Calling lady automobilists! Veteran Car Run to celebrate 120 years of the Ladies' Automobile Club

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The ladyfolk of Great Britain were certainly up against it in the early days of the horseless carriage. The Automobile Club of Great Britain had been founded in 1897 to promote the art of motoring and provide support to the intrepid pioneer motorists, but women were not then admitted to its ranks. That alone was not prohibitive, but for many women, the fact that their automobilism might become the focus of remonstrance and reproval effectively was, as their adoption of bicycling and particularly of rational dress had been a decade or so prior.

The desire to travel and see new places, and to master a delicate art, is not less to be encouraged in a woman than in a man, and yet this was a point which had to be argued and demonstrated before it would be accepted. It fell, then, to a small band of society women to show initiative and resolve, and claim their stake in the hard-won emancipation for motorists which occurred in 1896 and which we now celebrate every November.

With the influential figure of Lady Cecil Scott-Montagu, wife, of course, to Lord Montagu, spearheading the cause, the Ladies' Automobile Club took formation in 1903 and was a limited company by 1904, with 300 members and headquarters at Claridge's in Mayfair. Immediately, the new club affiliated itself with the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland—the present-day Royal Automobile Club—and its inaugural rally was held on June 9th, 1904, with petrol, steam and electric vehicles setting off for a drive from the majestic Regency environs of Waterloo Place, beneath the stuccoed walls of Burton's Athenæum and Nash's Carlton House Terrace.

The cavalcade proceeded along Pall Mall, past the approving façade of the Automobile Club's home on Pall Mall, then motored in gentle and elegant fashion beneath the Royal gaze at Buckingham Palace and onward through Hyde Park, to arrive at the Ranelagh Club for afternoon tea.

That was but one rally, but many others followed, and in time the separation of the sexes ceased to be; as restrictions on women's participation in motor clubs were removed, the Ladies' Automobile Club was absorbed into the Royal Automobile Club in the 1920s, and its members could take pride that their efforts had been rewarded with the success.

It is with this in mind that the Royal Automobile Club is encouraging as many women as possible to join in with this year's London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. We know there are those who travel annually as passengers but who have never yet taken the wheel, and we regard it as the duty of every diligent husband, father or suitor to introduce them to the joys of veteran motoring. Encourage them, instruct them and assist them as necessary, but see that they enjoy to the fullest possible extent this most adventurous of sports. There are, of course, dozens of women already who need no further encouragement to set off on the Brighton Road, and we look forward to their return and bid them another swift and smooth journey on this ever-happy occasion.

Gentlemen, take note also! All those who would participate in the 2024 Brighton Run will find that entries open today, so be sure to book your place without delay. For the benefit of anyone who has not participated before, the 60-mile jaunt in the company of some 400 other venerable veteran cars enjoys an effervescent atmosphere of adventure and camaraderie unlike any other event—it's an opportunity not to be missed.

This year's Run takes place on Sunday, November 3rd. Visit www.veterancarrun.com for more information.
 

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