Morris Garages: The Man Behind the MG

The world as MG enthusiasts know it today would not be the same if it was not for a man named William Richard Morris, later Lord Nuffield. MG, as almost everyone knows, stands for Morris Garages.

Morris established his vast car manufacturing empire from humble beginnings. He was born October 10, 1877 in Worcestershire, England, the eldest of seven children. His father was a clerk in a clothing store. When Morris was three years old, the family moved to Oxford, where his father helped run his grandfather’s farm.

Morris dropped out of school at the age of 15 to take a job to support the family when his father became ill. Young Morris became an apprentice to a local cycle trader, but was soon mending and building bicycles on his own. He saved up enough money to set up his own bicycle business within a year. The business prospered and expanded. He designed the Morris Motor Cycle in 1901 (an engine fitted to a bicycle frame) and a year later acquired a garage where he sold, repaired and rented cars. Morris married Elizabeth Anstey on April 9th, 1904.

Morris designed his first car, the Bull Nosed Morris, in 1912 and began large scale production at the former site of a military training college in the Cowley area of Oxford. He introduced the first Morris Oxford car in 1913. With the outbreak of World War I, his Cowley car factory was given over to produce munitions. After the war, car production resumed and Morris began to purchase more factories. He opened car manufacturing plants at Abingdon, Birmingham, and Swindon between 1919 and 1925, and introduced Henry Ford’s mass production technique to the United Kingdom.

In 1922, the fate of the sportier MG was cast. Morris appointed Cecil Kimber to be general manager of Morris Garages in Oxford. Under Kimber’s direction, the standard Morris Cowleys were modified by lowering the chassis and fitting more sporty bodywork. Morris Garages first advertised the "MG Special four-seater Sports" in 1924 and the now famous octagonal MG badge appeared for the first time.