The National Motor Museum Trust

His profession was as a dental surgeon, but he worked as a consultant in his free time creating designs for caravans and camping equipment. He was also a dedicated member of The Caravan Club and The Camping Club.

When Muriel Waters married Ralph Lee in 1930 she was whisked off to South Wales for a honeymoon in a home-made tent. A week of rain made her husband determined to set about building a caravan. This hailed the beginning of the couple's many caravanning adventures.

Ralph Lee hand-built his very first caravan in the early 1930s using the axle of a Morris Cowley motor car. The caravan was named Who Cares after a popular 1930s tune and a further ten caravans followed, each bearing the same name.

In 1940 Who Cares took on a new role as the family home for Ralph, Muriel and their young daughter Patricia. Their home in Surrey was destroyed by bombing in World War II and the caravan offered them both safety and shelter.

By the late 1940s Ralph began to buy caravans, rather than building them himself. The caravan in this photograph was purchased from the Lees' favourite manufacturer Cheltenham.

Ralph and Muriel went on many European caravan adventures, crossing the English Channel a total of 74 times. Their first foreign trip was taken before World War II to Greece. This was in a time before British holidaymakers had discovered this popular destination.

The couple’s pioneering travels made them the first ever caravanners to reach the Arctic Circle and to caravan in Russia. Here they are pictured with their Cheltenham caravan and a Standard Vanguard motor car after reaching the Arctic Circle.