Broughton-Bretton Motor club 

Formed in 1945, Broughton Bretton Motor Club is a member of the MSA (Motor Sport Association), ANWCC (Association of North Western Car Clubs) and WAMC (Welsh Association of Motor Clubs). 

Given the extensive history of the club, which was initially formed as a motorcycle club, there have been various club meeting places over the years:

​Glynne Arms, Broughton - 1945 to unknown

Fox and Grapes, Hawarden - Unknown to 1955

Phoenix Hotel, Sandycroft - 1955 to 1958

Red Lion, Hope - 1958 to 1966

Coed Talon Inn - 1966 to 1995

The Crown, Llay - 1995 to 1997

New Inn, Pontblyddyn - 1997 to 2011

The Bridge Inn, Sandycroft - 2011 to March 2017
The Mill House - March 2017 - January 2020

​Penyffordd & Penymynydd British Legion - January 2020 - Prersent

There have also been short stays at the Halfway House Caergwrle and the Glynne Arms, Hawarden, but such were short lived.

There are several threads which provide continuity from the early days of Broughton-Bretton Motor Club. The club still meets every Thursday night, as it appears to have done since its inception, so some things don't change, just the people. The earliest record of Broughton-Bretton Motor club is a set of club rules which state that the club was formed in 1945. The rule book was copied and updated in 1965. We also have a letter written in 1969 from Bob Jones, in a response to an invitation from Meg Edwards to the 21st Annual Dinner Dance, in which Bob provides the names of some of the founder members of the club. 

​The first meeting place was the Glynne Arms in Broughton, hence the name Broughton-Bretton. Almost certainly the club members would have all been motorcycle enthusiasts and a good number of the early members worked at the De Havilland Aircraft Factory (now AIRBUS).​ Throughout the 1950's, the club prospered and organised many motorcycle trials and scrambles as well as day and night rallies. Motor cars became a feature of the club in the mid 1950's and the enthusiasts for either form of transport lived quite happily together. The committees at the time were supplemented by a Motor Cycle Club Captain and a Motor Car Club Captain and both came together on rallies. 

The military tone of the day could also be seen, where the club meeting place was referred to as the HQ. Annual scramble events were held at Hawarden Park courtesy of Mr. Gladstone, with all profits made donated to charities of Mr. Gladstone's choice. It was not uncommon to see crowds of up to 3,000 people attending these events at Easter, Whit and the August Bank Holiday. 

The 1960's saw the demise of the motorcycle element in the club and by 1965 no motorcycle events were organised. The swinging 60's saw young men with more money and with the advent of the GT badge on performance saloon cars the club prospered and grew continually right through the 1970's. Under the steady hand of John Morgan, the club became a highly respected motor club in Wales and were asked to organise and manage special stages on both the Welsh and the RAC Rallies for many years. 

The 1980's saw a demise in the fortunes of Broughton-Bretton Motor Club. Without going into detail, a split in 1982 saw the club being relatively dormant. Without the continuing interest shown by the few who continued to turn up every Thursday, the club would have probably died. Carry on they did and in the early 1990's a small number of Broughton-Bretton Motor Club crews began to carry the banner in road rallies. This small activity drew in more members who also competed and the club gradually grew in strength and once more became vibrant. 

The 2000's have seen a resurrection in the club activities and the oganising of an open road rally in 2005 - The Firefly, saw the club presented with the Jack Romain Trophy for the Best Road Rally in Wales. This feat was equalled in 2006 when the award was again presented to Broughton-Bretton Motor Club for the 2006 Firefly Rally. 2007 and 2008 saw the club continue to grow and run the successful Firefly Road Rally. Sadly 2008 also saw the passing of long time member Elwyn Lloyd after a long battle with cancer. 2009 also started off sadly, with the sudden passing of club member Chris Webber. Chris had been planning a scatter rally for the end of January that year, so the club decided to still run the event in his memory. As such, the Bring It On Scatter Rally was born and is run close to Chris's birthday. It also saw changes in committee positions, after long serving members stepped down from their positions. 

Broughton-Bretton also returned to Autotesting. The Elwyn Lloyd Memorial Production Car Autotest. This saw twenty six entries attend the event and include a few fourteen to sixteen year olds putting a few older members to shame with their driving skills. A fitting tribute to Elwyn saw his son, Ian Lloyd, claim top spot on what would have been Elwyn's 67th birthday. The 2009 Firefly Road Rally as another success which was run by the new clerk of course, Steve Southall. 

In recent years the club has run successful Rali Bryniau Clwyd, with Brymore Pierce being clerk of the course. The rally is set to continue as the main event in the clubs calendar. As the club has evolved over the years, many members now compete at local, national and indeed international level.

WHAT'S GOING ON

The club is predominantly a competing club and as such, most weekends will see members either competing on events, or assisting with such. 

Please check our Events and News tabs for up to date information. Indeed, any ideas for social events, competitions or the like will be well received. Either let us know via the 'contact us' page, or alternatively please inform a member of the committee. 

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Club History