From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
The Origins of the AA: You've probably heard the latest advertising campaign for the Automobile Association (AA) on your car radio in which the 'AA man' is portrayed as a sort of motoring superhero. Well, one hundred years ago when the AA came into existence, many motorists, particularly in Britain, had good reason to view the humble AA patrolman as something of a hero, if not quite a superhero.
The AA came into being when a group of around 20 motoring enthusiasts met at the Trocadero Restaurant in Leicester Square, London, to discuss the increasing difficulties caused to motorists by police persecution. The problem was particularly acute in the south of England, (and much less so in Ireland where the constabulary had a more benign attitude to motorists). Captain Mowbray of the Surrey police set up a widespread network of speed traps, with constables hiding behind hedges and timing motorists over a set distance. However, often the distances were short and the stopwatches inaccurate, so that many motorists found themselves prosecuted unfairly and fined heavily for dubious speeding offences by a strongly anti-motoring constabulary and judiciary. The speed limit, incidentally, was 20 mph (32 kph), and cars of the time were easily capable of twice that speed on open roads with little or no traffic.
It was against this background that the group met in the Trocadero. The result was the formation of the Automobile Mutual Association. Two of the group, William Letts and racing driver Charles Jarrott, were already operating a private warning system on the Brighton road, and it was decided to expand this scheme. Advertisements were placed in the motoring journals of the time and by the end of June a large number of recruits had been drawn to the new organisation which decided to alter its title to the simpler Automobile Association. Demand for the extension of the warning system to parts of England other than the south soon followed and the newly appointed Secretary of the AA, Stenson Cooke, found himself overseeing a rapidly growing organisation.
The original fleet of cycle scouts was tasked with patrolling the main roads and warning motorists of any police traps ahead. Many of the first scouts were recruited from Fleet Street newsboys. Before long one of their number was arrested for obstructing the police in their duty, but Steenson Cooke came up with a simple and ingenious solution. The scouts, who had previously saluted members as a matter of courtesy, would no longer salute if there was a trap ahead, with the result that they could not be prosecuted for doing nothing!
The services of the AA to its members soon spread to providing route maps, location and warning signs and free legal advice. In fact, between 1906 and 1930, the AA was the only national signposting authority in Britain. By 1914 the membership of the AA had grown to 83,000 out of a total car population of 132,000. Military-style uniforms were introduced in 1911 and the grading system for hotels introduced.
At the 1909 Motor Show at Olympia, the redoubtable RJ Mecredy discussed with AA officials the possibility of the organisation setting-up in Ireland, and offices opened in Dublin and Belfast the following year. The AA was an immediate success in Ireland and by 1914 had erected over 3,000 road signs throughout the country, as well as forming a network of committees to fight for road improvement.
Today, of course, the AA is still active on behalf of Irish motorists, as their current advertising campaign demonstrates most entertainingly.