ISLE OF MAN DEFENDER SEND-OFF

A pair of Manx Land Rover enthusiasts brought the Green Oval community together to say goodbye to the Defender on Sunday, January 31, in one of the largest recorded gatherings on the British Isles.

Two days after the final Heritage 90 Soft Top (registered H166 HUE, in deference to the pre-production Series 1 soft-top HUE 166) left Lode Lane, nearly 350 people gathered on the Isle of Man (IoM) for End of Defender, spelling out the model’s name using Land Rovers.

Organisers Fin and Ray Procter needed 53 Land Rovers to make the display happen; thanks to social media, 150 Solihull stalwarts showed up, consisting of Series Landies and Defenders. Word quickly spread about the event, roping in almost every local Land Rover available – working vehicles from the Isle of Man Constabulary, Red Cross Ambulance, Civil Guard and Royal National Lifeboats Institution (RNLI) all took part. Island dealership Mylchreests Land Rover brought several new Defenders to the celebration, which was supported by Land Rovers belonging to event host the IoM Motor Museum.

End of Defender organiser Ray Procter said: “It was good to see so many Land Rover Defender drivers and their personalised vehicles all in one place.” Ray currently owns nine Defenders, two of which are Heritage and Adventurer limited editions. His love of the Solihull marque rubbed off on his son Fin, currently studying at the Isle of Man business school: Aged one, his first word was “Land Rover”.

“It was an emotional time for thousands of people like us, who grew up with these incredibly versatile and loveable vehicles,” added Ray. “The turn-out was massive considering it is the IoM; any more and it would have been a challenge. The best bit was the fantastic effort everyone made in making the word ‘Defender’ using their cars; everyone was so happy posing for the Manx Motor Museum’s drone! We have already had some messages asking if we will do something again next year.”