“From the advent of the horseless carriage to the age of the stretch limousine, the Royal Automobile Club has been the ‘Parliament of Motoring.’”
Motoring History PDF Download
The Royal Automobile Club, Britain’s oldest and most influential motoring organisation, was born out of a shared love of motoring and a dedication to preserving the rights and best interests of motorists over 100 years ago. Founded in 1897 by Frederick Richard Simms, assisted by Charles Harrington Moore, the Club’s history mirrors that of motoring itself.
1896 – the restrictive Red Flag Act, that had required a man to walk in front of every vehicle, was repealed, the birth of motoring in the UK.
14 November 1896 – The Emancipation Run, the precursor to today’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, organised to celebrate the passing of the Locomotives on the Highways Act. Thirty pioneer motorists celebrated the first legal journey on English roads and new motoring freedom.
1900 - Claude Johnson organised the ‘Thousand Mile Trial’, putting British motoring on the map. A large number of cars travelled the length and breadth of the country in a reliability trial, which brought home to ordinary people what a “horseless carriage” was and what it could do.
1903 - the Club vigorously campaigned for the Motor Act, having long had the interests of the private motorist at heart. This Act increased speed limits and removed other restrictive legislation.
1905 - the Club organised the first Tourist Trophy (TT) race, today the oldest motoring race regularly run.
In the same year the Club became the governing body for motor sport in Britain and introduced driving certificates, a responsibility which was not to be taken over by the government for another thirty years.
An Associate Member section was also established, and gradually, guides on bicycles, then motorcycles and vans, were introduced.
1911 - Club turnover rose to £970,000 from £385,000 the previous year, as a result of a huge influx of new members all paying 25 guineas a head to join and an annual subscription fee of 10 guineas.
1913 - Woodcote Park near Epsom racecourse was purchased as the Club’s ‘country headquarters’. Located on the site of a twelfth century abbey, it was a mansion built in 1679 by Richard Evelyn (brother of diarist John), and mentioned in his diaries by Samuel Pepys.
1914-18 - war was declared, both clubhouses were put at the disposal of the armed services. Pall Mall practically became an officers’ club, and the British Red Cross Society used a portion of it. By September 1918, the Club had provided bed, breakfast and baths for 228,125 officers and served approximately 2,000,000 meals.
1926 - the Club organised the first British Grand Prix at Brooklands, and four years later, its first Commemoration Run to Brighton to celebrate the repeal of the Red Flag legislation.
1934 - Woodcote Park was razed to the ground by fire, reopening 21 months later in May 1936.
1939-45 - during World War II, Woodcote Park was used as an army training centre with the grounds ploughed for agricultural purposes.
1943 - Lord Mountbatten became the Club’s President.
20 February 1944 - the Pall Mall clubhouse took a direct hit, but was comparatively fortunate. The 50kg German ‘Flower Pot’ bomb penetrated the terrace roof of the Great Gallery, starting a fire which took many hours to put out.
1951 - Burgess and MacLean, Russian spies who penetrated the British Foreign office, allegedly plotted their defection to the Soviet Union in the Club Room.
1950/60s - advent of mass motoring and in 1959 Britain’s first major motorway opened, the London to Birmingham M1. Roads became busier, more dangerous places, with traffic jams, previously unheard of, now commonplace.
The British car industry began to suffer from overseas competition and inefficiencies and the Club’s main rival the AA began to modernise and consolidate its service to members. Despite this the clubhouse itself continued to prosper.
1970s – ‘Crisis in the Club’, by now the Club’s motoring services division and as a result its clubhouses were suffering. The Chairman called an emergency meeting, where a working committee was set up to take positive action. The Club entered an ambitious ten-year programme of expansion and refurbishment, leading to an extensive waiting list to join, and restoration of the interior of the Club in all its magnificence. Corporate membership was introduced at this time, and ran until 1984.
1978 - the Torrens Trophy was founded, and awarded to an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the cause of safe and skilful motor cycling in Britain.
1979 – after Lord Mountbatten’s assassination by the IRA in 1979, Prince Michael of Kent became President of the Club.
1991 - formation of the RAC Foundation for Motoring. Long before that the Club, through its Public Policy Committee, had become a respected voice in the formulation of government policy on roads and motorised transport. This was recognized and strengthened by the formation, in 1991, of the RAC Foundation for Motoring, a registered charity. Trustees are appointed jointly by the RAC (Aviva) and the Club, with an independent chairman.
The Foundation continues to be a strong and independent source of academic research and influence, based on its belief that the growing demand for cars and freight transport has to be accompanied by concern for its environmental effects and impact on road planning, safety, and other factors.
1999 - RAC Motoring Services Ltd, which offered roadside assistance and many other benefits to over 5.5 million associate members, was sold by the Club to the Lex Group, and later passed to Aviva, the insurance company formerly known as Norwich Union. This de-merger had become necessary in order to allow the company freer access to capital markets for its long-term growth than would have been the case had it remained in the ownership of the members of a London club.
1999 - a new era for the Club as ladies were admitted as members in their own right.
2005 - the Tourist Trophy was awarded for the first time since 1988, to Peter Kox and Pedro Lamy.
2006 - the Woodcote Trophy was founded, the first new trophy to be created by the Club in 100 years; a series for sports racing cars of the post war years up to December 1955.
Present day
Overseen by the Club’s Motoring Committee, the Club continues to own and maintain a unique fleet of veteran and historic vehicles and runs a number of annual events including the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which commemorates the Emancipation Run of 1896. It is the longest running motoring event, with people coming from all over the world annually to view over 500 cars dating from before 1905.
Members can participate in a range of varied motoring related events whilst the Committee continues to foster links and relationships with industry and the wider motoring world. Recent award winners at the Club have included Lewis Hamilton, James Toseland, and the legendary Sir Jackie Stewart and Sir Stirling Moss – famous motoring names of recent decades.