Piaggio & Co came into existence 14th September 1887. The company grew up in the shipyard industry of the Liguria region where they crafted the interiors of large Italian passenger liners and prestigious German ships.

The Douglas company of Kingswood, Bristol, commenced motorcycle production in 1907. By 1948 it was effectively bankrupt, actually going into receivership that year.

In 1964 several far sighted members of the Vespa Club of Britain (VCB), which was formed in 1952 and which is by a large margin the oldest scooter club in Britain with an unbroken history, decided to form a club dedicated to preserving early Vespa models.