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 extends across South Yorkshire. Whilst most of our members are from Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield we do have some from further away, in Derbyshire, Lancashire and even in Worcestershire (our Newsletter editor).

The main MMOC meeting of the year is the National Rally, which moves around the country and this year is at the Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford in Somerset. The main Area 1 event is the Northern Regional Rally where all the branches can gather together. This year this is at Eden Camp, a war museum near Malton. 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 special place of interest. Our own Annual Rally will be at Cannon Hall Farm this year. Last year, our host day was at Wentworth Castle but this year’s event is not yet planned.

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 which takes place at the MMOC, 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 Traveller’s Rest” (2006). Our “60th Anniversary” display, last year, helped towards the MMOC receiving the prestigious Club of the Year award.

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 are still there.