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Car Grille Badges 2- The Royal Automobile Club
Frederick Richard Simms and Charles Harrington Moore formed the RAC back in 1897, although at that point it was called the Automobile Club Of Great Briton. It was loosely based on the French version the Automobile Club de France, by copying their constitution. In those days, I would imaging even the most optimistic motorist could not image how the motorcar would change everyone's lives. By 1901 it had already started to employ the first uniformed patrolmen in Great Britain.
In 1907 the Automobile Club of Great Briton got Royal approval and then became the Royal Automobile Club or the RAC as it became popularly known as.
There are many collectors and classic car enthusiasts who collect memorabilia from their early days. You often see a classic car with an old metal RAC badge on their grill, some take it more seriously and collect old RAC telephone boxes and motorcycles. This is of course is from their breakdown cover days, with motorcycle patrols and vans. Now everything is more technical, with major developments in communication and engineering.
By the 1970's the RAC started to hit hard times and then by 1999 the breakdown recovery and other services were bought out totally by Aviva and are now called RAC services. The RAC as such is now very much an insurance organisation and not much more.
The two badges shown above are typical of the RAC badge but the two crowns appear to be different. If anyone has the true history of these we would be delighted to include it.
The RAC has a very early link with Perak for in 1907 Perak's first motoring club, The Perak Motor Union, was formed and recognized as an associate club by the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain. This relationship is demonstrated by scrutiny of the Motor Union’s radiator badge. This was an early RAC badge modified to hold the Motor Union’s logo of a Kris in the centre with Perak Motor Union and FMS (Federated Malay States) surrounding it. If anyone has a sample of this badge we would be pleased to have a photograph of it.
However, the Straits Times of 23 April 1932 reported that at the annual meeting of the Perak Motor Union on 22 April 1932 the members voted to disband the Perak Motor Union and join the Automobile Association of Malaya (AAM), the union becoming the Perak Branch of the AAM.
To go to Part 3 - Badges of the Perak Motor Club / Royal Perak Motor Club, click here.
To read "An Introduction to Perak's Motoring History", click here.
To go to Part 1 - badges from the Automobile Association Malaya, click here.