The AA Commemorative Military Road Run 1909 to 2009

Central London – Sevenoaks, Kent
Sunday March 15th 2009

Veteran cars, historic army lorries and AA road patrols combine to commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the first occasion that troops were carried en mass by Motor Transport
On the 17th March (St. Patrick’s Day) 1909 members of the Automobile Association (now known as the AA) carried a composite company of Guardsmen from London 60 miles to Hastings in their motor cars. This was an exercise organised by the Automobile Association in conjunction with the War Office (forerunner of the Ministry of Defence) to both raise the Government’s awareness that motorists are responsible people, and to test the viability of moving troops in large numbers by motor transport.
The troops, comprising a composite Battalion of 600 men from the Grenadiers, Coldstream and Scots Guards, were embarked in over 100 AA members’ open 4 and 5 seater cars, with the Guardsmen’s weapons, ammunition and equipment carried in London Taxis hired and converted for the occasion.
This was a very significant event for both motorists and the military.
For the Army it demonstrated that in an emergency, such as a foreign invasion, troops could be quickly assembled and moved rapidly to the point of crisis, far faster than had previously been the case on foot or using horse drawn transport, or even by train. The exercise was also to provide invaluable lessons in organising the logistics of such a move, to include the transport of all their weapons, rations, and other equipment necessary to go immediately into action upon arrival at the threatened point. The success of this exercise was to be uniquely demonstrated at the beginning of World War One when the experience gained was used to great effect to transport troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), in hired London busses, so quickly to confront the advancing Germans in France, that the Germans were completely surprised with the arrival of British troops in front of them. From that moment on the British Government were persuaded of the vital strategic importance of motor transport to the army.
For the motorist, the AA managed to persuade the Government of the day that motorists were responsible people, who could be called upon to support their country if needed. For the AA it raised the profile of the fledgling organisation, founded only 4 years previously, in the eyes of the motoring public, from which it has never looked back.
To both commemorate the centenary of this event, and celebrate the contribution of the British Motor industry to military transport from 1909 to the present day, the Invicta Military-Vehicle Preservation Society (IMPS) and the Military Vehicle Trust have joined forces with the AA to run a cavalcade of vintage cars and historic army lorries, escorted by AA vehicles, from the Embankment in London to Sevenoaks, in Kent, on Sunday the 15th March. The vehicles will assemble at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, on the South Ground, which will be open to the public. The public will therefore have the opportunity to view the vehicles close up.
There will be a brief Wreath Laying ceremony at Chelsea Hospital, in memory particularly of the Guardsmen who took part in the original run to Hastings, almost all of whom were killed in the First World War.
The cavalcade of historic vehicles will depart at from the South Grounds via the Bull Ring gate on the Chelsea Embankment, to drive along the Embankment to Parliament Square, cross Westminster Bridge, and travel through Elephant and Castle, Peckham, and New Cross to join the A21 at Lewisham. From there they will drive down the A21 to Sevenoaks, where they are expected to start arriving at between 1200 and 1230.
On arrival in Sevenoaks the vehicles will assemble in the Buckhurst 2 car park, alongside the Leisure Centre, where they will be on view to the public, until around 2.00. They will then move on to the Plough Inn, at Hildenborough, south of Sevenoaks, for a lunch of Irish Stew, which was the meal originally given to the Guardsmen on arrival in Hastings.
Some 20 to 25 vehicles will be involved in this commemorative run. A number of Veteran cars of the pre 1909 period, including the AA’s own 1905 Renault open tourer, will carry military history re-enactors, wearing the uniforms of 1909, and will be driven by their owners, who are members of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain. The army transport will comprise a variety of lorries dating from 1914 to the present day. The AA will be providing an escort of 4 classic motor cycles, as well as two Land Rovers and an AA van and car trailer, so the group will be well catered for in the unlikely event of breakdowns. The AA will also be showing off their most recent innovations, electric scooters and men with bicycles. They are intended to both beat the London traffic congestion, and at the same time have a minimal carbon footprint.
The historic army lorries will be provided by members of the IMPS, and more recent lorries have been arranged by the Royal Logistics Corps.
This event will also be raising funds for the charity Combat Stress.
Organiser of this unique event, James Baxter, President of the Invicta Military-Vehicle Preservation Society (IMPS), said “The idea came in a chance conversation and we are delighted that the AA are as keen as we are to recognise this important day in both motoring and military history.”
Major Mike Whatley, organiser of the Household Cavalry Pageant, said “The run to Hastings was a vitally important event for the Army. It marked the beginning of the end for horse drawn transport in the British Army. As a direct result of this exercise the War Office recognised the value of motor transport, so that the British Army became the very first completely mechanised army in the world, and the only fully mechanised army to enter World War 2 in 1939”.

The Route

Starting Point: Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London (Bull Ring Gate on the Embankment)
Departure Time: 1000
Route:
Parliament Square
Horse Guards
The Mall
Birdcage Walk
Westminster Bridge
New Kent Road
Old Kent Road
New Cross Road
A20 Lewisham Way
A21 Molesworth Street
Catford
A21 Bromley Road
Bromley
A21 London Road, Bromley
A21 Kentish Way
A21 Masons Hill
A21 Bromley Common
Farnborough
A21 Hastings Road
A21 Farnborough Common
A21 Farnborough High Street
A21 Farnborough Way
A21 Sevenoaks Road
Pratts Bottom
A224 Orpington Bypass
Badgers Mount
A224 Poll Hill
Brief Stop at Poll Hill Garden Centre
A224 Morants Court Road
Dunton Green
Riverhead
Sevenoaks Arrival 1230

Although the convoy run is by invitation only, IMPS would like to invite all military vehicle enthusiasts and spectators to meet the convoy at 1330 at The Plough Inn,Leigh Rd, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, TN11 9AJ (01732 832149)

Contact : James Baxter 01883 740276

Visit IMPS website www.imps.org.uk