Car restoration project on a tired old Rover 25 raises over £7,000 for bereaved Forces children with the help of Clarkson, Hammond and May’s Media Company, DriveTribe
Having sold his very car first in 2014, London based video presenter, Mike Fernie, never dreamt that one day he would find it abandoned and that restoring his tired old car would generate so much interest and raise thousands of pounds for Scotty’s Little Soldiers – a charity that supports bereaved British Forces children and young people.
Mike with his restored Rover 25
In 2019, Mike (27), who heads up video content for DriveTribe, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May's media company, was travelling back to his family home in Edinburgh when he came across by chance his old Rover 25 completely run down and abandoned in an Army barracks car park.
The car had been left just outside Glencorse barracks by a soldier who, at the time, was just about to go on tour to Afghanistan and was never reclaimed.
After posting a video of the car on his YouTube channel, Mike received lots of encouragement from his online fans to rescue the car, and so finally last year decided to embark on a nine-month restoration project that would also help raise money for charity.
Mike's abandoned Rover 25
Mike's rescue mission of his Rover 25
Because of the car’s military connection and Mike’s grandad having served in the Suez Crisis, Mike decided he wanted his passion project to help raise money for a cause that benefitted the Armed Forces community. He chose Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a national charity that offers integral support to children and young people who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
He said: “I really wanted this project to help raise money for a good cause that was connected to the military. Since leaving me, the Rover 25 has been on such a journey and ended it on a military base, so it seemed fitting. As I work for Jeremy Clarkson, I started to research charities he was connected with, and stumbled across an episode of Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire? where Piers Morgan helped raise money for Scotty’s Little Soldiers. I started looking into the charity and quickly realised what a fantastic cause it was and how important its support for bereaved Forces children and young people was within the Armed Forces community. It was the perfect fit.”
Mike met up with the car’s previous owner in 2021, who gifted it back to him, and in March last year embarked on this nostalgic project to restore his Rover 25 and get it back on the road.
Mike said: “With help from Mick and the guys at MAD Ford engineering and our sponsors Liqui Moly, we were able to bring this project to life. It was so nice to be back working on this car, after having sold it back when I was a teenager. It’s been amazing, some of memories that have come back during this entire project. The whole team were super passionate about the project, I really wanted to do it proud.”
Mike and his restored Rover 25
The restoration took nine months to complete and in December 2021, Mike put the car up for auction on eBay, raising a staggering £7,700, which was all donated to Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
Mike said: “Within hours we had already reached bids of over £3,000 and had hundreds of people watching. I was so pleased when we surpassed my personal goal of £5,000 and then the figure just kept going up. At £7,700 this is just short of the World Record price for a Rover 25, so I’m delighted.”
“The winning bid was made by a gentleman called Simon who actually worked for Rover’s Marketing department in the 90s. He’s really embraced the project and the cause and has even bought himself a Scotty’s keyring for his keys, he plans to change the registration plate to SS14 R25, with the second S representing Scotty’s.”
Scotty's keyring for the proud new owner
The finished restored Rover 25
Scotty’s Little Soldiers was set up in 2010 by war widow Nikki Scott. Nikki saw the devastating impact the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in 2009 had on their two young children and wanted to help others in the same situation.
The charity is currently providing assistance to hundreds of bereaved British Forces children and young people around the UK and beyond. Services offered include guidance to parents and carers, access to professional child bereavement support, personal education and learning assistance (including grants) and fun activities such as holiday respite breaks and group events. These are all designed to remind the children and young people supported by Scotty’s that they are not alone.
Nikki said: “I’ve followed this project from the very beginning and it’s fantastic to watch the whole process. I can’t thank Mike enough for choosing Scotty’s as the beneficiary of this project. I can tell by the videos he’s produced throughout the whole process that this car meant a lot to him, and I’m therefore honoured for Scotty’s to be involved. The amount raised through the auction is just incredible and will go a long way in helping us continue to deliver a high level of support to children and young people who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.”
