Chad Valley Toy Company Ltd, Harborne

[John Young]

Chad Valley?

Hi KarenM

I seem to recall the name CHAD VALLEY TOY Company in
Association with manufacturing of Actual Toys for children
somewhere in Birmingham i think :?:

Maybe some of our more learned colleagues on here may
ellucidate if this is correct & the location ? Quite a Large Company
in its heyday producing Thousands of toys,,,,
Broke a few myself :roll: Ok xx John

 

[KarenM]

Thanks for that John. Perhaps someone will know.

Karen

 

[Rod]

heres a link for Chad Valley

The Birmingham Toymakers

https://www.teddy-bear-uk.com/learning/makers/chad/chad.htm

 

[O.C.]

Chad Valley Works which was a toy manufacture was situated in Chad Vally by Chad Brook at Rose Road Harborne....originally the firm was Johnson Brothers and in the 1900's had departments for Stationer's Sundries, Fancy Goods, Games and Toys,Box Making, Stamping and Turning
Pic 1 is very old photo from 1900's
Pic 2 was taken 1967

 

[Catkin]

Chad Valley

I had toys from chad valley at christmas, or should i say a toy. their toys where extremely well made.

Cromwell, do you know if these Johnson brothers where the ones to become the wholesalers of domestic goods polish etc.

 

[O.C.]

Catkin, No they was not......... H.S Johnson Who was originally Johnson Brothers changed to Chad Valley Works ....their was also Johnson Paints which also was a completely different firm

 

[Peter Walker]

The Chad Valley Toy Company had a famous Director - Kenneth Horne - who made so many people laugh on radio, the stage and later on TV. Much Binding in the Marsh and all that. Remember 'Round the Horne' ?
Peter

 

[Catkin]

Johnson brothers

Thank you for the information Cromwell. Catkin

 

[Mossy]

Chad Valley

My Mother worked at chad valley for some time on the twilight shift in the 1950s mom used to bring home some wooden toys home,and i can still remember the that smell of the paint they used to use,i wonder if it was child friendly.
I think they only made wooden toys at one stage and latter tin toys,always remember a humming top with lovely patterns on holes round the out side where the sound came out.

Happy Days Maurice




https://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb113_ZNxdm824YYGB&utm_id=7921

 

[Astonian]

hi every one
when i was a little wipper snapper i lived on lichfield rd
and during my growing up my momused to buy me and my brothers toys from
the toy shop on the corner of lichfield rd and victoria rd ,oppersite park
rd and the vine pub
she used to buy us chad valley toys , i,ve recently leart that a chad valley factory was in harborne b,ham
can anybody tell me excactly where in harborne the factory was please
as i am really intrested to know thank you astonian ;;;

 

[Phil]

Hi Astonian,

Chad valley was located at Rose Rd Harbourne. They also had another factory at Wellington I believe.

pmc1947

 

[Astonian]

chad valley

Hi PMCI947
MANY THANKS FOR DOWN LOADING THAT BRILLIANT PIC.
OF CHAD VALLEY FOR US ,IT LOOKED A VERY LARGE FACTORY
AND I WAS HIGHLY SURPRIZED WHEN YOU SAID IT WAS IN
ROSE ROAD HARBORNE , I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS IN
NURSERY RD HARBORNE, DOWN BY THE ALLOTMENTS BY
WESTFIELD RD ,THANKS AGAIN.
PMC; SORRY IF YOU THINK I AM TRYING TO TAXED YOUR
BRAIN ,THIS TIME OF NIGHT , BUT COULD YOU POSSIBLE
TELL ME ,WHAT YEAR THEY CLOSED THAT BRANCH ,
AND DID THEY KNOCK IT DOWN AND BUILD THE POLICE
STATION ,THAT IS THERE NOW ,AS WE KNOW OF
ROSE ROAD POLICE STATION HARBORNE
I KNOW ALOT OF POLICE OFFICIERS ,AND I KNOW
THE LICENCEING OFFICIER FOR THE PUBS IN B,HAM
IS STATIONED THERE , HE USED TO BE STATIONED AT
DIGBETH ,
UP TO ABOUT AFEW YEARS AGO ,
MANY THANKS AND KEEP YOUR THREADS COMING IN ,
BEST WISHES ,;;;;;;;;;;;

 

[jennyann]

Hi Astonianlease try this site for Chad Valley info. My dear friend Jeannie`s father worked in Harborne for Chad Valley for many years. He developed a chest problem and left Brum to live near to the sea. https://www.cymruted.com/html/chad_valley.html

 

[Peter Walker]

Am I right in thinking that the comedian Kenneth was a director if not chairman of the Chad Valley Toy company? My dad used to say he was, but this would be before 1960.
Peter

 

[jennyann]

Absolutely right Peter... He was a director of Chad Valley. See a snippett from a web site about the programme `Round the Horne`

Oddities of recording also included straight man Kenneth Horne, a director with toy-maker Chad Valley, banning the use of the word Monopoly because it was game made by rival business Waddingtons.

 

[Langstraat]

In the sixties I had a friend. Paul Martin who was a tin printer. I think he worked for Chad Valley or a printer's who did their printing. The Chad valley toys were made of tin plate. 'Smell' for that was his nickname, told of stories where when he had messed up the printing he had to remove the print from the tin sheets with white spirits to enable him to print it again (an early form of recycling I guess)
From the printing college at Costa Green we once went to the Science Museum. Smell was most impressed with one of the printing presses they had, it was a much newer model than the one he ran.

 

[Phil]

Hi Astonian,

It seems you have been given all the information you need, All I can add is Chad Valley sold out to Palitoy in 1978, who in turn sold the name rights to Woolworth in 1988.

As for the is the building still standing, I have to say "I don't know". Perhaps someone who lives more local than I will be able to tell you.

Cheers,

pmc1947

 

[sheronb]

My Great Gran, Nellie Beatrice Lewis, nee Cecil born 1889, was one of the first workers at chad Valley, she worked there until the late 50s, or early 60s, i have a photo of her retirement presentation.

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to research the demise of the Chad Valley Toy Company Ltd, and am seeking memories, pictures, information etc from anyone who worked for the company prior to its sell out to Palitoy in 1978.

As child I lived in Harborne, and I remember very well the Chad Valley factory closing down - and its subsequent demolition - around 1973. The entire site was ready for redevelopment by 1975.

Chad Valley closed 6 of its 7 factories between 1971 and 1974. The last remaining factory (which was really just a distribution/administration centre) was in Perry Barr. Does anyone remember where it was exactly? And, for that matter, can anyone enlighten me as to where the other 5 Chad Valley factories were situated?

I have been trawling the web recently looking for information on the Chad Valley Toy Company - in particular the "Give-a-Show" and "Easy-Show" range of toy projectors the company was well known for. I understand these particular toys were just imported in "kit" form from the USA and only assembled under license by Chad Valley from Kenner Toys USA.

If anyone has any information about the deal struck between the two companies (and anything to do with the "Give-aShow" or "Easy-Show" toy projectors) I would be very interested - Particularly as Kenner later swallowed up Palitoy which had, earlier, aquired Chad Valley.

I think the demand for high tech entertaintment/media products by our children today can be firmly traced back to these particular toys. And, possibly, these very toys eventually put Chad Valley out of business...


These are the toys I am particularly interested in

Chad Valley (Licensed by Kenner) "Give-A-Show" Slide Projector​

Chad Valley (Licensed by Kenner) "Easy-Show" Movie Projector​

Shortly after the closure of the main factory in Harborne, my friends and I used to like nothing more than "mooching" around the abandoned site after school, and finding crates and stillages still filled with components - un-assembled parts, dolls heads, arms, etc. Imagine the thrill of that for 13 year old!

One evening we discoved a skip filled to the brim with fully assembled "Give-a-Show" and "Easy-Show" projectors - literally HUNDREDS of them - no doubt destined as scrap! Nearby were unopened (but not for long!) cases containing THOUSANDS of slides and reels of movie film for them... It really was just like an Aladdin's cave...

...Looking back, I suppose it was quite wrong to just help ourselves to them, but we didn't really see it as stealing... After all, the factory was completely abandoned and just awaiting demolition...

Anyway, I recently found myself searching eBay for Chad Valley toy projectors, and nearly fell off my chair when I saw the "collector" value some of them reach! Over £400 for a Dr Who "Give-aShow" set, and similar prices for other items! I wish I still had the collection I had as a 13 year old! Needless to say, nostlgia will no doubt get the better of me, and I won't be able to resist buying one again!

You may find the following pictures of interest...​

This picture features the rear of the Chad Valley Toy Company - as seen from the Harborne Station goods yard. (Taken around 1950)​

A stock picture from Birmingham City Council - circa 1955​

Here's good old "Google Earth" looking down on what was once the Chad Valley Factory and the neighbouring Harborne Station.​

Cheers
Lefty

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Re: chad valley toys

can anybody tell me excactly where in harborne the factory was please
as i am really intrested to know thank you astonian ;;;

Hi Astonian

I can do even better than that! I can SHOW you exactly where the factory used to be!

Using the photo kindly supplied by pmc1957 (and with a little PhotoShop magic) I have been able to morph his photo with a recent photo taken in exactly the same spot - pretty much directly opposite the main gate to the "recently" built Rose Road Police Station.

Luckily, the old Harborne Fire Station is still there (now a listed building) and you can just see it just on the far left hand side of the old photograph...

The Chad Valley Toy Company main factory frontage taken in 1967​

This photo was taken today in (roughly) the same place and at about the same angle. By using the Fire Station as a reference point (again, at the far left of the picture), I have been able to place EXACTLY where the factory used to stand... (Just out of shot, and to your right, is Rose Road Police Station.) ​

Now, let's just add a little sprinkle of digital magic...​

...and a little more...​

...a little more...​

...and finally...​

Nice to see the old place come alive again, isn't it? ​

Cheers
Lefty​

 

[Lloyd]

Re: chad valley toys

What a clever idea, 'ghosting' old buildings back into their rightful places in today's world. Better than 'then and now' shots, although I like those too.

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Re: chad valley toys

What a clever idea, 'ghosting' old buildings back into their rightful places in today's world. Better than 'then and now' shots, although I like those too.

Thanks very much! Appreciated!

I do a lot of graphic design work, photo re-touching, advertising etc... I'm pretty useful with PhotoShop!

If anyone would like any PhotoShop work doing for this site - either old building "ghosting" or otherwise - please feel free to ask!


Cheers
Lefty

 

[rowan]

Re: chad valley toys

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!:grinsmile:

How clever is that

It's amazing, Lefty thank you for showing how it's done

 

[Charlie]

Great photos Lefty: and that 'digital magic' bought the factory back to life again.
Thanks for posting them.

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Re: Wotcha!

As mentioned in my first post, my main area of interest is researching the demise of the Chad Valley Toy Company, which had its main factory and head office in Harborne.

Here's a link to my thread in the factories/offices section. Please contribute if you have anything that may help:

https://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?p=90656#post90656



Cheers
Lefty

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Again, thanks very much for the comments on the digital enhancement work. It's a great way of bringing old pictures to life, isn't it!

If anyone reading this has any connection - no matter how small or, seemingly, insignificant - with the Chad Valley Company, please contribute to this thread.

I am hoping to prepare an article (possibly for inclusion on this site) so any help will be greatly appreciated!


Thanks again!


Cheers
Lefty

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Hi again.

I've learnt today that I was wrong about the last remaining Chad Valley factory in Birmingham being in Perry Barr. I'm told it was actually in Garratts Green. (Soft toy production was moved to Pontypool in Wales I understand.

Does ANYONE have any memories or recollections of working for Chad Valley in Garratts Green?

Thanks again


Cheers
Lefty

 

[Mossy]

Hi Left you second photo the man looks like he is testing the horse racing game ''Escalado'' i had one for christmass,also my mom worked there on the twilight shift in the 50s i think they took on extra staff on on the run up to christmass

 

[lefthooker_uk]

Hi Left you second photo the man looks like he is testing the horse racing game ''Escalado'' i had one for christmass,also my mom worked there on the twilight shift in the 50s i think they took on extra staff on on the run up to christmass

Yep, you're right. It is the ESCALADO game featured in the picture. Mind you, I suspect that picture is just a carefully posed promotional shot, as I doubt that, in a busy factory environment, the game would be fully set out that way. The various components would have been assembled in different parts of the factory and would only come together for final packing...

ESCALADO is one of the products Chad Valley made throughout it's entire lifetime at Harborne, and continued in production up until 1974. Early (1920) versions of the game (with the very "child friendly" lead horses) are very much sought after by collectors.

Cheers
Lefty

 

[Mossy]

Lefty when were kids playing ESCALADO when it was your turn to put the horses in line,you would bend the legs in or out,if you bent the legs inward they could not past the studs for each lane,and if you bent them outward they went up the track like a crab,and thats how the legs broke off
There is one for sale in Weston 10£ its only got three horses it is in its origanal box its in a charity shop i think i will go down town today to see if it is still there

Cheers Mossy