History

TAYSIDE CLASSIC CAR CLUB HISTORY

It all began at a rally in Camperdown Park in Dundee held by Dundee City Council in August 1989. I was there as an entrant with my Ford Zephyr Mark 3 when a guy called Dave Smith came over and chatted to me about the car and about how his father had owned one many years ago.

The conversation went on to asking what I thought about starting up a car club in the Dundee area. I immediately thought it would be a great idea and Dave Smith proceeded to put the wheels in motion. A couple of weeks later after some advertising in the local newspaper Dave had arranged a meeting in the Barton House Hotel in Constitution Road. Here one evening in a little room about twelve people gathered together to discuss the making of a car club. A name was decided and Tayside Classic Car Club was born, with Dave Smith as chairman and Alan Borthwick still a member, as secretary and treasurer. A meeting place, the Craigton Coaching Inn in Monikie, was found where the club could meet the first Thursday of every month and get together with people with similar interests.

In the spring of 1990 I was elected events secretary, a post which I enjoyed doing and was proud to hold until 2010 when I decided to step down and was delighted to be elected club chairman, a post I held for 2 years until deciding to retire from the committee. But in 2015 I was tempted back as Events Secretary until 2022 when I again decided to retire from the committee. As time moved on the club grew bigger and we outgrew the Craigton and moved to the Cambustay in Barnhill, where after two to three years we moved again, this time to the Milton House Hotel in Monifieth. After a couple of years there we moved again for a brief time to the Centenary bar in Dundee. At the end of 2006 we moved back to the Milton until November 2007, but again due to lack of space we then moved to the Strathmore Arms, Glamis, where we held our first meeting on 6th December 2007. After a pause of nearly 2 years because of Covid our meetings have now moved to the Birkhill Hall near Dundee from February 2022

From a small group of people, the club now has a membership of around 170 with many different cars. We attend everything from start of season road runs, to rallies held all over Scotland, have picnics, attend gala days and some of us make a weekend of the rallies. Some of us also attend the classic car show at the NEC Birmingham every year. We also now hold monthly Sunday breakfast meetings during the close season at a different location each month. Trophies are presented each year by the club to its members for best car and to those who make the most contribution to the club.

And so, we came to 2006 and after many years of planning, our dream came true and we held our first motor show This year we will again be staging our 17th Tayside Classic Motor Show at Errol Airfield with the kind permission of Morris Leslie This event is a charitable event and each year we have been delighted to be able to donate a substantial sum to Radio Tay’s Cash for Kids and other local charities. Over the last 16 years we have been delighted to be able to donate just over £84,000 to various good causes.

We hope you decide to join our Club and look forward to welcoming you to our meetings and events in the coming season.

Dave Nicoll – Founder Member

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