Sunday 23rd August was a special day at Bantock House, on the occasion of the eleventh Turner Sports Car Rally. The annual event, which began in 2005, celebrates the building of the excellent sports cars that were manufactured by Turner Sports Cars (Wolverhampton) Limited in the 1950s and 1960s. The company, run by the late Jack Turner, built between 650 and 700 of the sports cars, initially in Merridale Street, Wolverhampton, before moving to a factory at Pendeford.

Car manufacturing in Wolverhampton began in the late 1890s, and became one of the main industries in the City, particularly in the 1920s and early 1930s when large numbers of people were employed in the production of well known makes including A.J.S., Clyno, Star, and Sunbeam. In the late 1920s Clyno was the country's third largest car manufacturer.

Turner Sports Cars (Wolverhampton) Limited was the last manufacturer in the City to produce complete cars. Production ended in 1966, which marked the end of an era. Luckily for us, over three hundred Turner sports cars have survived, mainly in the UK and the USA. Many have been lovingly restored by their owners, and are a credit to them. The six cars that were on display at the front of Bantock house, include examples built between 1959 and 1966, so covering much of the eleven years of production.

The cars and their owners are as follows:

As usual, the event organiser, Brian Shaw, put together an excellent indoor display which told the story of Turner sports cars and some of their sporting achievements. The many visitors greatly enjoyed seeing the cars and viewing Brian's display. Thanks to them, Bantock café did a roaring trade. Although the weather was mixed, the rain kept off until after lunch, and so didn't spoil the day.

As usual we must thank Brian for all of his work in organising this special day, and for his help in producing this section. The Turner Sports Car Register has a website at: http://www.turnersportscars.co.uk/