We are delighted to announce the founding of a new motoring history society in France:
Patrimoine et Histoire de l’Automobile en France
The title (abbreviated as PHAF) ca be translated as “Heritage and History of the Automobile in France.”
The founding committee members include our good friend Laurent Friry, distinguished motoring historian and long-standing SAHB member .
We look forward to working closely with Laurent, his colleagues and future members of PHAF to further our joint understanding of European motoring history, and we hope to organise joint events in due course.
For a better explanation of the aims of the society, we give below an English translation of the announcement sent to us by Laurent:
Heritage and History of the Automobile in France
Why create an association on the heritage and history of the automobile in France when there is so much criticism of the car these days?
Because France is the cradle of the automobile industry, whose origin dates from the end of the nineteenth century. And if the history of some manufacturers such as Bugatti, Citroën and Peugeot is relatively well known, little or nothing exists on many others: Bellanger, Bignan, Delaunay-Belleville, Omega-Six … but also on the presence in France of foreign brands such as Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, Isotta Fraschini.
And what about the forgotten actors who gave these vehicles their personality? No biography exists of Fernand Charron, Lucien Rosengart, Carlo Delaisse …
Whether it be automotive brands, equipment manufacturers, coachbuilders, drivers, engineers or industrialists, from the origins to the present day, subjects are missing and all are worthy of interest. To understand where we are going, we need to know where we came from.
Most countries with a car industry benefit from a society of motoring historians: the SAH in the United States, the SAHB in the Kingdom, AHG in Germany, AISA in Italy, or CONAM in the Netherlands. Our ambition is therefore to create such an organisation in France.
Our purpose is to bring together historians and enthusiasts to assist and encourage studies and research on
the automobile and its history. Our society will aim to:
- create a network of exchanges and mutual aid between historians and researchers
- promote research on the history of the automobile and its associated activities, and help with the publication of works
- make younger generations aware of the importance of this heritage
- save archives and make them available.
Our contact details are:
President: Laurent Friry: president.phaf@gmail.com
Secretary: Sébastien Faurès: secretaire.phaf@gmail.com
Vice-president: François Vanaret: vice-president.phaf@gmail.com
Treasurer: Philippe Ladure: tresorier.phaf@gmail.com
Secretariat: PHAF – 12 rue Bernard Lasserre – 31400 Toulouse.
Leave a Comment