This Brooklands Automobile Racing Club membership badge dated 1913 was discovered by Ashley while metal detecting on Epsom Downs, Surrey, a landscape long shaped by speed, sport, and spectacle. Found far from the roar of engines that once defined Brooklands, the badge nonetheless carries with it a strong and fitting connection to Surrey’s rich motoring heritage.
Issued in 1913, this badge would have belonged to a member of the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club (BARC), the elite organisation that governed activities at Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, located just a few miles to the north. Opened in 1907, Brooklands quickly became the epicentre of British motorsport and aviation, attracting wealthy motorists, engineers, racing drivers, and pioneers drawn to the thrill of speed and mechanical innovation. Membership of the club was both a practical necessity for participation and a clear symbol of social status.
Badges such as this were typically worn on watch chains, lapels, or attached to keys, serving as a visible marker of association with the exclusive world of Edwardian motor racing. The surviving loop at the top suggests it was once proudly displayed, though how and when it was lost on the Downs remains an open question. Its weathered surface and green patina speak to more than a century spent quietly beneath the Surrey turf.
The year 1913 places this badge at a poignant moment in history. Brooklands was at its pre-war peak, hosting record-breaking races and technological experimentation, just one year before the outbreak of the First World War brought civilian motorsport largely to a halt. In the years that followed, Brooklands would pivot towards aircraft production, and many of the men associated with the circuit would find themselves drawn into the conflict. Objects from this brief golden age of pre-war motoring are therefore increasingly scarce and evocative.
To uncover such an item on Epsom Downs invites speculation. Perhaps it was dropped during a day out on the hills by a Brooklands member enjoying Surrey’s open landscapes, or lost during travel between the county’s racecourses, roads, and social gatherings. Whatever the circumstances, the Downs have preserved this small but significant relic of Surrey’s role at the forefront of early motor racing.
More than just a badge, this find is a tangible link to a transformative period in British history, when speed was new, machines were daring, and Surrey stood at the heart of a revolution that would change transport forever.
0 Comments