A History of The Caravan Club Car Badge

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1 A History of The Caravan Club Car Badge Introduction The chrome and enamel Caravan Club car badge is arguably one of the most famous symbols of Caravan Club membership. Generally manufactured from chromium with red and cream enamel, the badge bears the iconic Club logo of a circle containing two C s (an acronym for Caravan Club) and a horseshoe which reflects the pursuit s horse-drawn heritage and... stands for good fortune in caravanning. Figure 1: An example of the traditional chromium and enamel Caravan Club car badge. The Caravan Club Horseshoe Logo The very first Caravan Club logo was designed following the formation of the Club in A competition to design the logo was launched and the winning motif featured a V linked with two C s (see figure 2). This original logo was 1

2 used up until 1930s when it was replaced by the horseshoe logo visible on the car badges. Figure 2: A pennant featuring the first Caravan Club logo. The horseshoe logo, bearing a circle with two C s in the centre of a horseshoe, was introduced in 1935 and symbolised good luck and a nod to the heritage of the hobby. At this time ageing Club founder J. Harris Stone passed the management of the organisation over to the owners of The Caravan and Trailer magazine (still going strong as The Caravan magazine). The re-launch of The Club was first publicised in November 1935 and at this time items of memorabilia, including the car badge, were introduced. The Caravan Club Car Badge History and Dating The first written reference to The Caravan Club car badge appears in an advertisement in the November 1935 edition of The Caravan magazine. As part of membership for one Guinea a year a Free towing bracket badge, special Member s Pennant and Lapel Badge were issued. The Club intended the car badge to be displayed on the tow bar rather than the car grille, the traditional location for such emblems. However, this appears to have generated a number of queries from caravanners causing the magazine to explain its decision for this unusual design. It argued The answer is because a towing bracket is an ugly thing that needs an excuse to be made for its 2

3 presence. Yet the use of the car badge on the tow bar appears not to have caught on, and they have traditionally been displayed on the car grille. These earliest pre World War II car badges can be easily dated by the presence of a two or three figure number, about 1.5cm in height, impressed on the reverse of the badge. The badges were issued in order of when the member joined. Unfortunately, The Club does not hold a record of these numbers and the original owner of early badges sadly cannot be identified. It is not known who manufactured these first badges, and production ceased for the duration of World War II due to a shortage of materials. Figure 3: Advertisement for The Caravan Club car badge, circa

4 Records from the Club s Collection show that in 1953 the bulk of car badges were manufactured by Butlers of Birmingham at a cost of 10 shillings each. Butler was often used to produce metalware memorabilia for The Club and subsequently produced a variety of enamel badges, brooches, cufflinks and other novelties until the 1970s. Therefore, the presence of this maker s mark does little to assist the dating of the badge. However, Butler was not the sole manufacturer of these car badges. There is reference that in 1956 the Club received a delivery of badges manufactured by C.V. Ferguson s company with no manufacturers mark. In addition examples have also been seen with H.A. Shelley and Co imprinted on the back. As these badges are often identical it can prove impossible to identify the maker unless it is present on the reverse. By the 1950s The Caravan Club enjoyed an enormous rise in its membership numbers. At this point car badges were no longer given away free of charge, but were offered for purchase by members. Variations of The Caravan Club Car Badge Aside from the more common red and cream chromium and enamel badge, there have also been other variations produced by The Club. These were produced in smaller quantities and can therefore be rare. Associate badges were produced from at least s for nonmembers affiliated with The Club such as caravan hire companies and site owners. This badge is the same as the members badge in design, yet the central circle is coloured with blue enamel rather than red. Being blue in colour these Associate badges are often wrongly mistaken as having been produced for the Scottish division of The Club. The 1930s version of this badge can be identified from their pale sky blue, while the later versions adopt a darker royal blue. It is not known the exact date that the tone of blue used on these badges changed. 4

5 Figure 4: An example of a 1930s Caravan Club Associate badge with sky blue enamel. From the private collection of Mr R. Hodgkinson. From the late 1940s, the rise in availability of low-cost plastics led to the production of plastic and perspex Club car badges which emulated the chrome version in design. The first evidence of the production of these plastic versions appears in the 1947 edition of Now You ve Got a Caravan..., a publication aimed at new caravanners. They continued to be manufactured into the 1950s and were considerably cheaper than their chromium counterparts, costing 2 shillings 8 pence. These badges are extremely rare today, particularly those in good condition. This suggests that they had poor durability on the open road and as a result were probably unpopular among members. A variation of the car badge was also produced without the chrome attachment flange at the base of the circular motif. Instead, two holes are located at either side of the round enamel motif. As a consequence, the enamel around the attachment holes is often found to be damaged. Examples in good condition are relatively rare. At present, there is no evidence in Club records to suggest the exact date of when this round example was introduced. 5

6 Figure 5: A plastic version of The Caravan Club car badge, 1950s. Figure 6: Circular Caravan Club car badge, date and manufacturer unknown. When Did Production End? The issue of The Club car badge in its enamel form ended in the mid-1970s, although the exact date is not known. Verbal recollections suggest The Club ceased to order new stocks once the stock badges had been sold. Although the reason these badges disappeared is not documented it was likely to have been caused by new motoring safety legislation. This led to a change in the technology and design used in car manufacture. The availability of cars with 6

7 grilles and chrome bumpers to which car badges were traditionally attached declined. Answering to the demands of new motor car design, a new version of The Club car badge, a square metal badge bearing the red pennant logo (often printed on a plastic-coated sticker) with fixings on the reverse, entered into production in the late 1970s. In recent years the use of the chrome and enamel car badge has enjoyed a revival, becoming a popular collectable with Club members. Dating Your Car Badge Dating an individual car badge can be an extreme challenge, as its general appearance was roughly identical throughout its production history. A number of indicators have been included in this document, however generally only the earliest badges are simple to identify. If you know the provenance of your badge, we suggest that you note it down and keep it with the badge to enable its history to be known in the future. Few badges can be dated without such supporting information. If you have any further information regarding the history of the Club car badge, or any interesting examples we would like to hear from you. Please contact The Caravan Club Collection via the Contact Us page on our website ( 7

8 Figure 7: Caravan Club car badges are displayed on the grilles of these London Centre outfits passing through Brighton, Last updated: 12 September