ASOC National Weekend 2025

Words: David Welch,
Images: David Welch, Paul Roberts, Iain Campbell, Keith Dewhurst, David Salter

This year’s National Weekend was based appropriately in Lancaster, perhaps we should consider Whitley, or Whitley Bay, as a future venue. his was a first for ASOC in that it was organised jointly with the Northern Section of the Alvis Owner Club, for which it was also a first. The board recognises that the future of car clubs lies in partnership activities with other clubs and this event began that journey to great success. As usual our AGM was held on Friday and went well. The key message from the meeting was the need for more volunteers to swell our limited board of directors. They keep the club running but there are not enough of them to deal with every aspect that needs to be covered. If you enjoy being a member, like our magazine, our stores and our events then please consider volunteering for the board on the principal that many hands make light work. Board meetings are almost all via zoom which saves time and travel costs. Your CV needs only to contain enthusiasm, anything else is a bonus. Prospective directors will not be examined on A.S. history or for their mechanical expertise.

After the AGM there was a general discussion and Paul Roberts told us about a talk he had given to a car club, and how he wished that he had had a suitable collection of pictures to illustrate his talk. Members agreed that being prepared and able to give such talks would benefit ASOC’s profile in the classic car world or in the general community. The A.S. Heritage Trust said that it would be pleased to put together a PowerPoint programme of suitable pictures with some notes about the subject matter, or indeed to prepare a specific set of pictures tailored to suit a particular speaker’s requirements. Likewise a presentation aimed at a more general audience could be easily put together. The ball is in your court, if you are prepared to give it a go you need only to ask Iain Campbell or David Welch for any help that you need.

By the end of the day the hotel car park had a respectable collection of both Armstrong Siddeley
and Alvis cars, the latter having been invited to share the weekend with us. It was the first time that I have seen four Star Sapphires parked in a line for many a year and the selection of both pre- and post-war Alvis cars was delightful. International participation was also present with Edwin Bos and Sylvia Cats arriving from the Netherlands in their Hurricane. Unfortunately, the Pinners splendid Special suffered from a failure to arrive under its own power but Rob, with the help of the AA, soon returned it to normal mobility and it completed the rest of the weekend in fine style.

In the evening we all met up for what had originally been intended to be a barbecue, but the hotel had neglected to tell event organiser Ann Blatchford that they had no outdoor space for a barbecue, and so barbecue style food was served indoors as a buffet instead.

Saturday dawned in a rather moist fashion but it gradually improved during the day as dry spells predominated between light showers. Many of us went on the run to the Lakeland Motor Museum whilst some went off piste and visited Lancaster and other local places of interest. The route given to the Motor Museum was very scenic and Graham Astley is to be commended for plotting such a splendid run. The museum is a popular attraction but parking space had been reserved for our cars
and there was another space for a regular visit by local classic cars and that was a varied car show in its own right. The club visited the Lakeland Motor Museum a long time ago but since then it has moved to its current purpose built premises and it houses a wonderful collection of cars, motorbikes and motoring memorabilia. In a second building there is an inspiring collection devoted to the Bluebird world speed record cars and boats of Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald Campbell. Other attractions included a small cinema showing a weird and wonderful collection of
short films of motoring oddities, and a busy café. It was a good day out. That evening we had our annual dinner, made all the more enjoyable by the company and the conversation. After the meal a singer entertained us and there was even some elegant dancing started by a couple of our younger members who were soon joined by others.

Our Sunday display was in The Great British Motor Show at Leighton Hall. The private drive to Leighton Hall curved down a beautiful green landscape to reveal our stand in a prime position, bathed in light refreshing drizzle. It was a picturesque setting and the sun soon emerged to give us a warm day interspersed with only a couple of short showers, such is the price to be paid for the verdant countryside in that part of the country. First car on the stand was the 1937 14/6 of local member John Cotton but his car was soon joined by many others.

I may be a tad partisan but I would describe our display as magnificent, about thirty cars in all, a
mixture of Coventry’s finest Siddeley and Alvis cars with the addition of three other classics. It was a good mix that looked great and won us the prize for the best stand at the show. As is ever the case the day sped past quickly. Our cars were scrutinised by judges to decide on the allocation of cups and other shiny trophies, under the eyes of head judge Tony Bannard-Smith. In some cases
the decisions between cars in first class condition was not easy. For example the award for the Members Other Classic was contested by Anthony and Bev Sullivan’s Rover P6 and the Austin Metropolitan of Dominic Ormerod. Both cars were immaculate and beautifully presented; there cannot have been more than a fraction of a point between them. Another car of note was the better
than showroom condition 1976 Alfa Romeo Spyder belonging to Manny Valentino. Manny is not a club member but is a neighbour of Keith Dewhurst and an expert Alfa restorer. During the afternoon Iain Campbell, the Hon. William Siddeley and Keith Dewhurst went into Leighton Hall and presented Suzie Reynolds with a framed picture of the Armstrong Siddeley Motors boardroom table used by the company directors at Parkside and now on display at Pentre. A somewhat strange presentation you might think but the table was made by Gillows, the furniture makers that later became Gillows and Waring, and Leighton Hall is the ancestral home of the Gillows family. Suzie Reynolds has a keen interest in her family history and heritage.

After a considerable amount of general and car related chat, teas and snacks from the stalls on the field, wanders round the small but sensibly priced auto-jumble and not to mention perusing the other cars at the show, the raffle was finally drawn. Tickets had mostly been purchased at the previous evening’s dinner but to increase the tension the draw was held on the field. There was also a second 200 Club draw of the weekend, the first was held after the AGM. The prize winners from the two draws were; Jim Ferguson, Mike Squires, Graham Lancaster, David O’Connor, Roger Cunningham and Keith Dewhurst. Two of these lucky winners generously donated their prizes to the club and to the trust. This kindness may not guarantee a place in heaven but a warm welcome at Pentre is assured.

Then the assorted awards were kindly presented by the Hon. William Siddeley, great, great grandson of John D. Siddeley, and one of our two ASOC Presidents. William had only just returned from a business trip to Africa so it was very good of him to join us at National Day. Each year there seems to be somebody who wins a lot of prizes and this year it was Geoff Elster who won awards for best in class, members’ choice and the longest distance travelled to the event in a pre-war car, all of them were well deserved, especially the distance award for his trip from Camberley, Surrey, in his 1935 17 hp. Sports Foursome.

The National Weekend drew to a close. After the gazebos were taken down and folding chairs returned to boots our cars made their way up the beautiful private drive from Leighton Hall, looking impressive in the afternoon sunshine. It was another successful Members Weekend, and thanks are due to everyone who helped to make it so. The Great British Car Show was a medium size event, consisting of about 200 cars with a friendly atmosphere and
also a delightful absence of intrusive PA announcements and loud music. There was room for more cars in our display and perhaps we can gradually build up to the numbers this annual event used to attract in earlier times. Next year’s Members Weekend will be based near Swindon. Plans are well in hand and I recommend it, especially to any members who have not yet taken part in our annual
celebration.

Posted in Events on the 20th September 2025 at 9:29am.

Tags: National