There doesn’t appear to be a generally available catalogue of the badges produced by The Camping Club or their previous and subsequent incarnations. This is an attempt at a simple checklist of the badges produced by and for the oldest camping club in the world- The Camping and Caravanning Club.

There are undoubtably further badges than those shown below. What follows is simply those that Three Points of the Compass has or is aware of. If you know of any others and can supply image and detail on any not shown, it can be added to those below. There is a brief history of the club here.

Note- where 1901 appears on a badge, this does not signify its year of manufacture. Instead, this date refers to when the club was founded

Association of Cycle Campers (also see sub-sections below)

This was the earliest incarnation of The Camping Club, from 1901. There were just thirteen members on its formation. The rules for the Association of Cycle Campers were drawn up in 1902 and 102 members initially enrolled that year. ‘The Camping Club‘ was founded 28 May 1906 by members of the Association of Cycle Campers to widen their scope of activities. Name change in 1909 to Amateur Camping Club when Association of Cycle Campers and The Camping Club amalgamated. Amateur Camping Club and the National Camping Club (formerly the National Cycle Camping Club) combined in 1910 with 820 members.

Enamel badges were available for members from 1904 when membership exceeded 200. Circular Association of Cycle Campers 1901 badges returned when this special interest group was resurrected in 1945 as a separate section. Badges were then available right through to the 1960s.

Amateur Camping Club

The Amateur Camping Club incorporated the Association of Cycle Campers, the Camping Club and, later, in 1910, the National Camping Club. It existed from 1909 to 1919, when it became the Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Camping Club

From 1919, club now known as The Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland. Hand painted enamelled badges became available for club members after their second name change when a ‘wigwam’ pennon and badge were introduced by the club in 1920. Membership then 1400.

The Camping Club- Jubilee (1951)

The Camping and Caravaning Club- Centenary (2001)

The Camping Club- overseas

District Association badges

District Associations of the Camping Club (later, Camping and Caravanning Club) were instituted in 1907. Birmingham District Association was the first. There are a great many more badges than those shown here.

The Camping and Caravanning Club

The Camping and Caravanning Club- The Friendly Club

Youth Camping Association / Camping Club Youth

Formation of the Youth Camping Association in 1941, sponsored by the Camping Club. Registered as a charity ‘Youth Camping Association of Great Britain and Ireland’ 22 December 1967, removed 29 February 2000.

“to encourage in young people, particularly those of limited means, a pioneer spirit of adventure, and self-reliance and closer contact with nature and the countryside by the practice of lightweight camping in tents, and kindred pastimes, particularly by training in the principles of good company and the provision of campsites and camping equipment to co-operate with other bodies, both in this and other countries, having similar objects, or concerned with the preservation of the countryside and access thereto, membership to be open to all who on 1st January are 14 and not yet 26 years of age”

Camping Club Youth was formed in 1952. Open to both sexes, up to the age of 21. Two subscription rates, dependant on whether parent is a member of not of the main Camping Club. 837 members in 1956. Members were expected to pass a camping test- to prove they can pitch a tent correctly, light a stove, camp tidily and know and practice the ‘Code for Campers’.

Recruiter badges

Acrylic ‘recruiter’ badges were earned by recommending another individual for new membership of the club- ‘friends recommendation’. These were cheaper produced badges than the much loved enamel badges of yore. Again, a slight change in design was introduced following the 1983 re-branding exercise. Recruiters must be doing quite well, for today, at the time of writing, there are over 720,000 club members.

Veteran membership (unbroken)

Club members who had completed 15 (later changed to 25) consecutive years of membership could claim Veteran Membership of the Club. Eligibility for state pension also later added as a requirement.

Long membership (broken)

Sub-section groups (special interest groups).

Artists’ Group– sub-section- defunct

Association of Lightweight Campers– sub-section. Enamel badges were introduced for the first incarnation of The Camping Club in 1904 with the then name Association of Cycle Campers (see above), the name was resurrected when this sub-section was reformed in 1945 as a specialised section of the main club. Enamel badges were available for no more than twenty years, when the name was altered in 1965 to Association of Cycle and Lightweight Campers and finally to Association of Lightweight Campers in 1984.

Their constitution defines a lightweight tent as being no more than 2 metres in height and with a maximum weight in the region of 2.5 kilograms (5.5lbs) plus 1.5 kilograms (3.3lbs) per person in respect of the number of persons for which it has been designed.

Boating Group– sub-section

British Caravanners’ Club– sub-section

Caravan enthusiasts adopts the title of Caravan Section in 1933 and change this to The British Caravanners’ Club in 1937. They introduce their own BCC logo in July 1954 to commemorate their 21st anniversary.

Enamel badges were available. In 1959 both brooch pin and crescent stud enamel badges were sold at two shillings and six pence each. Also a “brooch bar” badge for three shillings. A large and expensive blazer badge was available for five shillings and six pence.

Canoe Camping Club– sub-section

Brooch pin and crescent stud backed enamel badges were available in 1959 for three shillings each, or an embroidered badge for one shilling and six pence.

Folk Dance and Song Group– sub-section

Motor Caravan Section– sub-section formed in 1962

Walking and Cycling Section– sub-section. The oldest special interest section in the Camping and Caravanning Club. For those “who enjoy walking or cycling in scenic areas of countryside”. Originally established in 1932 as the Mountaineering Section. Changed name to Mountain Activity Section 8th August 1987. Final name change to the Walking and Cycling Section was approved 7th September 2019.

Photographic Group– sub-section

Trailer Tent and Folding Camper Group– sub-section formed in 1967

Long Service

Other…

Cloth (sew-on) badges– “for blazer or tent”

Car grill and motorcycle badges were also produced by The Camping Club and their later incarnations however those mostly fall outside the scope of this list. Also not listed here are the plethora of small plastic badges produced by the District Associations for sometimes extremely limited attendance meets, these could include district rallies or even dinner meets for a handful of members.

A framed ‘club and badge history’ was produced by SMT Associates as a limited edition retail product for the Camping and Caravanning Club on the occasion of their centenary in 2001. This contained nine reproduced badges. Each of these is included in the above listing.