A different era.

I recently came across some old keys in the shed which tell a story of another era. 

  

When I was a boy, cars were still mechanically rather primitive and broke down quite often, so in England two clubs were formed to help motorists, The Automobile Association and The Royal Automobile Club. When joining either club you were issued with a Yale key and a badge to fit to the front of the car. The AA’s serviceman’s uniform colour was yellow and the RAC colour was blue. The servicemen patrolled the roads on motorbikes and sidecars ready to assist club members with any broken down cars. If a patrolman saw your badge on the front of a car as you were driving along, he would always give the driver a salute. Should a driver break down and not see a patrolman he could always access a club phone box and call for assistance. The AA and RAC boxes were rather like Sentry Boxes. On one side of the keys it says that they were the property of the clubs involved. The AA key shown in the photo is an early one with the serial number stamped on it. It also states that the “Finder will be rewarded by the AA”.

 

 

We don’t have service like that anymore.