WANTED - INFORMATION ABOUT MORRIS MINORS IN BERMUDA

We have received a request from British author and classic car enthusiast, Tom Singfeld in the UK, who is writing an article about the Morris Minor in Bermuda for the Morris Minor Owner’s Club magazine “Minor Matters”.

Replica of Morris Minor van used by Bermuda Police

He would like to hear from anyone with stories/pictures/information about the hundreds of Minors that were imported into Bermuda. Saloons (2 door and 4 door), convertibles (called Tourers), vans and Travellers (the Americans call these “Woodies”) have all graced the roads of Bermuda. He has yet to find out if any of the open-backed commercial Pickups were imported but that is more than likely.
 
Tom says, “Very little is known about the major fleet operators of the Minor in Bermuda but the Bermuda Police were one of them. These photos (see below) illustrate a Police dog handler with his van and another officer with his versatile Morris Traveller. BELCO had Minor vans too, but details/pictures of their fleet have not been found.”

Young P.C. Howard Gordon serving as a Dog Handler with his Morris Minor van

These two excellent photos are of Gordon Howard and Ralph Sealy. Gordon Howard, who hailed from Liverpool and came to Bermuda to join the Bermuda Police in the mid 1960’s, was a dog handler for a short while during his service. He was also an avid football player and Everton fan. Gordon left the Force after a few years and had a successful career in banking.  Tragically, he died in August 2010  after a fire engulfed his home at Riddell’s Bay in the middle of the night. His wife and daughters managed to get out of the house but Gordon was overcome by smoke.  It was initially reported that Gordon had been able to get out of the house then went back inside to rescue his two dogs, but his daughter Tonya, has written to correct the record (see her comment below).  

Ralph Sealy joined the Bermuda Police Force in 1966 along with the rest of our first contingent of recruits from Barbados. Ralph confirms that the photo was taken when he was serving as Parish Constable in Devonshire just prior to leaving the Force and emigrating to the U.S. in 1968 with his American wife, Jennifer. Ralph has many fond memories of driving P6338. He mentions that prior to coming to Bermuda he worked in the Maritime Office in Barbados where his supervisor drove a Morris Minor, and ever since then these have been one his “fave” cars. Ralph had not seen this particular photo but has a similar one in his archives that was later used in an article about him when he was working at a bank in Philadelphia. The article was entitled “From Bobby to Banker”.

We have put Tom in touch with several people who are avid Morris Minor fans in Bermuda, but we are sure that we must have former members of the Force who also have fond memories of driving Morris Minors. If you have a story to tell and/or photos that might be of interest to Tom, you can contact him directly by email at tom@singfield.freeserve.co.uk