have some from further away, in Derbyshire, Lancashire and even in Worcestershire (our magazine editor).

The main MMOC meeting of the year is the National Rally, which moves around the country and this year is at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. The main Area 1 event of the year is the Northern Regional Rally where all the branches gather together at what we hope will be some fairly central point in the area. After two or three Yorkshire events the rally has moved to the other side of the Pennines this year and will be at Haigh Hall, Wigan. Most of the branches have their own Annual Rallies at a well-known site in their district and some have Host Days where other branches are invited to join them at some place of special interest. Our own Annual Rally is always at the Elsecar Heritage Centre but we shall not be having a Host Day this year (there will be a treasure hunt instead).

The Barnsley Branch has become well-known for its Jogle Run, an annual event where Minors are driven from John O’Groats to Lands End in less than 24 hours. Out of this idea of cross-country Minor motoring has grown the Roses Run, another great Area 1 event. For some years now the Barnsley Branch has been responsible for arranging and presenting the MMOC display at the Classic Motor Show, Birmingham. Awards for the best club stand have come our way on a number of occasions – "The Minor Garage" (2000), "Before, During and After (2001)", "Ex-Police Vehicles (2004)" and "The Travellers Rest.(2006)". We shall be arranging another special display this year for the 60th Anniversary of the Morris Minor.

In the 1990’s, when the Barnsley Branch was doing displays at Minorex (Telford and Blackpool), and at the Northern Classic Car Show (Manchester), and picking up trophies along the way with a membership of just over 20, we gave ourselves the title "The Biggest Little Branch in the MMOC." Today, our numbers have more than doubled, but although we are no longer a little branch we like to think that the effort and enthusiasm is still there.