A Tale Of Two Abandoned MG J2’s
Note: This article was written by Mr. Steve Chivington (SBC), Emerald Necklace MG Register Inc., with permission to post on NAMGAR for the benefit of our members.
Hello MG enthusiasts –
I discovered an interest MG Story I never heard before while watching a YouTube video titled “12 Most Incredible Abandoned Cars Found.” At the 9:15 minute mark it went on to say:
“Archeologists are used to digging strange and unusual things from the ground in and around Stone Henge in England but event they were surprised when a rusted shell of a 1932 MG came out of the ground in September 2017. The team was hoping to dig out an old military base on Salisbury Plains and expecting to find an artillery division but instead they found all that’s left of the old car. Its ragged and rusted but its still sitting on its original wheels and the frame is capable of supporting itself. They have no idea how it got here but the most likely explanation is that it belonged to a soldier who was training at the base. The fact that its driveshaft was found next to it suggests it was in pieces when it was abandoned so perhaps it was a repair project that was never completed. Only 2000 of these cars were ever built. It’s doubtful this one could ever be restored but it might make an interesting museum piece.”
SBC NOTE: After watching a 2-minute segment of the video my interest was piqued and after exploring the story further on the world wide web, I found this at www.theguardian.com.
Man solves mystery of 1930s sports car buried on Salisbury Plain
The mystery of a red 1930s MG sports car archaeologists found buried in a Second World War gun emplacement pit during a major excavation has been solved and can be attributed to “childs play.”
Experts had originally wondered if the MG J2 had been dumped after being used as an officer’s runaround when the MOT test was brought in, but a man has confessed that as a boy he and his gang crashed the car into the emplacement during high jinks.
The boys used to push the MG up a small hill at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire, jump into it and freewheel down. On one occasion, they heaved it up a bigger hill but, unsurprisingly, lost control on the way down and it ended up in the old gun emplacement. When the pit was filled in, the car was buried too.
The remains of the car was one of the intriguing finds Wessex Archaeology made on Army land that was being cleared for housing on Salisbury Plain.
A vast battlefield landscape of tunnels and trenches dug to train troops had been discovered. More than 200 grenades, half of them still live, were found as well as bits and pieces left behind by the recruits, including combs, toothbrushes, tobacco tins, candlesticks, tins of condense milk and meat paste, a jar of Canadian cheese and a tin of Australian toffees.
Also found was a 1950s motorbike – and the 1932 MG J2, which would have cost 199 Pounds when new, around an average yearly wage. The archaeologists could tell from the tyres that the car was in use until the 1960s but puzzled over how it had ended up in the emplacement.
Patrick Shannon, who lived in the area as a boy in the 1960s, came forward to solve the mystery. He said “Larkhill was mostly tin huts at that time. I remember the gun pits. In the winter, they would fill with snow and we would jump in them for fun. The camp was open and we could wander anywhere we wanted.”
Behind some huts was an old red sports car. “Our gang used to play in it because it was easy to get into and we would jump in, push it down a hill and push it back up again.”
“One day, some of the bigger boys decided that the small hill was too tame and decided we would go for a big hill. The big boys steered and we pushed off with all of us trying to jump in as it gained speed/ As it got faster it hit bumps, things fell off and boys jumped or fell out.”
“I was walking along behind it because I’d fallen off and I saw it go into one of the gun pits and sort of crash into the side of the pit. No one was hurt and we did try to push it would a few times but we just could not do it so in the pit it stayed. No more rolling it down the hill but we still played in it.”
“No one came looking for it and no one even seemed to notice that it was no longer at the back of the huts. Sometime afterwards, the old huts were knocked down. The old gun pits were filled in and I seem to remember that the car was still in the pit when they filled it in.”
SBC NOTE: A final comment about the MG was made in “The Guardian” by a member of the Wessex Archaeology Team, a Mr. Cleggett:
“At Larkhill, the archaeologists wonder whether some mutiny in the ranks lay behind what must have been the baffling overnight disappearance of the 1930s sports car, the kind that might have been driven by some flashy young officer. It was driven into a deep trench, and chalk was shoveled in to cover it. It has now been carefully logged alongside the meat tins and the Roman pottery but is in need of more conservation work than either.”
“To advertise the car as a one careful owner in need of some TLC would undoubtedly be pushing it”, Cleggett said.
SBC NOTE: A happy ending to this story was found at www.classicsworld.co.uk:
The 1932 MG J2 found by archaeologists on Salisbury Plain last year has been rescued by a marquee enthusiast
The reason as to exactly why the rare model – chassis number J2192 – was abandoned in a shed on Ministry of Defence land remains unclear; “MG Enthusiast” magazine editor Simon Goldworthy speculated that the MOT, introduced in the early 1960s, mad the car too expensive to run for the incumbent owner.
Following an article in December’s “MG Enthusiast” magazine, the J2’s new own Rob Paisley contacted the magazine with an update. Rob plans for a full restoration and has already recovered the J2 back to his garage where it sits next to his MGB Roadster.
“I bought the car from the MOD in December via an online auction. I love the history behind it and the J2 is my dream project – I’ve been looking for one for a long time”, Simon told MG Enthusiast.
He continued “The J2 now lives safely in my garage next to my MGB.”
“I have been a member of the MG Car Club for more than 17 years and have owned MGs since 1983. I have completed and participated in many events since then with my Midget (my first MG), MGB GT and my current MGB Roadster (the Midget and GT were sold long ago).”
With the help of Witham Specialist Vehicles, the J2 was removed from its resting place; work has commenced on the front axle, with Robert able to remove the brake drums and hubs without too much difficulty.
“I did say you couldn’t discount the possibility of it being revived and returned to the road, and I’m please to say that is exactly was is going to happen”, Simon Goldsworthy concluded.
Follow the J2’s progress in future issues of the MG Enthusiast (https://www.magzter.com/GB/Seymour-Distribution-Ltd/MG-Enthusiast/Automotive) and Classic Car Buyer (https://www.kelsey.co.uk/brand/classic-motoring/classic-car-buyer).
