MG Car Club
Jean Kimber Cook
ON TUESDAY 12th November 2013 we received the sad news that Jean Kimber-Cook had passed away, and yet another link with the early days of MG has been lost.
Jean was well-known to all MG enthusiasts, both at home and abroad. She was an ambassador not only for MG but for her father, Cecil Kimber, who was, of course, MG’s founder.
Jean grew up in a world we can only dream of, when motoring was so different. She would always be so enthusiastic about her father, whom she adored, reciting memories of times at Brooklands, and meeting MG personalities of the time, such as Goldie Gardner, George Eyston and Lord March, the future Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
She grew up very much in the vintage and MMM era. She subsequently married Eric McGavin and had two children, Kim and Peter. Jean was aunt to Easter Walkington, who married Eddie Kirkland and their relationship was always warm. Jean eventually married Dennis Cook, who shared her enthusiasm for all things motoring and MG, and it was probably in this era that we remember her the most.
The late Wilson F. McComb was probably instrumental in rekindling her active interest when writing his famous book on the history of MG. Once again, Jean started to move in MG circles. In 1984 she responded to a request from Geoff Radford to come along to the first MG Regency Run that was about to be launched. Jean joined John Thornley and Wilson McComb, to name but a few. Jean’s delight was that she was able to wave off the cars as they left – the first being none other than her late Father’s MG K1 Corsica, which she remembered from her childhood days. Jean was very much a supporter of the event after that, travelling the first year in pouring rain in Geoff Radford’s MG L2 Magna.
From that time onwards, Jean was always to be found at MG events, particularly MG car clubs, Silverstone international annual events and anywhere there was a collection of MGs. Jean’s enthusiasm encompassed all of the clubs, including the MG Car Club, Early MG Society, MG Owners’ Club, MG Octagon Car Club as well as all the overseas centres and registers covering the mark.
Jean was proud to be invited to the launch of the MGF at Gaydon and took the opportunity to sit in Old No. 1, her father’s Bull-Nose 1925 Land’s End Trial-winning car. She and Dennis were always a familiar sight at our events, with Dennis photographing everything and Jean clutching her father’s photograph albums, which held so much historic information. During this time she was a full-time social worker until she retired in 1989.
In later years Jean had not enjoyed good health and had not been able to get out to any car events for some time. Her son Kim and grandson Joe, however, share her enthusiasm to ensure that the Kimber family still remain very much a part of the MG world.
Jean was Vice-President of the MG Car Club and an honorary member of the Early MG Society. The funeral will be a family affair, and a memorial service is planned for early 2014. We send our condolences from the MG world to the family at this sad time.
Geoff Radford
