91 year old former detective back in his 1960s sporty MG police car

A former detective from Lancashire has taken a trip back in time behind the wheel of a rare police sports car – the type he first drove way back in the 1960s!
John Clark was reunited with the MGA Roadster at the Lakeland Motor Museum in Cumbria.

The Museum exhibit was one of a small number of MGs supplied to the Lancashire Constabulary for traffic patrol and training duties over 60 years ago. John drove one of the fleet during his Advance Driver Training in 1962.

“They were happy days!” says John who joined the police in 1956: “It was a beautiful car back then and it’s still a beautiful car now!
“They had only just come out when I first got behind the wheel of one of them so they were brand new. It’s hard to believe they are now a museum piece – time flies!”

(Left) John and the MGA Roadster at Lakeland Motor Museum. (Right) John during police driver training in 1962

John, originally from Lossiemouth in Scotland, only joined the police following a dare with a mate when they saw a Lancashire Constabulary recruiting bus while visiting a football match in nearby Elgin. “We both decided to do the entrance exam there and then and passed” he says. “I never saw the football match!”

He went on to become a senior detective, served with the Regional Crime Squad and was awarded the Lancashire Constabulary’s William Garnett Cup for Bravery – after capturing an armed criminal following a roof top chase. He ended his career as a Chief Superintendent in Lancaster. He retired in 1986 and still lives in Darwen near Blackburn.

He remembers the MGA Roadsters fondly. “When we first arrived at the police driving school we saw all these officers sitting in them with their sunglasses on smiling!” says John.

“I was well over 6 feet tall so it was something of a squeeze to get in. But they were lovely cars to drive. It was a bit easier to get behind the wheel back then than it is now I’m in my 90s!”

The engine was known to be temperamental. But the cars could go from 0-60mph in 12.2 seconds – reasonably quick for that era and good enough to keep in touch with many lawbreaking motorists.

(Left) John during driver training in an MGA Roadster in 1962. (Right) John relaxes behind the wheel at Lakeland Motor Museum

The top speed was 110 mph and they did 27 miles per gallon. In Lancashire, the MGA Roadster police cars were divided into white (A Class) and black (B Class) contingents. They had uprated running gear that was similar to the 1600 Deluxe model but with drum rear brakes instead of discs and bolt on steel wheels.

After his retirement from the police, John went on to become Superintendent of Darwen Market for many years. Serving in the police is a family tradition. He met his wife, Megan, at the police regional training centre in Warrington. They had two sons and a daughter – all of whom went on to serve in the police force! He’s also a grandad and a great grandad.