Tony Bugbird was a well-liked member of the MG community and a former member of the South East Centre Committee as well as a former MGCC Director. From the late 1969s he ran a natter at the Hautboy pub in Ockham, Surrey which attracted up to 80 members including the racing driver Sammy Davies on several occasions. This natter is still going but moved to the Talbot at Ripley and is now at the Fairmile in Cobham.
Tony’s wife, Judith, owned an MG TD and he also built an M-Type Le Mans MG replica with his daughter, Robbie, which was used very successfully in MGCC Driving Tests. His MGs included a white MGC ex-police car and a green MGF – latterly he drove an MG ZT.
Tony was also a proficient photographer and took pictures at many MG events, particularly in the South East Centre, and many were used in the club’s magazine, Safety Fast.
Away from MGs Tony was also keen on radio-controlled model yachts and helicopters.
There is a memorial service for Tony on Friday 27th June at Lmnerslease, Compton and is open for anyone who knew Tony or has memories of him. Please click the link below for more information should you wish to attend. Please let the family know by the 20th of June for catering purposes.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the MG Car Club in 2010 the Centre asked some of its older members for some memories of their time with the club and Tony wrote the below:–
“I remember starting the Hautboy Natter at Ockham, Surrey. We always had a guest speaker each month and after only a few months about 50 to 80 members regularly used to turn up.
S.C.H. (Sammy) Davis was one who came several times and just chatted.
I remember when Mike Allison, yes, Mike Allison! came to talk to us one November 5th and I had been experimenting with firing a little rocket from the starting handle hole in my TD’s front bumper. Mike was very impressed as was the lorry driver on the A3 when I drove home to Hampstead that night!
Another memory of the Hautboy was meeting two charming young lady members, Misses Burbridge, one of whom I eventually married! Both are very much still Club members.
At that time I had been persuaded to join the South East Centre Committee and I remember the night the Chairman, Gordon Cobban, came in late to the meeting waving a letter from a Mr Bentley proposing the MG car Club combine with an MG Owner’s Club to sell insurance and spare parts. Gordon would have none of it. “ It will not last long “!
I was taking lots of photographs for the Club and remember taking a great picture of the last time the Club had a Le Mans type start at Silverstone., in the foreground is Wilson McComb driving Gordon Cobban’s very fast MGA.
My Photography got me a lot of work from Abingdon and I remember especially a photograph of red, white and blue MGAs for the Motor Show stand one year. There was also a car launch article I provided with photographs, of various celebrities in an MGC GT. I was just out of hospital and had to be loaded into the back seat, (!), as I was in a plaster cast from the hips up !”
