Just before Christmas, our 1948 Morris 10 Series M was transferred to the Oxford Bus Museum as part of our Effective Collections Project, which was funded by the Museum Association's Effective Collections scheme. The aim of this scheme is to help Museums to get more of their stored items into use, either by loaning them to other Museums on a long term basis, or by transferring them permanently to other Museums who are able to use them more effectively as part of their work.
With our Effective Collections grant we reviewed all of our stored collections and as a result of this review several objects were identified that could be more effectively used by other Museums. The Morris was one such item, and was selected because it was not built in Coventry, and therefore we decided it was better to offer it to other museums. As a result of this process, the 1948 Morris has been transferred to the Oxford Bus Museum.
The Oxford Bus Museum plans to restore the vehicle and display it as part of their Morris Exhibition (they have an area dedicated to Morris Cars, because they were built at Cowley in Oxfordshire). They may also make the car roadworthy again for future museum events. Colin Ellis of the Oxford Bus Museum was delighted to accept the vehicle and is looking forward to being able to make it available for the public to see.
The family of the gentleman who originally donated the car to Coventry Transport Museum have been kept informed about the process and are very pleased that the car has found a new home.
