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Car Grille Badges 1 - The Automobile Association Malaya.
Motoring had started in earnest in the early days of the 20th Century. It was natural for car owners to form themselves into clubs, and there were good reasons. The condition of the road was abysmal at best, and only by some form of united pressure could motorists hope for improvement.
The main reason behind the formation of these early organizations was to make a stand against the antagonism shown to motorists by the public at large, the legislators and by the Police whose attitude was nothing short of outright hostility.
This was particularly true in Great Britain, because in 1865, the Locomotives on Highways Act restricted mechanically propelled vehicles to a maximum speed of 5 mph on country roads and 2.5 mph in built-up areas. The act required three drivers for each vehicle. Two to travel in the vehicle and one to walk ahead carrying a red flag. (The Red Flag Act) This act was repealed in 1896 when the speed limit was raised to 14 mph.
The "Red Flag Act" was repealed after nearly two decades of strong support from horse interests. Horse-less vehicles were now free to travel faster than walking pace. The Royal Automobile Club was founded, and the first RAC London to Brighton run was held to celebrate the new era of speed.
Car badges were introduced by the Automobile Association in March of 1906 to identify members and warn them of police speed traps up ahead. If the road was clear of police, the AA man would salute the driver if his vehicle displayed an AA badge. This practice was continued until the late 1960's.
Precise details of the earliest AA car badges have not survived, other than they were issued in April 1906, and were of a uniform pattern. It is likely that the first two or three hundred were made only in brass. Quite soon 'white metal' (nickel-plated) versions became available. How many is not known. In 1920 a small redesign of the shape led to the badge second from the left above and this is a Malayan example of the shape. This dates from before the Japanese Invasion, say the late 1930's as during the 1930's the wings had been made straighter and pinions were given greater definition.
In 1945 the shape was made more compact with a convex bulge as shown in the picture third from the left.
Life membership had its privileges post war and the picture on the right, a smaller version of the convex bulge, is the Malayan AAs life membership badge.
Finally the picture on the left was the badge for Commercial or industrial vehicles and was in use in UK from 1930 to 1967. It is not known whether these were also in use in Malaya post independence.
To go to Part 2 - RAC Badges, click here.
To see an old badge from the Automobile Association Malaya, held in our collection, click here.