All you need to know about Morris
Born: 1912
Nationality: British
The founder of the Morris marque, William Robert Morris, was a bicycle repairman who had a dream of building a car which most people could afford. He set up WRM Motors with backing from the Earl of Macclesfield in 1912. A year later the first Morris Oxford was rolled out.
Components were bought from other suppliers, including engine and gearbox from White & Poppe and wheels from Sankeys. Bodies were produced by Raworths of Oxford.
Though his first cars weren't ready in time for the London Motor Show, Morris nevertheless sold 400 cars at the show simply by putting his plans on a stand. He kept his designs very simple, and reliability was built in because of his hands-on approach.
This trait was soon being proved at many trials and hill-climbs as the Oxford showed it could endure to the end when more sophisticated competitors failed to make the grades. By 1914 there were six versions of the base model.
Morris switched to arms manufacturing during the first World War, and didn't resume car making until 1920. He had gone to see a Ford production line and decided this was the future.
Car sales had slumped, but Morris cut retail prices by a fifth and trimmed dealer margins. By 1921, with the market down a third, Morris had increased sales by 50 per cent. Tthere were then two main models, the Cowley 2-seater and the 4-seat Oxford.
He knew the value of publicity stunts. In 1924 a "Bullnose" Cowleys was driven non-stop from Land's End to John O'Groats.
In the mid-1920s he began buying out suppliers, afraid that they wouldn't be able to keep up with his production demands. Morris Garages had improved performance of Oxfords with uprated engines and light alloy panels. They became very popular and in 1930 their manufacture was ceded to a new company, MG Cars, at Abingdon.
Another venture, Morris Commercial Cars in Coventry, had become very successful in its own right, producing light trucks and the first taxi in which the driver had protection from the elements.
The Wolseley Car Company was bought by Morris in 1927, and by 1935 had become an integral part of Morris Motors, as did the Riley company. In 1928 the first Morris Minor had a Wolseley engine.
The Minor name disappeared in 1935 in favour of the designation "Eight", of which 100,000 had been built in the middle of 1936. The car, with innovative hydraulic brakes, was to become the most popular vehicle across Britain in the years before the second World War.
Across the same decade, other Morris cars all had number designations based roughly on horsepower.
The first unitary built Morris, the 1938 Morris 10 Series M, marked the beginning of the marque's move away from coach-building of wooden-framed bodies mounted on separate chassis.
As the second World War approached, Morris, now Lord Nuffield, designed a tank which was to be very important in the eventual conflict with Germany.
The Morris Minor as we know it post-war began production in 1948. So also did the larger Oxford Series MO, and the 6-cylinder Morris 6. Wolseley versions were also produced, beginning "badge engineering". A new range of commercial vehicles were developed, along with the Nuffield tractor.
In the 1950s Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation, beginning a long ending of the Morris marque. The brand survived into the 1960s on cars such as the original Mini - possibly the last of the true Morris originals - and the last of the Oxford nameplates which had badged Austin, MG, Wolseley and Riley copies. There were other models too, which true Morris aficionados would rather forget.
Best Car: Morris Minor, or the Mini Minor
Worst Car: Morris Marina
Weirdest Car: Morris couldn't do weird, which was why the 1970s Princess was badged as an Austin