Bumper Badge Bonanza

It is not uncommon to see old cars sporting even older AA badges on the radiator grill or for the badges to turn up when clearing the piles of boxes from old garages. Each badge has a history.

The AA began presenting badges to members shortly after it was founded by a group of motoring enthusiasts at a meeting in London's Trocadero restaurant in June 1905. The first 200 or 300 badges were all made of brass but the appearance soon changed to nickel-plated 'white metal' versions.

On early versions – those with fewer than five digits – bore the serial number on the shank of the badge. Once the number of badges rose above 10,000, the serial number was impressed around the top of the circle, while later designs also bore the name of the first secretary of the AA, Stenson Cooke.

In addition to his name, the front soon bore the word 'secretary', while the reverse included the telephone number and telegraphic address, the Edwardian equivalent of an email address.

By November 1907, motorcyclists were being supplied with their own, smaller badges. During World War I these badges were given heart-shaped tokens indicating membership expiry dates.

Following the AA's amalgamation with the Motor Union, a combined badge appeared in 1911. This incorporated the 'M' and wings from the Motor Union with the intertwined 'AA' and became the standard pattern for the next half century. Only the size, type of metal and means of attachment to the car were to change. From about 1925, brass was no longer used at all and nickel or chrome finishes were the norm.

The bulge in the badge appeared in 1945, when badges also became more compact. There were only two major variants of the original badges – a short-lived pentagonal light-car badge, available from 1914 to 1920, and Commercial Vehicle Section badges from 1911. This latter badge was brass with a red background until about 1930, after which it was chrome with a basket-weave design.

A pennant on top of the original circular badge between 1907 and 1967 indicated the owner was a member of the AA Committee.

The square badges with a yellow background replaced the round design in 1967. They carried no numbering or inscriptions.

• 1 to 999,999 – 1906-30
• A-P suffixes – 1930-45
• RST suffixes – 1946-56 (Flat motorcycle badges)
• WXYZA suffixes – 1956-67 (Domed motorcycle badges)
• OA to OZ prefixes – 1945-57
• 1A-9A prefix – 1957-59
• 1B-9B prefix – 1960-61
• 1C-9C prefix – 1962-63
• 1D-9D prefix – 1964-65
• 1E-9E prefix – 1966-67

For more information about AA membership badges and the AA's history, refer to 'The AA History, Badges and Memorabilia' by former AA archivist Michael Passmore. It is available from Shire Publications, priced £4.50.

The AA's memorabilia collection is housed at the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke.

Date posted: 02-11-2004