GUIDING GENIUS OF THE A. A.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20969, 23 February 1938, Page 13

GUIDING GENIUS OF THE A. A.

SIR STENSON COOKE TO VISIT TIMARU NEXT MONTH Erect, alerte, with iron-grey hair and deep-set eyes, in which a humorous twinkle often lurks, an indefatigable worker and a genius for organisation—such is Sir Stenson Cooke, general secretary of the Automobile Association of Great Britain, who will visit Timaru on March 25. when he will be entertained by members of the Automobile Association (S.C.). With a borrowed typewriter and a chair in a small room in Fleet Street, the centre of London journalism, Sir Stenson Cooke became the first secretary of the Association. 32 years ago. Now. in magnificent Fanum House, a landmark in the West End of London, he is something more than secretary—the guiding genius of the largest motoring organisation in ti e world. In 1905 there was in existence in Great Britain a speed limit for motor cars of 20 miles per hour—motoring, although in its infancy, was being strangled by reactionary antagonism. This hide-bound law was so obviously unnecessary and unfair in its application that it was consistently defied. The police resorted to concealed "traps”—the timing, unknown to the driver over a measured mile—on the most used highways, such as the Lon-don-Brighton Road and other roads to the popular south coast resorts of England. A few motoring pioneers banded themselves together to combat

this state of affairs—an arbitary and undiscriminating enforcement of the law in selected circumstances. It was decided to employ newspaper boys from Fleet Street to patrol these roads on bicycles and give warning of the police traps. The experiment was a great success and led to the permanent use of these lads at week-ends. Thus the Automobile Association was born. First A.A. Secretary The next step was to appoint a secretary and Mr (as he then was) Stenson Cooke was selected for the post, although he had never driven a motor car. The choice was abundantly justified. From being a purely protective body—membership fewer than 90. and bank balance well below £loo— A.A. has grown until to-day it has a membership of nearly 700,000 and an annual revenue exceeding £1,000,000 sterling. Its yearly expenditure on road patrols and road services is £680,000. It initiated the road patrol system, which remains unparallelel; the provision >.f free legal defence, a bold experiment; sign-posting on national lines, a network of roadside telephone boxes and an ideal of motoring service which has since spread throughout the world. The A.A. is now, as it was in 1905, a militant organisation pledged solely to the protection and advancement of the interests of motorists. This consistency of aim and policy is directly attributable to the foresight and ability of the secretary who, from the very beginning, has controlled and inspired the A.A. An Outstanding Fencer Sir Stenson Cooke is. for his age, probably one of the fittest men in London. He is an ardent fencer. He won his first foils competition when he was 19, and although he no longer takes part in competitive events he still fences regularly. He was one of the British team at the Olympic Games in 1912 and has represented his country on numerous occasions, being thus one of the few who are privileged to wear the Tudor Rose of England, the badge of a fencing international. Earlier he had won both the officers' sabres and foils competitions at the Royal Tournament at Olympia. In 1914 he fought his way for the fourth time to the final pool of the British Amateur Championship and then with the outbreak of war open fencing competitions were abandoned. After the Armistice Sir Stenson went into training immediately and having won second prize in the Service championships at the Royal Naval, Army and Air Force Tournament, he achieved one of his life’s ambitions by winning the British Amateur Foils Championship on April 20, 1923. Sir Stenson had served in the London Rifle Brigade before the war as cadet, subaltern and captain. On the outbreak of war he headed a large contingent of the A.A. staff to enlist in the Bth Battalion of the Essex Regiment of the Territorial Force. His administrative abilities were quickly utilised in a bigger sphere. He was appointed Staff Captain at the War Office in 1915, a year later he was promated Major and he then became Controller of Supplies at the Ministry of National Service. E accessful Author Sir Stenson dabbles in short story writing and, in addition, has written a book on the subject closest to his heart which has been a pronounced success. “This Motoring” was published in 1931 and has run into no less than eighteen editions. Two years after this book was published, the membership of the A.A. passed the half million mark. It was in this year that the King recognised the great contribution to motoring which the secretary had made by conferring upon him the honour of knighthood. He has been decorated by many Governments. He is a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour of France, an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, possesses the Insignia of Honour (First Class) of the O der of the German Red Cross, the Great Silver Badge of Aus-

tria and the Order of Merit (with star) of Hungary. He is vice-president of the Alliance Internationale de Tourlsme, which, as has been aptly put, “has now helped 19,000,000 tourists almost to forget that frontiers exist.”