PastImperfect: The Richmond Show
As the Victorian Age drew to a close, the fledgling automobile appeared no closer to gaining public acceptance in Britain, despite the attempts of the motor car lobby in the form of The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland.
Under the direction of its secretary, Claude Johnson, the Club organised many initiatives and must have been disheartened to still hear their beloved automobiles referred to as 'Stinkpots' while being denounced as "barking like a dog and stinking like a cat". No less a national figure than Rudyard Kipling called it "the petrol-piddling monster".
Undeterred, Johnson led the Club's preparations for a grand motor exhibition to be held at Richmond Park, London, in June 1899 which, it was hoped, would turn the tide of public opinion in favour of the automobile.
In the lead up to the exhibition which was to be held between June 17th and 24th, Johnson organised enclosures, grandstands and marquees. He obtained royal and aristocratic patronage, something with which not all members of the Club agreed, one member dubbing it "social toadyism (which) smacked of snobbishness and weakness".
Johnson arranged hillclimbs, trials, races and other demonstrations with the intention of demonstrating once and for all the versatility, reliability and usefulness of the automobile.
Things began to go wrong from the opening procession of vehicles from Whitehall Court to Richmond Park, with many stragglers and breakdowns - the worst possible start.
It got worse. The gymkhana failed to demonstrate that petrol was a better fuel than hay. During a trick-driving display, two single-cylinder Decauville voiturelles went out of control and knocked down a couple of dummy policemen. As Johnson disgustedly stated, the public "didn't care a button about motor cars". The result was a disastrous loss of £1,600 for the club, which could have proved fatal for its finances had it not been bailed out by two members, Alfred Harmsworth and Charles Cordingley. In return, Cordingley earned the right to stage any future club exhibitions as a private enterprise.
Johnson, who had put so much effort into the whole event, took full responsibility for the failure and offered his resignation. Wisely, however, the club prevailed upon him to withdraw it and remain as secretary.
But despite the disaster, the motor car had turned the corner, and over the next few years the attitude of the public changed and accepted the new arrival.