The oldest car in a recent all-English car show at Filberg Park in Comox was a 1933 MG L1 Magna and the newest was a 2009 Boat Tail Speedster.
The featured car this year at the 11th annual show was Martin Olfield’s beautiful XKE Jaguar, commemorating 50 years of production.
Most of the vehicles were built simply, and can be repaired by the owner in his garage, which is not possible with the cars of today, which are high-tech and computer-dependent. Many of the cars' owners are members of the Old English Car Club Society, which has branches throughout B.C.
Owners of the cars on show were proud to bring their cars into the beautiful park setting, which has been considered one of the most beautiful car show venues in B.C.
The weather was perfect with the slightly overcast sky bringing out the rich colours of cars that were built with distinctive designs from the designers of Jaguar, Morris, Austin, Landrover, Jensen Healey, Triumph, Lotus and Morgan to name a few.
The car that won judged first place car in show, owned by Alan Millham, was a beautifully prepared 1964 MGB, which had not expected to win this year as it had been involved in an accident returning from the All British Meet at the Filberg last year. It was a complete surprise that the car placed first in all 10 categories that were used to quantify.
Robert Kirk of Courtenay Auto and one of the members of the Old English Car Club had a difficult job of judging the 23 cars in the judged category. All of the cars were so well-prepared that the scores were very close.
Second place was Chris and Penne Sinclair’s beautiful 1968 Morgan plus 8 .and third place was a 1956 Jaguar XK 140, owned by Jim and Darlene Bakeman.
Ribbons were also presented for People’s Choice for a 1935 Austin Nippy owned by Richard Baxter. Judged Best in Show bike and also People’s Choice motorbike was Chris Timberley’s 1951 Vincent Shadow. In total there were 84 cars and six collector bikes in the show.
One of the features of the day was a chance to win a ride in one of the cars. This was a highlight of the day for three very pleased people who had donated to You Are Not Alone. The day is organized as a fundraiser for YANA and was very well-supported by the community.
The All British Meet at the Filberg is an annual event organized by the Old English Car Club’s Comox Valley branch and is held on the third Sunday in August. The event is supported by Re/Max, Lordco, Courtenay Car Centre, and Quality Foods.
Many of the cars on display have been restored to better than new condition after being rescued from forgotten storage garages and farm fields. Many of the cars on display have been faithfully restored to authentic standards and are able to have collector license plates which indicate that the car is over 25 years old and has not been modified.
The website for anyone interested in British cars in the Comox Valley, go to comox-oecc.ca. Everyone is welcome to attend their meetings on the third Wednesday of the month at the Elks Club in Courtenay at 7 p.m.
— Old English Car Club Comox Valley