The Early Years

Vehicle recovery is almost as old as the motor car itself, although a recovery in those days was more likely to involve a horse than a specialised vehicle. Many of the earliest garages and automobile coachworks evolved from the blacksmith and bicycle trades and naturally found themselves recovering their customers' disabled vehicles.

What many people may not appreciate, however, is that the term recovery only came into common use shortly before the Second World War. Prior to that, the more widely used expression was salvage, almost certainly influenced by maritime practices of the period.

Salvaging vehicles was often necessary because early motor vehicles were notoriously unreliable. Events such as the famous Mille Miglia were originally intended as endurance tests rather than outright races, and many competitors failed to complete the thousand-mile course. Likewise, the Brooklands circuit was originally conceived by Hugh Locke King as a proving ground where vehicles could be tested for endurance and reliability.

The most common reason for requiring assistance was a mechanical failure, and in many cases a simple tow rope was sufficient to get a vehicle back to a place of repair. The specialised equipment we now associate with recovery vehicles became necessary when a vehicle could no longer roll freely, often as the result of an accident.

What is generally regarded as the first petrol-powered motor vehicle accident involved John Lambert of the Lambert Automobile Company, a distant relative of the webmaster. In 1891 he lost control of his vehicle after striking a tree root, causing it to leave the road and collide with a fence. Fortunately, his injuries were minor and he went on to build a successful manufacturing business, eventually patenting more than six hundred inventions, many connected with the automobile industry.

The Motoring Clubs Emerge

Most motorists were enthusiasts and often relied upon their own ingenuity to keep their vehicles moving. Failing that, they would seek assistance from passing motorists or call upon a local garage. Small private motoring clubs also appeared and some maintained a shared fund to assist stranded members, but this was about as organised as roadside assistance became in those early years.

As the twentieth century progressed, two motoring organisations grew large enough to establish a nationwide presence. These were the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), founded in 1897 and granted Royal status in 1907, and the Automobile Association (AA), formed in 1905.

Both organisations were originally established to represent motorists and help secure fair treatment from the authorities. Although they gradually developed practical services for members, their role was very different from the breakdown organisations that would emerge many years later.

The primary aim of both organisations was to repair a member's vehicle at the roadside whenever possible. Patrol vehicles carried a limited range of tools and spare parts, but the simplicity of many vehicles meant that surprisingly effective repairs could often be made using little more than wire, insulating tape, timber blocks and basic hand tools.

Communications were often difficult. Patrols were not linked to their control centres by radio until much later, with the AA introducing radio communications in 1950 and the RAC following in 1958. Prior to that, patrols reported to fixed patrol boxes at predetermined times to receive instructions.

If a vehicle could not be repaired and required towing, the patrol would usually arrange assistance from a local garage. The recovery itself was not normally included within the member's subscription and had to be paid for separately.

The first motoring organisation to offer a limited form of "Get You Home" service was the RAC. Introduced in 1912, members could obtain a brass token known as a Talisman.

When presented to an RAC-appointed garage, the token entitled the member to assistance and, under certain circumstances, transport home following a breakdown. Although limited in scope, it represented one of the earliest attempts to provide organised recovery assistance to motorists.

The instructions accompanying the token make fascinating reading today. Members were advised:

"On the occurrence of a breakdown you send this Talisman by an RAC Touring Guide, or by the first available messenger, to the nearest RAC repairer, who will at once send a relief vehicle."

The phrase "at once" perhaps reflected a more optimistic age, particularly when the message might first have to be carried by a passing motorist, cyclist or local messenger before assistance could even be arranged.

The Talisman was valid only within certain limits and did not cover accidents. If the breakdown occurred within ten miles of home, however, the member could also have the vehicle towed home using the scheme. By the late 1920s the RAC was handling more than 10,000 claims each year.

Even so, recovery remained a relatively uncommon requirement. Vehicle ownership was still low, journeys were generally shorter than today and motorists often expected to carry out at least minor repairs themselves.

The Change Begins

The roots of today's recovery industry can be traced back to the late 1960s. In some areas it was not garages that operated small fleets of recovery vehicles, but vehicle coachbuilders and body repairers. The reason was simple: they needed work. One way of obtaining it was by monitoring police radio transmissions and listening for reports of road traffic accidents. Once a location was heard, it could become a race to be the first recovery vehicle on the scene.

The majority of breakdown vehicles, however, were still operated by small local garages. Initially these vehicles existed simply to assist the garage's own customers when they suffered a breakdown. As demand increased, one mechanic would often become the regular breakdown driver, usually because he was prepared to work the unsociable hours that the job demanded.

Vehicles such as the one shown above were typical of the period. Many began life as ordinary garage trucks before being fitted with simple lifting equipment, often designed and constructed by the operators themselves. Recovery was still an extension of the garage business rather than a specialist industry in its own right.

More often than not, that mechanic was the proprietor himself or perhaps a son carrying on the family business. Many recovery operators of the period came from exactly that background.

As the work expanded, a distinct recovery culture began to emerge. A camaraderie developed between the drivers and, later, between the companies themselves. For the first time, operators began to see themselves as recovery drivers rather than mechanics who occasionally attended breakdowns. Many became effectively self-employed specialists, spending most of their time on the road rather than in the workshop.

Some garages, including a number of long-established businesses, were also beginning to view recovery work as a specialist activity in its own right. Accident recovery had always required skill and experience, but as vehicles became faster, heavier and more complex, recovery operations became increasingly demanding.

This was particularly true in the commercial vehicle sector. Lorries were becoming larger and more sophisticated, requiring equipment and expertise beyond that possessed by many traditional garages. At the same time, modern vehicle construction methods meant that damaged cars could no longer be treated as robust chassis with a body bolted on top. Incorrect recovery techniques could easily cause additional damage.

Many garages were agents for the AA and RAC, but for most operators the majority of their work still came from their own customers and from motorists who found them through local advertising or the telephone directory. Some garages increasingly turned to specialist recovery-only operators, often owner-drivers, and discovered it was more economical to use their services than to maintain recovery vehicles of their own.

The Recovery Clubs Arrive

By the late 1960s the recovery industry was beginning to change. Traditional motoring organisations such as the AA and RAC still concentrated largely on roadside repair, but a number of new organisations saw an opportunity to provide something different: recovery following a serious breakdown or accident.

In 1969 Dennis Thrustle launched the Car Recovery Club in Hull. By any standards it was a modest operation, initially serving only a few hundred local members and charging just ten shillings a year (50p in today's money). Nevertheless, the idea struck a chord and within a few years almost forty similar organisations had appeared around the country.

These early recovery clubs offered a service that differed significantly from that provided by the established motoring organisations. Members were not paying for roadside repair; they were paying to be recovered home if a vehicle could not be fixed. Cover was often limited to a return to the member's home area or local garage and, in many cases, the recovery vehicle would have to travel from the club's own base before assistance could begin.

It soon became clear that a truly national network was required. Rather than sending vehicles long distances, local recovery operators could be contacted close to the point of breakdown. This reduced waiting times and made nationwide cover practical. It also created opportunities for independent recovery operators, many of whom possessed vehicles capable of carrying both the stranded motorist and their passengers.

During 1970 Robert (Bob) Slicer and Jeffery Pittock formed the National Breakdown Recovery Club (NBRC), operating initially from a fish and chip shop in Bradford owned by Bob's family. They were soon joined by Ernest Smith, whose experience transporting vintage vehicles proved invaluable as the organisation expanded.

At first NBRC provided cover only within a fifty-mile radius of Bradford, but it quickly developed into a genuinely national organisation. This was achieved by recruiting carefully selected recovery operators and garages to act as agents throughout the country.

Standards were important. Equipment, facilities and operating practices were regularly inspected by NBRC's own inspectors. For many operators, the reflective NBRC window sticker became a symbol of pride and recognition within the industry.

One of the key differences between NBRC and the traditional motoring organisations was its approach to recovery. Members were not covered for repairable breakdowns, but if a vehicle could not be fixed, it would be recovered home without additional charge. NBRC also provided cover following a road traffic accident, something that was almost unheard of at the time.

Expansion, Competition and Regulation

Although NBRC are often remembered as the organisation that successfully established a national recovery network, they were by no means alone. One of the most notable competitors was Maurice Clarke's Red Rover Recovery Club of Rugby, another visionary organisation, albeit one whose history was at times both complex and turbulent.

Formed in 1972, Red Rover introduced several innovations. Among the most ambitious was a ninety-minute attendance guarantee. If assistance failed to arrive within ninety minutes, the member's annual subscription would be refunded. Remarkably, despite the challenges of operating a nationwide service, no member ever claimed under the guarantee.

Red Rover enjoyed considerable early success but suffered from a lack of financial backing and eventually failed. Relaunched as the Red Rover Motorists Association in 1984, it again struggled to establish long-term stability. In an interview published in Vehicle Recovery magazine during 1986, Maurice Clarke later attributed part of the problem to attempts to support the struggling Car Recovery Service Club of London, a venture undertaken jointly with Autohome of Northampton.

Although the organisation eventually disappeared, Red Rover's ideas and innovations helped influence the direction of the developing recovery industry.

Government Regulation

During the 1970s the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) began to take an interest in the rapidly growing number of recovery clubs. The DTI concluded that many of the schemes operated in a manner similar to insurance contracts and should therefore be regulated accordingly.

Recovery organisations were required either to secure backing from an authorised insurance company or to become registered as insurance companies themselves under strict financial conditions. While this increased operating costs and led to higher membership fees, it also provided greater protection for motorists.

One company, Autohome Insurance Ltd of Northampton, chose to become an insurance company in its own right. Others closed down, while some secured underwriting from established insurers.

The DTI's position was influenced by the uncontested High Court case Department of Trade and Industry v St Christopher Motorists' Association Ltd (1974), although no recovery organisation subsequently challenged the ruling directly.

One underwriter, Equity Motor Policies at Lloyd's, briefly supported the Red Rover scheme before launching its own recovery organisation, Autonational Recovery, a company that continues to operate today.

Developments in Northern Europe

Similar developments were taking place elsewhere in Europe. In Denmark, Sophus Falck had founded Falcks Redningskorps (Falck Rescue) in 1906. Unlike many commercial organisations, Falck was established with a broader social purpose. Sophus Falck stated that the organisation would:

Act when people or animals are in danger of life, and help whether payment is possible or not.

Over time Falck expanded beyond roadside assistance and developed ambulance, fire and rescue services alongside its recovery operations.

During the late 1940s, Norwegian entrepreneur Arne Andresen studied Falck's methods before returning home to establish Falken Redningskorps with the blessing of the Falck family. Falken followed a similar path, eventually expanding into ambulance and support services.

Not everyone welcomed these developments. Norway's garage association, AVL, viewed Falken as a threat to its members and responded by creating a competing organisation, Viking Redningstjeneste, in 1956. The rivalry between the two organisations would continue for many years.

The Big Two Respond

By the early 1970s, the success of the emerging recovery clubs could no longer be ignored. The traditional motoring organisations had built their reputations on roadside assistance and repair, but motorists were increasingly attracted by schemes that promised recovery following a major breakdown or accident.

The Automobile Association was first to respond. On 1 October 1973 it launched its Relay service, offered as an addition to standard breakdown cover. The new scheme provided transportation of both vehicle and occupants when roadside repair was not possible.

The AA's fleet of approximately 150 Relay vehicles consisted largely of Bedford J3 recovery trucks. As demand increased, the organisation also supplemented its own fleet by using approved garages and recovery operators whenever additional capacity was required.

In 1975 the Royal Automobile Club introduced its own competing service, appropriately named Recovery. Like AA Relay, it offered transportation of both vehicle and occupants following a major breakdown, but also included cover after a road traffic accident.

To promote the new scheme, Eric Charles, Head of RAC Motoring Services, acquired a number of Range Rovers and trailers liveried in RAC colours. The intention was to present Recovery as a dedicated RAC operation. In practice, however, much of the work was carried out by carefully selected RAC agents, allowing the club's patrol fleet to remain focused on roadside assistance.

While the AA generally carried out a larger proportion of recoveries using its own vehicles, both organisations increasingly relied upon independent recovery operators when demand exceeded available resources.

National Breakdown Comes of Age

National Breakdown Recovery Club did not stand still. Membership continued to grow and the decision was taken to move from the company's now famous Low Moor headquarters in Bradford.

On 27 July 1989 the organisation reached a significant milestone when HRH Diana, Princess of Wales, officially opened its new headquarters in Leeds.

For those who had watched the company grow from its humble beginnings above a Bradford fish and chip shop, the occasion represented a remarkable achievement. One can only imagine what was going through Bob Slicer's mind as he reflected upon a journey that had begun almost twenty years earlier.

By the end of the 1980s, National Breakdown Recovery Club had firmly established itself as one of the most influential organisations within the recovery industry and had helped demonstrate that a nationwide network of independent recovery operators could successfully provide assistance on a truly national scale.

From National Breakdown to Green Flag

National Breakdown Recovery Club is often remembered as the organisation that demonstrated how a nationwide recovery network could operate successfully. However, it was by no means alone. A number of other organisations entered the market during the 1970s and 1980s, each seeking to provide motorists with an alternative to the traditional motoring clubs.

Among the better-known names were Autohome, BAS Car Recovery Club, Car Recovery Club (Eagle), Good Samaritans, Knights of the Road, Red Rover Recovery Club and UK Recovery. Most concentrated on cars and light commercial vehicles, although a number of schemes also operated within the commercial vehicle sector, which would later develop into a specialist industry in its own right.

Green Flag

In 1994 National Breakdown Recovery Club adopted a new identity and became Green Flag. The change reflected the company's desire to diversify into related assistance services beyond traditional vehicle recovery.

Directors felt that the word breakdown carried negative connotations, while the name Green Flag projected a more positive image and translated well across European markets.

The company continued to expand and was subsequently acquired by National Car Parks (NCP). Following a series of corporate changes, ownership eventually passed to Direct Line in 1999.

Green Flag became widely recognised through major sponsorship agreements, including sponsorship of the England national football team between 1994 and 1998 and the British Touring Car Championship between 2002 and 2004. These campaigns introduced the brand to a much wider audience and helped establish it as one of Britain's best-known motoring organisations.

GEM Recovery

A further alternative appeared in 1978 when the Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM) launched GEM Recovery.

Unlike traditional recovery clubs, GEM operated a "pay-and-claim" system. Members arranged and paid for their own recovery before submitting the invoice for reimbursement. The scheme proved popular and eventually evolved into today's GEM Motoring Assist.

The Industry Takes Shape

By the end of the twentieth century the recovery club movement had transformed the industry. What had once been a service provided largely by local garages and vehicle repairers had evolved into a nationwide network supported by specialist recovery operators.

Although motorists often identified with the club whose logo appeared on their membership card, the recoveries themselves were increasingly being carried out by independent operators. These businesses became the backbone of the modern recovery industry.

In the next chapter we will look at the equipment, vehicles and innovations that enabled independent recovery operators to deal with everything from small family cars to overturned heavy goods vehicles.