Morris Garages began life in Oxford in 1923 when Cecil Kimber began designing bodies on Morris chassis. The actual date is a matter of conjecture but the following year has generally been considered the official start of MG when the first cars were produced.
 A letter was published in “The Light Car” magazine suggesting that MG owners get together and an inaugural rally was held at the Roebuck Inn in Stevenage in 1930. This is the beginning of the MG Car Club. The new membership had grown to 210 by 1932 and the club appointed officials to help run it. In 1933 the Scottish, Midland and North Western Centres were created.
This left everything “south” to be known as the “Main Centre”, a huge area. This was subsequently changed to the “Southern Centre” (which excluded the South West) and the first written confirmation of that came in Sports Car magazine in 1939 (see below)Â
In the June 1939 issue of The Sports Car an article detailed some of the discussion at the club’s AGM which was held at the Lambert Arms, Aston Rowant (the location of the early Chilton Trials) on April 22nd 1939 as follows “The meeting agreed to the abolition of the term ‘Main Centre’ and to a reconstitution which will embody all Main Centre members in a new Centre to be styled ‘The Southern Centre’ and operating on the same lines as the existing provincial centres. There was opposition to the proposal that the Southern Centre should absorb the old South West Centre.”Â
One of the first events organised by the Southern Centre was a”Mystery Tour” on 23rd July 1939. It began at The Talbot in Ripley. Tea was taken in the afternoon and the 26 cars entered finished at Haslemere. We believe this to be an early form of a treasure hunt that we might know today. A few weeks later on September 3rd the club announced that it would be closing down for the duration of World War 2.
Post-War
Activities resumed slowly after WW2 and the South East Centre didn’t organise its first race meeting at Silverstone until 1951. This was the beginning of the Silverstone International event, later to become MGLive! The Centre continued organising these race meetings until the main club took them over.
The first “natter” after the war took place at The Steering Wheel Club in Marylebone followed by another at The Sugar Bowl in Banstead. Natters at The Fairmile in Cobham and Godstone area can also trace back to this period.
Social natters and competitive events then ran side by side for the next thirty years. Events the centre organised or took part in included:-
- Sprints at Heston, Bruntingthorpe, Goodwood, Wroughton and Wormingfold
- Race meetings at Brands Hatch, Goodwood, Castle Combe, Snetterton and Silverstone
- Hill Climbs at Firle, Bodiam and Westerham
- Driving tests at Blackbushe aerodrome
- Production Car Trials
In the late 1960s social and concours events became more popular with events such as the Rookcross and Speldhurst concours and participation in local charity events. A Gymkhana and Concours was run at Beaulieu on behalf of the main club for many years during the 70s and 80s.
A printed SE Centre Bulletin was produced bi-monthly at this time to run alongside the main club’s Safety Fast magazine. This was the forerunner to today’s email newsletter, website and social media.
The competitive motorsport events such as sprints, hill climbs and racing were taken over by the main club as it became harder for a local centre to organise with rising costs and regulations. The last motorsport event organised was Goodwood Sprint in the late 80s. The club itself withdrew from racing for the 2024 season due, once again to rising costs, and dwindling fields.
With the number of members the “Southern Centre” was becoming unwieldy and so two new Centres were created to spread the workload – Anglia and the Abingdon Works Centres. This left the Southern Centre covering Surrey, Sussex, Kent and most of London hence the name was changed to the “South Eastern Centre” and later abreviated to the “South East Centre”
The Modern Era
The Centre then concentrated more on social gatherings incorporating competitive events such as Pride of Ownership, Concours, Gymkhana and autotests.
Events you know from today began during this period began. The Spring Gathering was first held in 1982 at Syon Park and ventured as far as Knebworth and Hendon RAF Museum which were both still technically part of the SE Centre. In 1987 the Spring Gathering moved to Brooklands for a long run at that venue. The Regency Run also used Brooklands as a start point with SE members providing marshalling but after ten years there was an appetite to make a change. Chatham Dockyard, Singleton Open Air Museum and Goodwood House were the next three locations.
A weekend event at Hucking, known as the Wealdon Weekend was started by John & Jean Tadman in 1972 and ran for several years. When this ended it was replaced by the Autumn Gathering which moved around country houses in the area such as Penshurst Place, Hever Castle, Groombridge and Chiddingstone. Autotests and/or Gymkhanas were often held at these Gatherings alongside Pride of Ownership and Concours competitions. The Summer Alternative Pride of Ownership competition organised by John Morgan is a long-running three-venue event designed as a light-hearted competition and still takes place today.
Today, the Centre continues these traditions with other events such as a Summer Gathering, the South East Run, day trips and visits. Over the years the Centre has been awarded the prestigious Nuffield Gold Club at least thirteen time, the most recent being 2025 in recognition of the MG100 Centenary event at Brooklands in 2024. Its members have held numerous senior positions with the club as a whole including Club Chairman.
Acknowledgements: Syd Beer, Safety Fast, Allan Scott, John Morgan, Kimber House, Mike Allison
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