MG Car Club MG 100 ‘Cavalcade’ John O’Groats to Land’s End

Tuesday 30th April to Saturday 25th May

Fundraising for Alzheimers Society & Lupus UK

As the MG Car Club continues the celebration of 100 years of MG in 2024, for the enjoyment of Club members and the wider general public, our goal is to link all regions of the UK and all parts of our Club in celebration with a groundbreaking event – the MG 100 John O’Groats to Land’s End ‘Cavalcade’!

This event is being run to fundraise for two great UK charities – the Alzheimer’s Society & Lupus UK as a centenary led expression of the MG Car Club’s mantra the ‘Marque of Friendship’…

This is being achieved by way of a series of ‘road runs’ all the way from John O’Groats to Lands’ End during which fundraising will take place for these two amazing, good causes. After a huge amount of organisation, all twelve Centres (regions) of the MG Car Club are all working together to provide consecutive road-runs, dovetailing the start and completion arrangements one Centre to the next!

The whole MG Car Club is uniting in this endeavour so that a very appropriate ‘MG100 baton’ can pass from one end of the country to the other, involving as many members as possible…

From the dramatic scenery of the Highlands of Scotland through the scenic landscape of Yorkshire, all the way down through the Midlands with stops at Longbridge, The British Motor Museum – Gaydon, MG Car Club H.Q. – Kimber House, Abingdon, down through the country to coincide with the exciting MG100 Brooklands event; the diverse experience on offer from this groundbreaking event is impressive.

From Brooklands the Cavalcade event turns Southwest visiting The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu before heading through Somerset, crossing Dartmoor to conclude at the iconic Land’s End sign-post situated at the farther reaches of Cornwall. The whole event has been designed to bring everyone together in celebration of 100 years of MG and in fundraising for these great causes.

How will it work?

Sponsored by Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services and British Car Parts specialist Rimmer Bros, the Cavalcade is not a procession of MGs from one end of the country to the other, but rather a series of individual Centre road-runs.

These are, where necessary, joined together by ‘linking sections’ with ‘handover points’ for the ‘MG100 baton’ which are generally at MG Motor UK dealerships, passing the ‘MG100 baton’ one Centre to the next throughout the country.

The event has also been timed to coincide with the MG Car Club Southeast Centre’s exciting MG100 Brooklands event over the weekend of the 18th & 19th May, being held at the world’s first purpose-built racetrack, with the dates of the Cavalcade working ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’ from this to ensure the Cavalcade is passing through the area at the appropriate time. Please see www.mgccse.co.uk/mg100-south-east/ for details on the Brooklands event.

Where’s Cecil?

The handover points will facilitate the passing of a gloss-sprayed card Cecil Kimber, the founder of MG (and ‘MG100 baton’!) between Centre officials, thereby allowing for the individual Centre’s scenic run to start and conclude where the Centre so desires, taking in such picturesque routes and places of interest as they wish to include.

The whole ‘Where’s Cecil’ concept we believe will bring a fun, engaging and media-friendly angle to the event emphasising the fun and heritage facets of our Club character.

‘Cecil’, will have two ninety-degree folds, one at knee height and the other at the pelvis allowing the great man to sit prominently in the passenger seat of a series of MGs throughout the trip. He will also have capability to be stood up which will allow display at the Cavalcade start, finish, baton Handover Points and at the Southeast Centre’s Brooklands MG 100 event.

The story of Cecil’s adventures will no doubt make for an entertaining theme through the event and be recorded for posterity in the Cavalcade log-book. Once the event closes, Cecil and the Cavalcade log will retire to live comfortably at MG Car Club H.Q. – Kimber House, Abingdon as a permanent reminder of the event’s contribution to our 100-year celebrations.

We are keen that all parts of the country and all parts of the Club are involved in this ‘rolling’ event, involving as many members as possible, as a very inclusive and worthwhile demonstration of the ‘Marque of Friendship’. This is a brilliant way to unite as the original MG Club which grew with factory support in marking 100 years of MG in the very way MGs were intended; to be driven…

Where do the origins of this exciting event come from?

The concept originates with Geoff Mansfield who undertook the full John O’Groats to Land’s End in his 1931 MG M type Sportsman Coupe in his 80th year with a 90-year-old motorcar!

A 1000 mile adventure undertaken during 2021 for both the experience and to fund-raise for charity…

As mentioned, the event is fundraise for these two good causes, Alzheimer’s Society & Lupus UK – donations can be made to the event’s exclusive Just Giving page.

www.justgiving.com/team/mgcarclub-cavalcade

Alzheimer’s Society vows to end the devastation of dementia, Britain’s biggest killer. Together we hope to help get a little closer to a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. Every penny helps.

LUPUS UK is the only national registered charity supporting people with systemic lupus and discoid lupus and assisting those approaching diagnosis.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system is dysfunctional and mistakenly identifies the body’s own tissues as foreign invaders. In people with lupus, the immune system creates autoantibodies to attack the body’s tissues. These form immune complexes which cause inflammation and damage – possibly affecting the organs and/or the joints in some lupus patients. Lupus disproportionately affects females and people from Black African, Caribbean, and Asian ancestries.