From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
GORDON BENNETT BADGES: It's probably an indication of the role played by the Irish Gordon Bennett Race of 1903 in the establishment of a car-consciousness among the Irish public that a century later so many items of memorabilia of the race continue to turn up. We have seen several maps specially produced for the occasion, official and unofficial programmes, drivers' route books, whiskey ads, a seemingly endless supply of postcard designs and even paper napkins with the race regulations printed upon them.
Every so often, however, a small badge turns up, similar to the one in our photograph. This is an example of the metal badges given to the many officials, mostly members of the Irish Automobile Club, who gave of their time so that the race could take place. These were given by the organising club, the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, to no fewer than 76 officials ranging from the press stewards to the official timekeepers. (By comparison the 105 cyclists who led the racing cars between controls in the towns apparently merited only a special green arm-band bearing a badge printed in gold).
It appears that all the badges were similar - a green enamel ribbon surrounding a reproduction of the Gordon Bennett trophy. Where they differed was in the cord from which they were suspended, this being of differing colour depending upon the duties of the official. The green stripe cord shown above was the most common, being given to the 21 control stewards who were in charge of the important controls at the entry and exit of each town and village through which the race passed.
These badges quickly became highly prized mementoes of the great race and it's not surprising that a souvenir version was made for sale to the public after the race. This version is similar in appearance other than having 1903 replacing the word, steward, but on closer inspection lacks the finer detail of the official badge.
No doubt new mementos of the Irish Gordon Bennett Race will continue to surface and surprise in the future.
AA OK! Today's Automobile Association is probably the best known motoring organisation in these islands, but many of its thousands of members may not be aware of the role it played in the early days of motoring and how it came to be established in the first place.
In the early years of motoring the anti-car lobby was particularly strong and included many members of the judiciary. The British police force was particularly officious in setting up speed traps to catch motorists travelling above the 12 mph speed limit. (Incidentally, the Irish Local Government Board exploited a loophole in the legislation to raise the limit here to 14 mph - in the main, Irish motorists did not suffer the same problems as their British counterparts).
Eventually, police persecution became so bad that pioneer motorists in Britain realised that some definite action would have to be taken. As a result, two well-known pioneer motorists, Colonel Charles Jarrott and Sir William Letts, took action.
They set up a programme whereby a dozen young men with bicycles were hired to ride up and down the Brighton Road, one of the most notorious areas, spotting policemen arranging traps for motorists. The cyclists would then warn cars of speed traps ahead of them.
After several months, it dawned on motorists that this "scout" business might have to be made permanent - and thus was the AA established in 1905.
A decade later, at the instigation of R J Mecredy, the AA established an office in Ireland where its direction signs became a common feature.