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 is a brief history of this organisation here.
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 any not included, it can be added to those shown.
The Club Badge
“its use is recommended to enable members to recognise their fellows in the sport, and as a passport when camping on an official site. Its cost and weight are small”
Club Handbook, 1914
Camping Club badge, made by Gaunt
Association of Cycle Campers
Early club badge. Enamel membership badges were introduced when membership exceeded 200
Association of Cycle Campers. Enamel badges were introduced in 1904. Pin back. 28mm x 25mm. No maker’s name
Association of Cycle Campers 1901. Pin back. 23mm. No maker’s name
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 36mm
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 27.5mm
Amateur Camping Club
Images
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 29mm
The Camping Club
From 1919, club now known as The Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland.
Hand painted enamelled Camping Club badges were available for club members after their second name change. 1920-1954. Crescent stud buttonhole fastening. 22.25mm. Maker- Gaunt
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 29mm
Enamel badge of The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland, 1920 – 1983. Crescent stud buttonhole fastening. 23.20mm. Maker- Gaunt
Enamel badge of The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland, 1920 – 1983. Pin back. 23.20mm. No makers name (but confirmed as Gaunt)
Small lapel enamel club badge. 1920 – 1983. Pin back. 14.35mm. No maker’s name
Enamel and brass badge of The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland, 1920 – 1983.
Plain back with no fastening. Brass hanger. 28mm x 33.5mm. No maker’s name. ‘Made in England’ on reverse
Enamel badge with gilt surround given to new members as a goodwill gesture. 1920-1950.
Pin back. 24.60mm x 27mm. Maker- Gaunt
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 30mm
Enamel and brass badge with gilt surround given to new members as a goodwill gesture. Also for presentation to friends as souvenirs. 1950-1964. The Camping Club of G.B.&I 1901. Note ‘four-nations’ corner decoration. Crescent stud buttonhole fastening. 16.40mm x 19.25mm. Maker- Gaunt
Enamel and brass badge given to new members as a goodwill gesture. Also for presentation to friends as souvenirs. 1950-1964. The Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland 1901. Note ‘four-nations’ corner decoration. Pin back. 26mm x 31mm. Maker- Gaunt
Enamel and brass badge with gilt surround given to new members as a goodwill gesture. Also for presentation to friends as souvenirs. 1950-1964. The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland 1901. Note ‘four-nations’ corner decoration.
Crescent stud buttonhole fastening. 26.5mm x 31mm. Maker- Gaunt
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 33mm x 40mm
The Camping Club- Jubilee (1951)
1951 Jubilee badge, available to members on the fiftieth anniversary of the club’s creation. Pin back. 32.75mm x 20mm. No maker’s name
The Camping and Caravaning Club- Centenary (2001)
National Camping Week. 2001, club centenary. Pin back button badge. 55mm. No makers name
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 30mm
The Camping Club- overseas
The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland. International enamelled badge for use at overseas rallies. 1950-1964.
Pin back. 23.30mm x 34mm. Maker- Gaunt
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 27.5mm
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 were a great many more badges than those shown here.
Enamel badge of The Camping Club-North Warwickshire District Association, 1970. Pin back. 25.45mm. No maker’s name
Durham D.A. badge. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 27mm. No maker’s name
Enamel Birmingham District Association badge. Pin back. 35mm No maker’s name
Enamel Cardiff District Association badge. Pin back. 33mm. No maker’s name
Enamel Cornwall District Association badge. Pin back. 35mm. No maker’s name
Enamel Derby District Association badge. Pin back. 27mm. No maker’s name
Enamel New Forest District Association badge. Pin back. 35mm. No maker’s name
Enamel Solent District Association badge. Pin back. 35mm. No maker’s name
West Midlands District Association Western Section badge. Pin back. 34.5mm. No maker’s name
The Camping and Caravanning Club
Enamel badge. The Camping and Caravanning Club, post-1983. Pin back. 23.65mm. No maker’s name
Enamel badge. The Camping and Caravanning Club, post-1983. Pin back. 23.50mm. Maker- TKS. Note change in tepee support poles
2001 reproduction badge by SMT Associates for the Camping & Caravanning Club. Butterfly clasp. 31mm
The Camping and Caravanning Club badge, post-1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 23.75mm. Maker: Toye UK (www.toye.com). Note white infill below caravan
The Camping and Caravanning Club- The Friendly Club
Current badge. Butterfly clasp.Post 1983. 25.45mm. No maker’s name
Youth Camping Association (formed 1941) / Camping Club Youth
Enamel badge for the Youth Camping Association, sponsored by the Camping Club in 1941. Pin back. 14.35mm x 15.70mm. No maker’s name
Enamel badge for the Camping Club Youth section. This is aimed at young people between the ages of 12-17. Pin back. 25.20mm. No maker’s name
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.
Congratulatory letter sent to member recruiter, 1997
Camping Club Recruiter. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 27mm. No maker’s name
Camping & Caravan Club Recruiter. Post 1983. Pin back. 26mm. No maker’s name
Camping & Caravan Club Recruiter. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 25mm. No maker’s name
Camping & Caravan Club Recruiter. Post 1983. Pin back. 25.6mm. No maker’s name
Camping Club Recruiter. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 28mm. Maker- TOYE 0121 2363615
Camping & Caravan Club Recruiter badge. Post 1983. Patterned edge. Pin back. 29.50mm. No maker’s name
Veteran membership (unbroken)
Club members who had completed 25 consecutive years of membership, and were eligible for state pension, could claim Veteran Membership of the Club.
25 years unbroken membership of the Camping Club of G B & I. Pre 1983 Pin back. 22.60mm x 23.15mm. No maker’s name
25 years unbroken membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club [CCC]. Post 1983. Pin back. 22.55mm x 22.65mm. Maker- Bromfield Sports/Shoreham by Sea
Long membership (broken)
25 Years membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 25.30mm x 22.15mm. No maker’s name
50 Years membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Post 1983. Brooch pin with safety wheel. 25.30mm x 22.15mm. No maker’s name
25 Years membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Post 1983. Butterfly clasp. 21.50mm x 25.10mm. No maker’s name
50 Years membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club. Post 1983. Butterfly clasp. 21.40mm x 25.10mm. No maker’s name
Sub-sectiongroups
The Camping Club of G.B. & I. Folk Group. Acrylic on brass. Patterned gilt surround. Pre 1983. Pin back. 29mm. No maker’s name
The Camping & Caravanning Club Folk Group. Acrylic on brass. Plain gilt surround. Post 1983. Pin back. 29mm. No maker’s name. ” British Made” on back
The Camping & Caravanning Club Folk Group. Whitworth Castle Easter 1984. Plastic badge. Black and gold. Note that rose is white, as in the White Rose of York. Glued on brooch pin with safety wheel. 47.65mm. No maker’s name.
Motor Caravan Section- sub-section formed in 1962
The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland- Motor Caravan Section. Pre 1983. 22mm
The Camping & Caravanning Club- Motor Caravan Section. Butterfly clasp. Post 1983. 22.20mm. Maker- AAA Badges
The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland- Motor Caravan Section. Pre 1983. Pin back button badge. 24mm. No makers name
The Camping and Caravanning Club. 30 Years Service. Post 1983 (possibly post 2013). Pin back. 26.5mm x 31.5mm. Maker- Bromfield Sports/Shoreham by Sea
Other…
Badge and certificate awarded to the members who have contributed to the club in significant manner. A prestigious award. Post 1983.
Small Welcome Host badge. Used at rallies etc. Butterfly clasp. 13mm
Note- where 1901 appears on a badge, this does not signify it’s year of manufacture. Instead, the date refers to when the club was founded.
Cloth (sew-on) badges
Cloth badge- The Camping Club of Great Britain & Ireland. Pre 1983 76mm diameter
Cloth badge- The Camping Club, plain surround. 79mm diameter
Cloth badge- The Camping and Caravanning Club. Post 1983. 86mm diameter
Car grill badges were also produced by The Camping Club and their later incarnations however those 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.
Reproduced club badges produced for the Camping Club on their centenary in 2001
The Freiberger Präzisionsmechanik company is based in Saxony, Germany and has a long and convoluted history that has seen many name and structural changes. From 1965 to 1990, they were part of the Kombinat VEB Carl Zeiss Jena optics parent company. The Kurvimeter 78 map measure looked at here dates from that period of Soviet control.
We have previously glanced at some of the little backpacking and hiking minifigures released by Lego over the years. The company has also produced quite a few climbing characters. Three Points of the Compass looks at one of the best of these- Mountain Climber, released in 2013.
Three Points of the Compass has tried various combination sets of pegs (OK, stakes to our friends across the pond) with my various tents over the years. I suspect many of us have. There is no one-size-fits-all peg, though some come damn close to being perfect. Some ground or soil types or weather conditions such as wind or snow lend themselves better to more specialised pegs.
The Lego Creator theme started in 2001 and building sets are normally based around buildings, vehicles and animals. They focus more on the creative building element of the plastic bricks rather than the playability. The first minifigure to be included was 'Log Cabin Guy', a canoeing and backpacking log cabin dweller and we take a closer look at him here.
The Pennine Bridleway is a peculiar trail. Not only is it multi-user, it has a couple of add-on loops and link routes, and... years after it opened, it still isn't complete! Finding maps and guidebooks for both planning and use on trail can be a challenge in itself. I know, as I searched them down in advance of my own hike in summer 2022
The Pioneer X and Farmer each provide one additional tool over their two-layer cousins. That extra tool, either scissors or saw, may be enough to tempt you
![25 years unbroken membership of the Camping and Caravanning Club [CCC]](https://3pointsofthecompass.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/22.-veteran-badge.jpg){kind=icon}
Three Points of the Compass 