Shortly after departure of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) for France on 7 August 1914, the War Office made a request to the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), that twenty-five suitable members, together with their own vehicles, make themselves available to the General Headquarters at the front.
Once accepted, the volunteers were told to obtain an officer's khaki Service Dress uniform (without badges) and whatever else they thought they might need, and to present themselves at Southampton Docks for embarkation on 21 August.
[1] The only equipment issued by the RAC was a brassard, described by one volunteer as "somewhat pretentious";[2] however, the War Office undertook to provide a daily allowance of 10 French Francs, as well as rations and petrol.
In the early part of the campaign there was no defined front line; drivers at various times found themselves being chased by an uhlan cavalry patrol,[5] shot at by a German sentry[6] and detained at bayonet-point by French soldiers as suspected spies.
[8] By the end of the war, 226 RAC members and 24 staff had served as volunteers, and between them had gone on to be awarded three Victoria Crosses and twelve Distinguished Service Orders.