Eastern Centre introduction.
It has always been useful to belong to an owners club and while Austin Healeys were being produced the factory supported them [and the MG’s] through the Safety Fast Magazine and sponsoring race and rally events to attend to enjoy your Healey. The first separate club for Healeys was the Healey Drivers Club set up in 1955 by Brian Healey and a small team of enthusiasts. When the Sprite came along in 1958 other Clubs were soon formed in separate areas of the UK to cater for the new kid, amongst these was the Eastern Sprite Club [which was the genesis of the Eastern Centre of the Austin Healey Club we know today] . These all came under the umbrella of BMC which provided cohesion and central admin. This continued up until 1969 when BMC wound up their club operations and then the Healey family assumed control. When the membership grew too large for their small operation a new control body was formed to link all the separate clubs, known as the National Executive Committee, each club having an officer on this committee.
In 1979 the Austin Healey Club Limited was restructured to it’s current form with seven regional centres having their own committees, finances and running their own local events, coming together pooling expertise to hold bigger National events. More recently an additional “centre” was added, HDI [Healey Drivers International] caters specifically for the competition side of Healey ownership.
Eastern Centre is very fortunate to have active members who were instrumental in the formation of the Club as we know it today, passing on the rich history of the Centre and in-depth knowledge of the cars we love.
We pride ourselves in being friendly and helpful and hopefully can add another dimension to the enjoyment of your Austin Healey, big or small, Concours or well loved. With several monthly “noggin and natter” meetings throughout the area and many bigger supported events through the year you will be able to enjoy your car to the full.