Singer Owners' Club History

In December 1950 Keith McDowell advertised in the motoring press proposing the formation of a club for Singer enthusiasts anxious to exploit the sporting nature of their cars. On March 4th 1951 the inaugural meeting of the Club took place in the Salisbury Arms Hotel in Hertford. Forty five people attended with a mixture of pre-war Le Mans cars and the then current 9hp and 1500cc Singer Roadster and SM cars.

(left) 1951 inaugural meeting at Hertford, (Right) 2011 Diamond Jubilee meeting Hertford.

Recognition by the RAC soon followed and competitive and social events were organised. By January 1952 membership had passed 150 and the Club was firmly established. At first the accent was very much on competition, and one of the highlights in the '50's was the Six Hour Relay Race at Silverstone. In 1952 this event was won by the Singer Owners' Club, at their first attempt, beating 27 other teams into first place.

1952 Relay Race team

The Club was active in most spheres of competition and regularly entered teams of Singers in the classic MCC Lands End and Exeter sporting trials. The 1500cc Roadster model gave a good account of itself in international rallies and Singer Hunters competed in the RAC rally.

The 1950s

The later '50's saw more diversification in the activities of the Club. The emphasis was still on competitive events, but members were starting to restore the older cars, in particular, the 9hp and 1½ Litre Le Mans. To support these restorations Registrars and an Historian were appointed, and at the same time the Singer Owners' Club was one of the founder members of the Combined One Make Car, Club an association of clubs who banded together to look after the interests of the more esoteric motor cars. Top of the page

Ripe for restoration

The 1960s

The 1960's saw a spares service started and the establishment of Registrars catering for all the models produced by Singer Motors. The Club continued to provide an active competition calendar of at least ten events each year, from sprint meetings to navigational and economy rallies and production car trials, which had been the forte of the 9hp cars of the '30's. From the start the Club produced its own magazine. The 'Singer Owner' has always been highly thought of, it is now a 48/52 page illustrated, glossy, bi-monthly publication distributed world-wide and has twice been adjudged the best car club magazine in the country. Top of the page

(Left) 1961 magazine, (Right) The recent 2023 edition

The 1970s

The '70's saw further expansion of Singer activities on a world-wide basis to support the significant increase in enthusiasm shown for preservation of all Singer cars. Associated clubs became active in Holland, Australia and North America and the Singer Owners' Club membership increased to around 800 world-wide. Top of the page

The 1980s

In the '80's Gazelles and Vogues emerged as collectors cars and for the Club this was a period of consolidation and improvement of all the services available to members. In particular considerable effort was put into developing spares availability for all Singers by appointing Spares Registrars dedicated to specific model families. The Club became a Limited company to protect all members and to ensure the finances were professionally audited. The technical library was expanded to cover as many models as possible.

The Club also continued to take part in many multi-make car shows including the prestigious Alexander Palace Show. Top of the page

1980s Alexandra Palace show

The 1990s

World-wide membership stabilised at around 850 during the '90's and associated clubs started in New Zealand, France and Belgium. Spares availability significantly improved for all popular models and there was a revival of interest in vintage Singer models. ‘The Singer Story’ was published, this being the definitive history of the marque, the Club produced its first book.-'Singer Cars of the Rootes Group', and colour became a regular feature of the 'Singer Owner'.

The Club was accredited by DVLA to participate in the scheme to enable vehicles not on their computer system to be registered with most retaining their original registration number. To date over 125 Singers have been inspected and returned to the road. Top of the page

The 2000s

In 2011 the Club celebrated its Diamond Jubilee with a series of events culminating in a four day anniversary rally which was attended by members from many parts of the world. The Club has regularly supported classic car shows, but the premier event for Singer Owners is Singer National Weekend which has been held annually since 1967 and regularly attracts large numbers of Singers from the UK and the continent.

The club purchased over 18,000 Singer factory production cards covering many of the vehicles produced between 1932 and 1937 which are invaluable reference material and ‘SingerFlash’ was introduced as a quick means of circulating information on events, items for sale or wanted and technical help.Top of the page

Singer National Day at Dover Castle 2014