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In
December 1950 Keith McDowell advertised in the motoring press proposing
the formation of a club for Singer enthusiasts anxious to exploit
the sporting nature of their cars. On March 4th 1951 the inaugural
meeting of the Club took place in the Salisbury Arms Hotel in Hertford.
Forty five people attended with a mixture of pre-war Le Mans cars
and the then current 9hp and 1½ litre, Singer Roadster and
SM cars.
Recognition
by the RAC soon followed and competitive and social events were
organised. By January 1952 membership had passed 150 and the Club
was firmly established. At first the accent was very much on competition,
and one of the highlights in the '50's was the Six Hour Relay Race
at Silverstone. In 1952 this event was won by the Singer Owners'
Club, at their first attempt, beating 27 other teams into first
place.
The
Club was active in most spheres of competition and regularly entered
teams of Singers in the classic MCC Lands End and Exeter sporting
trials. The 1½ Litre Roadster model gave a good account of
itself in international rallies and Singer Hunters competed in the
RAC rally.
The
later '50's saw more diversification in the activities of the Club.
The emphasis was still on competitive events, but members were starting
to restore the older cars, in particular, the 9hp and 1½
Litre Le Mans. To support these restorations registrars and an historian
were appointed, and at the same time the Singer Owners' Club was
one of the founder members of the Combined One Make Car Club an
association of clubs who banded together to look after the interests
of the more esoteric motor cars.
The
1960's saw a spares service started and the establishment of Registrars
catering for all the models produced by Singer Motors. The Club
continued to provide an active competition calendar of at least
ten events each year, from sprint meetings to navigational and economy
rallies and production car trials, which had been the forte of the
9hp cars of the '30's. From the start the Club always produced its
own magazine. The 'Singer Owner' has always been highly thought
of, it is a profusely illustrated, glossy, bi monthly publication
distributed world-wide and has twice been adjudged the best club
magazine in the country.
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The
'70's saw further expansion of Singer activities on a world-wide
basis to support the significant increase in enthusiasm shown for
preservation of all Singer cars. Associated clubs became active
in Holland, Australia and North America and the Singer Owners' Club
membership increased to around 800 world-wide.
The
'80's saw Gazelles and Vogues emerge as collectors cars and for
the Club was a period of consolidation and improvement of all the
services available to members. In particular considerable effort
was put on developing spares availability for all Singers by appointing
Spares Registrars dedicated to specific model families. The Club
became a Limited company to protect all members and to ensure the
finances were professionally audited. The technical library was
expanded to cover as many models as possible.
World-wide
membership stabilised at around 850 during the '90's and associated
clubs started in New Zealand, France and Belgium. Spares availability
significantly improved for all popular models and there was a revival
of interest in vintage Singer models. ‘The Singer Story’ was published,
this being the definitive history of the marque, the Club produced
its first book.-'Singer Cars of the Rootes Group', and colour became
a regular feature of the “Singer Owner”.
In 2011 the
Club celebrated its Diamond Jubilee with a series of events culminating
in a four day anniversary rally which was attended by members from
many parts of the world. The Club has regularly supported classic
car shows, but the premier event for Singer Owners is Singer National
Weekend which has been held annually since 1967 and regularly attracts
large numbers of Singers from the UK and the continent.
Secretary
Martyn Wray, 11 Ermine Rise, Great Casterton, Stamford, Lincolnshire,
PE9 4AJ Tel 01780 762740
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