During the weekend of the 2nd/3rd July, 46 Clans gathered in Washington, Tyne & Wear, the birthplace of the Clan Crusader.
The celebrations included visits to local attractions such as Washington Old Hall (the ancestral home of George Washington) where Clans featured in the launch of a new, locally brewed beer. Trips to the impressive local coast included photo shoots at the Souter Lighthouse and then, in the afternoon, members and their cars descended on the Northern Aircraft Museum in Sunderland for a mass line-up of Clans in front of the Vulcan bomber undergoing restoration. Access to the cockpit showed that the five man crew had little more room than we do in our Clans!
Some eighty members and friends gathered for a celebration dinner at the Holiday Inn in Washington, where the guests of honour, Paul and Heather Haussauer, were entertained. Paul was the Managing Director of the Clan Motor Co. and his after dinner speech enlightened us as to some of its history.
On the Sunday morning, a large proportion of the Clans travelled in convoy from the hotel, via the original factory building on the Crowther Estate for another photo-stop, and then on to a reserved car park at the Galleries Shopping Centre complex. The 46 cars were joined there by other local classic car enthusiasts and together, they provided an impressive display for members of the public.
Clans on display included the prototype Crusader which evolved into the works rally car and which made a very successful debut on the 1972 Manx International Rally; and the first car off the production line in 1971, still in pristine condition and driven all the way from Milton Keynes to Co. Durham by Jim McEwan, the Clan Owners Club archivist.
Several other notable competition cars attended including the racers of the Richards family and the very successful rally Crusader campaigned in the early 1970’s by Alan Conley of the Wylam Garage, Northumberland. The 46 car line-up was judged for concours condition by Keith Noble of the North-Eastern Restoration Club. Prize tankards went to Steve Fenner for the best original Clan and to Scott Fanning for the best restoration. Such was the standard of cars on display that judging was no easy task – a compliment to the care of the owners and the quality of the original production of the Clan Motor Company.
Once all the judging was over on Sunday afternoon, members dispersed towards the South Coast and Scotland, and all points in between, after a very successful celebration of the marque.
Dave Williamson
Chairman, Clan Owners Club
