Lincolnshire Automobile Club

Annual Report of the Committee 1915

The committee has pleasure in presenting the Annual Report.

Eleven members have been elected during the year and the membership despite the inevitable losses due to the war is 314.

At the Annual general meeting held on January 15^th 1915 , Sir Hickman Bacon, Bart., was re-elected President and the Vice Presidents with the exception of Major J.W.Cole, retired were also re-elected.

The committee were re-elected with the addition of Frank Dennis and Rev. J.H. Davis in place of Dr. W.J. Gilpin and Mr. S.V. Hotchkin resigned.

The Hon. Secretary, Dr Godfrey Lowe, placed his resignation in the hands of the Committee regretting that the pressure of his Military duties compelled him to take this step and in view of the circumstances, it was reluctantly accepted the meeting unanimously passing a vote of thanks to Dr Lowe for the extremely able way in which he had piloted the affairs of the club during a strenuous eight years of office. Mr T.C. Ives was elected Hon. Secretary in his stead.

Owing to the War, the Lincolnshire Agricultural Show was abandoned but free garage was provided for members at the Royal Agricultural Show at Nottingham .

A grant of £5.5s was made towards the widening of the “Hammer and Pincers” Bridge near Boston . The subject of road improvements has been kept well to the fore and the attention of the various authorities drawn to various matters, which has met with prompt response.

Grants have been made to many deserving objects connected with the abnormal state of affairs caused by the War. £25 towards the cost of providing field kitchens for the Lincolnshire Regiment. The usual contribution was made to the Road Improvement Association.

The Country Scheme for mobilising local motorists under the title of the Lincolnshire Volunteer Motor Ambulance transport Service has been substantially supported, a donation of £20 being made.

The organisation of the above has been in the capable hands of Mr A.E. Brunning, one of the members and 372 cars and 314 motorcycles are on the register. The car owners are split up into 32 sections, distributed throughout the county, each with motor cyclist dispatch riders. When completed, the scheme will permit of a quick concentration of ambulances at any specified point under the control of the Red Cross Authorities.

In response to an application from the R.A.C. for ambulances for Russia , £25 was contributed by the Club and including a donation of £25 from the Chairman and a number of smaller sums from the members, a total of £94 10s was subscribed, the club thus being one of the largest contributors of the Associated Clubs.

The appeal for help in connection with the supply of motor ambulances for the 4^th Northern Hospital at Lincoln was met by a donation of £10.

The issue of the Car Illustrated, by the R.A.C to Associate Members, free, ceases at the end of 1915. This journal has been taken over by a well known firm of publishers and is to be considerably enlarged, but can now be obtained by a payment of 10s. yearly, as a special concession to R.A.C. Associates, the usual subscription being £1 yearly. Each issue will have a number of pages devoted to matters interesting R.A.C. Associates.

A considerable number of members are doing military duty and the committee have decided to remit the current subscription for members serving abroad

The club still continues to send free to members a copy of the Autocar or other weekly penny motoring paper.

The new lighting regulations of Lincolnshire which take effect on and after January 19^th 1916 are particularly brought to the notice of Members:

The use on motor cars of head lights of all descriptions is prohibited.
Not more than two lamps showing a light to the front may be used on any vehicle.
In electric lamps the bulb must not exceed 12 watts or give in use a greater candle power than the 12 watt (12 nominal candle power) bulb as standardised for side lights by the Engineering Standards Committee (Report No.69); the diameter or longer side of the front glass, according as it is circular or rectangular, must not exceed 6in.
In acetylene lamps the burner must not consume more than 14 litres (½ cubic foot) per hour and the diameter or longer side of the front glass, according as it is circular or rectangular, must not exceed 6in.
In oil lamps only one burner may be used: the wick must not exceed ¾in. in width.
The front glasses of (1) all electricity and acetylene lamps, and (2) lamps burning candle or oil the front glasses of which have a lens or other device for concentrating the light or directing it towards the roadway, must be obscured-

· In electric lamps, with at least one thickness of ordinary white tissue paper.

· In acetylene lamps and in candle and oil lamps to which this paragraph applies, with at least one thickness of ordinary white tissue paper or with paint, ground glass or a disc of some other uncoloured material so that the obscuring effect produced is not less than that of one thickness of ordinary white tissue paper.

· The paper, paint, or disc must cover the whole of the front glass and must not be wetted, oiled, varnished, or treated in any other way so as to reduce its opacity.

· Side panels, except small red or green side panels, must be covered over with some opaque material.

· This paragraph shall not apply to the lamp displaying a red light carried at the rear of a vehicle.

In special areas viz.: Lincoln (city), Louth (Borough), Great Grimsby (County Borough), Grantham (Borough), and Cleethorpes (Urban District) all lamps, oil, electric or acetylene, must have an opaque disc covering the whole front of each lamp glass, the disc being pierced with six half-inch holes arranged in a specified manner.

The provisions of the Order apply during the period from half an hour after sunset till half an hour before sunrise.

The balance sheet will be found overleaf. At the end of last year the balance in hand was £179 9s 4d., this year it is £173 1s 3d; £150 of this is on deposit bearing interest.