Recent additions

Thanks to generous donations from Caravan Club members the collection is a rapidly growing resource. This gallery contains a selection of the member donations which have recently been added to the collection.

• Do you have any Caravan Club memorabilia you may wish to donate?

Plastic Rally plaques

The Caravan Club has recently accepted a fascinating donation of memorabilia previously collected by former Club member, the late Walter T. Cross. Mr Cross played an active role in the North West Centre, acting as the Chairman from 1937 to1939 and later became The Caravan Club’s Vice Chairman from 1946 to1950. 

Included in the items donated are the earliest examples of plastic rally plaques in the collection. These rare items date from 1937 to 1939 and then from 1946 to1947. The gap between 1939 and 1946 highlights the decline in rallying and the cease of Club plaque production during the years of the Second World War.

Laurie Simmons Collection

The Caravan Club have recently acquired an extensive collection of memorabilia collated by honorary life member, the late Laurie Simmons, kindly donated by his daughter.

The diverse collection reflects Mr Simmons heavy involvement in British Caravan Road Rally events and also his roles within the Sussex and later the East Sussex Centres.

The variety of items include dinner & dance menus, East Sussex Centre ceramics, the traditional Caravan Club car badge, rally plaques, fellowship spoons and an impressive selection of plaques and trophies.

Gordon Stables Books

The founding father of leisure caravanning, Dr William Gordon Stables, became a successful author following his retirement from the Navy. He penned over 130 books ranging from reference books offering medical advice to adventure fiction for boys.

Two beautiful volumes by Gordon Stables have recently been received into the Collection following a generous donation from a Club member.

On the left, The Cruise of the Rover Caravan, published by J. Nisbet & Co in 1896. On the right, Every Inch a Sailor, a boys adventure story of a naval theme published in 1897.