MR & MRS MORRIS MINOR
So many people work so long and hard to promote the
Morris Minor and the owners’ club that it’s impossible to list all them here.
Two of them, however, are the surely the king and queen of Morris Minor-dom. Step forward Sandy and
Rosie Hamilton, married for 50 years to each other and, you’d think, married to Morris Minors for even longer.
Rosie has been public relations and branch liaison officer in the past; Sandy, who describes himself as ‘just Rosie’s gofer’ hasn’t occupied a Morris Minor Owners’ Club committee position but was a director of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs for some years, as well as DVLA Liaison Officer.
Such is Sandy’s encyclopaedic knowledge and enthusiasm for Morris Minors that you’d be forgiven for thinking he had spent many years running a garage.
Far from it. He worked as a financial risk analyst in the City of London and Rosie was also in finance. As far as Sandy was concerned, the ‘Minor seed was sown in 1953’ when his father acquired one: ‘We were living in Grand Bahama at the time and Rosie also had Minors in the family.’ He later owned two everyday users, but it wasn’t until 1989 that Sandy bought his first ‘hobby’ Morris Minor, a grey series II, ‘as a stress-buster’.
A collection of cars grew and grew when the couple moved to Lincolnshire in 2001. How many, Sandy? ‘I’m down to 18 now. Minors just felt like destitute cats – I rescued Moggies!’
Rosie had joined the MMOC executive committee and the rest is history. Never one to shy away from a challenge or obstacle, she has worked tirelessly for the club cause, though she is now officially retired. She still seems just as involved as ever though. The club has raised many thousands of pounds for charity. Rosie reckons the biggest event was the participation of 40 Minors in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, following an approach from the organisers. Then there was the incredible and successful Morris 100 event in 2013.
Sum it all up for us, then. ‘Minors are friendly, unthreatening vehicles, with so much going for them,’ says Sandy, with Rosie nodding in agreement. ‘ They get people together and are the cars that take you into so many places.’