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Warwick Healey Motor Company Archive

LOTTERY money is to fund the public purchase of the Warwick Healey Motor Company Archive, it has been announced today, Tuesday.
Warwickshire County Council has been successful in its bid for ÂŁ51,300 to help buy the collection and also create a new archive featuring an oral history collection of memories from former employees and those with family connections to the company.
In addition, ten schools will help Heritage and Culture Warwickshire pilot STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) workshops engaging children with the engineering and technological know-how behind the Healey brand.

The lottery money was the final piece needed to purchase the collection which included funding from the PRISM fund (Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material), Friends of National Libraries, King Henry VIII Trust Warwick, Head 4 Healeys Ltd, Friends of Warwickshire County Record Office, Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society and a number of generous private donations.

The fundraising campaign was also promoted in the January-February edition of the Austin-Healeymagazine, a magazine produced by the Austin Healey Club USA (AHCUS), which has members is 29 countries and almost every state in America.
It will now take pride of place amongst Warwickshire’s valued archive collections at Warwickshire County Record Office.
Once the project is complete the collection will be available to anyone wishing to use it for research and will stand as a permanent legacy to the achievement and ingenuity of the Healey family in Warwick, the birthplace of the company.
The Healey Motor Company was founded in 1945 by Donald Healey, a successful car designer and rally driver. It was based in an old aircraft components factory off Millers Road in Warwick.
It produced two-seater sports cars until 1953 when Mr Healey began a partnership with the British Motor Corporation to produce cars under the Austin-Healey marque and then West Bromwich-based Jensen.
The company archives consists of 20 large boxes of material, including unique, early R&D designs, business records, printed material and correspondence of the company’s involvement in motor racing and test results for land speed records. There are also numerous photographs of various Healey models including action shots and celebrities.
It was put up for sale at a cost of £120,000 by the grandchildren of the car company’s founder, Donald Healey.
Cllr Jeff Clarke, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio holder for Heritage and Environment, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“The project reminds us all of Warwickshire’s proud manufacturing and motoring heritage and that Warwickshire is a great place to do business.
“I am confident the project will support young people to develop new skills and an interest in their local heritage.’

Cllr Philip Johnson, chairman of the council’s Communities Overview & Scrutiny Committee, added: ” How fitting that the Healey archive should find a home in the town where the early models were conceived and built. The company made an important contribution to the identity of post-war Warwick with its Cape Road works and showrooms in Coten End”

There will be some Healey cars on display at a Vintage Fair at St John’s House, Warwick, on Sunday, 10th April, from 11am to 4pm.

Entry is free, with stalls, a vintage hair stylist as well as archivists from Warwickshire County Record Office and a glimpse of some treasures from the Warwick Healey Motor Company Archive.

Source: https://www.stratford-herald.com/49712-lottery-windfall-secures-healey-motor-company-archive.html
 
I just popped down to the Warwick event and added my name to the list of volunteers. The display was very small. About half the documents have been published before but others were new to me. Particularly liked what looked like an early drawing of the 100 bulkhead area.
 
In response to a number of enquiries, Warwickshire County Records Office have released this statement about the forthcoming auction of Healey memorabilia at Bonhams Goodwood Auction on 9th September 2017.

https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/24331/
THE TRUE STORY OF HEALEY
THE COLLECTION OF BOTH DONALD AND GEOFFREY HEALEY OFFERED AT BONHAMS GOODWOOD REVIVAL SALE

''Warwickshire County Record Office has been alerted to the sale of further Healey Motor Company material by users and the family. Unfortunately, the office is unable to raise any further funds to purchase these additional pieces, many of which are of great historical interest. As Warwickshire County Record Office recently purchased the collection it is disappointing that more material has now come to light that could have been saved for public use. Hopefully, those purchasing the documents now may consider donating them to help grow Warwickshire's significant research collection in the future. In the meantime the office is talking to the family to investigate whether it may be possible to have copies made of the most pertinent information. The most important thing for members of the public is that the Warwick Healey Motor Company Archive has been fully catalogued thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and to generous public donations and is now available to use at Warwickshire County Record Office. Please see our website https://heritage.warwickshire.gov.uk/warwickshire-county-record-office for details of opening hours and registration requirements.'' ENDS

Separately, for sale is
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24122/preview_lot/5085573/
The Peter Riley/Tony Ambrose, 1961 Acropolis Rally Class Winner, ex-Rauno Aaltonen
1961 Austin-Healey 3000 MK I Works Rally Two Seater
Registration no. XJB 871
 
Request from the Museum

https://www.facebook.com/HealeyMuseum?fref=ts

Quote;

A request from our Chairman:
as most Healey collectors probably know Bonhams London recently auctioned a considerable part of the Healey heritage.
Through social media several remarks were posted hoping that the Healey Museum Foundation would receive some of these items as a donation.
We can comment that the Foundation acquired 5 objects and that 2 further objects have been donated on loan by the new owners.
We regret that the Healey memorabilia are dispersed all over the world. As the Healey Museum we would like to set up a register and record for the future to which owners these objects have gone.
Our request to the new owners is therefore to please inform us about the lot numbers you have acquired.
In case you do not want to share this on Facebook which we respect, we kindly ask you to send an email to info@healeymuseum.nl or via Messenger to Hans van de Kerkhof.


We thank you in advance for your cooperation !


Regards,

Hans van de Kerkhof
 
The Warwick Healey Archive was a great resource for finding information about DMH's thoughts for a big Healey replacement for an article that I did in the January 2018 issue of the Healey Marque. I owe a big thank you to forum member Warwick Steve who visited the archives and did some research on my behalf. More details are in this month's archive bulletin: https://www.carsceneinternational.com...e-bulletin-iv/
 
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