The Marque of Friendship – Stories From the MG Club

March 18, 2015
March 18, 2015 Theo Brainin

The Marque of Friendship – Stories From the MG Club

The Marque of Friendship

Stories from the MG club

In Holland alone there’s over 300,0000 classic MGs on the road. The lucky owners of these beauts often join a club to share their passion and ride together. One of the biggest is the MG Car Club and their former president Math Agelink was kind enough to tell us more about the car and those who celebrate it.

By Anne Brugts, Content Manager, Story Terrace

Red Sports Car

Math posing with tools and classic car

Math met zijn MGY uit 1947

Math bought his first MG in 1994. ‘A car like that had always seemed like an unattainable luxury to me, but when I wanted to swap my old Opel Corsa, I found out that I could take on an 18-year old MG for the same cost. That was an easy choice. I got my wife on board with the following line: ‘You driving a red sports car – now that’s a pretty picture’.

The reason Math joined a club of MG enthusiasts was mainly practical. ‘Just after we bought the car my wife wanted to go for a spin, and that’s when we discovered that she couldn’t reach the pedals. The former owner had fixed the driver’s seat onto the car floor with four pins. My wife was not amused and got out of the car, saying, ‘I’ll get in again when it works properly, otherwise you’ll sell the thing.’ That’s the reason I contacted the MG Car Club.

Not a Men-Only Affair

Line up at MG Car clubThough Math had originally joined the club to learn about the car itself, he stayed for a different reason. ‘At the first club meeting we entered as strangers and left with a bunch of new friends. Fittingly, the MG Car Club has a slogan, and that is “The Marque of Friendship”. Where most car clubs seem to be a men-only affair, and gather mainly in order to talk about technical issues and rallies, MG aims at unifying MG enthusiasts and having good times together. And, it’s an added bonus that so many women have joined the club.’

MG owners are known for their boundless enthusiasm. Everywhere in the world, they seem connected. ‘With our 60th anniversary coming up, we’ve invited the international community to join our festivities and we’ve already received applications from Germany, the UK, Sweden, France and even one from Japan.’

The close-knit MG community doesn’t come through for only festive occasions. ‘A few years ago, there was a fatal collision in England, which involved a few Dutch MGs. An Englishman witnessed the accident, saw MG’s were involved and warned the English MG Car Club. They called me, as the club president at the time. It wasn’t a club drive but we offered our help anyhow, and we even visited the Dutchmen in the English hospital. I think that shows how much the brand appeals, since I don’t see a witness alarm the club every car brand in the world. Math giving presentation

Bundle All Stories

From the beginning, Math has been an active member of the club, taking up various positions on the board. The year 2005 was his best yet. ‘We celebrated our 50th anniversary that year. As a stunt, we made an attempt at the Guinness record for the world’s longest driving procession of classic cars. Of course we had to get a permit first, so I got in touch with the local police and when it turned out that the district chief was an MG fanatic himself, there was nothing stopping us. We got the record, and the parade of hundreds of MGs was a sight to behold.

The Marque of Friendship_More than a Car_StoryTerrace

From the archives – 1955

For its anniversary, Math and a few other member came up with the idea to have all the club’s events of and stories written down in a book. ‘Over the years I’d collected tons of books about the MG itself, but this one had to be about the club and the people behind it. One of our oldest members had kept an archive about the club in his basement. We locked ourselves up in there for a while to systematically research our history. It appeared that the club was founded in 1955 by a group of young middle class people who drove their cars from home to work during the week and loved to race the Zandvoort race circuit at weekends.’

‘Starting from those years we continued our research and documented the whole history, including stories of standout club members, with lots of beautiful pictures. I’m very proud of the result.’

Part of Your Identity Image of classic cars parked together

Since 1994 Math’s passion for the MG hasn’t cooled and he now has a collection of three MGs. ‘One of them is from 1974 and I’ve restored that one myself; the other is from 1947 and turned out to be a former police car. The third, my modern MGTF dated 2004, is for commuting.’

To get the most out of his cars, Math even rebuilt his home. The wall between the garage and the house is made out of glass so Math can admire his three darlings while lying on the sofa in his living room. ‘The cars have become part of my identity. Working on them is the ultimate relaxation for me, just like road trip holidays. When I’m on the road, there’s always people coming up to me, like older folks sharing their memories about the car and the old days it evokes. Even in a traffic jam, it’s not so bad to be held up when you’re in a charming MG with the top down.’

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This month we serve up stories within the theme ‘More than a car’. Also read our article ‘Boys love Toys‘. 

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