When I read that FC 7900, the Morris Cowley Special often referred to as “Old Number One”, would be making an appearance at Bluehills Mine during the 2025 Land’s End Trial, I thought it was time to revisit some of the facts and myths surrounding the very earliest MGs and their participation in MCC Trials. For this I have turned exclusively to my copy (First Edition, 1972) of F Wilson McComb’s “The story of the M.G. sports car”, Cowbourne’s volume for 1919 to 1928, and the MCC Archive, but if anyone knows of any better source materials, do please let me know.
Those knowledgeable about the early history of the MG marque will already know the convoluted story of how the MG evolved from a number of modified Morris Cowleys, and the endless debate about which particular model, or even which individual car, can be considered as “The First MG”. McComb is quite clear that FC 7900 has no claim to be the first MG, but it was “Kimber’s first attempt to build a car from Morris components which was designed specifically to use in a sporting event, and for no other purpose.” Kimber built FC 7900 for the 1925 Land’s End Trial, and sold it soon afterwards. It was only when it was bought-back by the M.G. Car Company in the 1930s, and used for their publicity material, that it was named “Old Number One”. McComb quotes Cecil Cousins, one of Kimber’s most trusted employees at the time FC 7900 was built, as saying “It wasn’t Number One, it was a one-off bastard. I argued until I got so unpopular that I gave up”.
So, if FC 7900’s entry in the 1925 Land’s End Trial cannot be considered as the first MG entered in an MCC trial, what are the alternatives?
- Cecil Kimber entered the 1923 Land’s End Trial (No. 302) in an 11.9 HP Morris Chummy of 1550cc, qualifying for a Gold Medal. McComb records his passenger as “a restaurateur friend, Russell Chiesman”. The Chummy was a Morris Cowley chassis with a two-seater body added by Morris Garages, of which Kimber was the General Manager at the time.
- Russell Chiesman obviously “caught the trials bug” and entered: the 1923 Exeter Trial (No. 262) in an 11.9 HP Morris Cowley of 1550cc, qualifying for a Gold Medal; the 1924 Land’s End Trial (No. 261) in an 11.9 HP Morris Sports of 1550cc, qualifying for a Gold Medal; the 1924 Edinburgh Trial (No. 225) in an 11.9 HP Morris Oxford of 1550cc, qualifying for a Gold Medal.
- Cecil Kimber’s entry in the 1925 Land’s End Trial (No. 310) is listed in the Programme as an 11.9 HP Morris Cowley of 1486cc; this Morris Cowley is FC 7900. McComb records Kimber’s passenger as Wilfred Matthews, and they qualified for a Gold Medal.
- There were three other ‘M.G.s’ in the 1925 Land’s End Trial: Billy Cooper (No 388) in an 11.9 HP Morris Cowley of 1486cc; and R V Saltmarsh (No. 391) and Russell Chiesman (No. 392), both in 13.9 HP Morris Oxford Sports of 1805cc. Saltmarsh and Chiesman both qualified for Gold Medals, but Cooper was ineligible for an Award as a Travelling Marshall. Cooper (No. 218) and Chiesman (No. 220) entered the 1925 Edinburgh Trial in the same cars, both qualifying for Gold Medals.
- Also in the 1925 Edinburgh Trial, G E Gather (No. 352) entered in an 14/28 M.G. Sports of 1800cc, the first reference that I have found to a car named as an M.G. in an MCC trial (corroborated by reference to Cowbourne).
- For the 1925 Exeter Trial, both Cooper and Chiesman entered in cars referred to in the Programme as “13.9 HP, M.G. Super-Sports, 1805cc”. Whether these are the same cars as entered for the events earlier in 1925, I cannot say.
- For the 1926 Land’s End Trial, four cars were entered as M.G.s and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
So … although the 2025 Land’s End is definitely the 100th Anniversary of FC 7900 entering an MCC trial, there is a good argument that the 2025 Edinburgh Trial is the 100th Anniversary of a car called an MG entering an MCC trial.
It is worth noting that Gold Medals were much easier to win in the 1920s than they are today. Taking 1925 as an example, nearly 50% of the Finishers in the Land’s End and Exeter Trials qualified for Gold Medals, and for the Edinburgh it was 90% !
