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Our childhood toys

A

angeleyes

Guest
here are a few old toys from the past. blow a football . tin typewriter. hula hoop. annuals. like rupert the bear etc. i had all of those things sometime or other.wished i had kept them. any more spring to mind would like to know thanks.
 
Annuals

Annuals were a favorite part of Xmas for me, especially Rupert.....If only we had kept them, they would be worth a fortune :) I can remember a spinning top too, it used to hum when you pumped the corkscrew type handle?
 
Don,t forget the good old compendium of games, guaranteed to keep us quite for a couple of days
 
My first toy that I can recall was given as, I believe, a birthday present in the September that the Second World War terminated.
I suppose it measured some six inches in length and was a plaster cast model of the American Bomber, a B.29. This was the aircraft that dropped the A bombs on Japan. The model was painted silver and sported the American insignias and its propellers turned.
I imagine this toy was a favourite gift to boys at this time due to parents relief the war had been won.
This well handled and chipped item went its way when I was called up for my National Service and dear mother decided I had outgrown it. Oh well another collectors item hits the dust.
 
I had the usual collection of toys at Christmas, John Bull printing outfit, the inevitable Rupert annual, colouring books, paint box, a kaledoscope, is that how it is spelt, it was triangular shaped about 10 inches long and filled with shiny coloured bits of paper and when it was shaken different patterns would form, I loved that. During the war years toys were difficult to come by, but I remember one of my mother's cousins making me a desk which was painted bright green, it stayed at the family home for years and my neice and nephews and later my son all played with it.

The one thing I really yearned for was a proper china doll, but I never had one, all the dolls of the time were made with a china head and hands but the rest of them was made of some sort of material and stuffed with kapok or some such filling. When I was about 6 or 7 years old a little shop in Parliament Street, Aston, run by Mrs. Griggs had a raffle and the first prize was a large baby sized doll, not china, but made of chalk with a
painted face, and hair with a kiss curl on the forehead, joy of joys I won this doll, I was thrilled to bits, I can see it now dressed it a pale yellow baby dress, I kept it until I was in my teens then it was given to my neice
Lynne. To this day I still quietly yearn for a lovely china doll and have often thought I would treat myself, then I thought I will wait until I have a grandaughter and I'll buy her lots of lovely dolls, to date I'm still waiting for a grandaughter, I think I'm more likely to get the doll!
 
Money people

Obviously you were all a bunch of money people in those days,
most of our stuff was home made but even for that, still a load of fun,
We used to slice up Potatoes and with the help of a little paint. make our own printing sets.
We also made bows and arrows, I shot Sarah Eals (my next door neighbour) in the back once, I ran home and hid under my bed for about 3 hours.
We carved squirrels out of soap bars and after we'd done, Mom squashed the soap all back together.
We used to make Carpets with an hook and eye, never finished one though.
Most of our pastimes involved very little cost (drawing etc) or as written here out came the Compendium and we all played Ludo, Snakes and Ladders or draughts.
We also plaued lots of Card games such as 'Strip Jack naked'. Rummy, Snap and Newmarket.,
We used to make Rockets by glueing newspaper around and around an old bottle
actually, not so much glue as flour water.
We played hide and seek from the attic down to the Cellar...Good days, great people...darn it, I've come over all misty eyed....
 
Yes, Sylvia, tose kaleidoscopes fascinate me to this day. I could still spend hours trying to recreate the same pattern twice. :lol:

Bows and arrows out of bamboo cane kept us entertained for hours. I can't recall doing anyone an injury with them but, I can empathise with Kandor.

We had a row with Dennis Rainbow and his gang. Of course I can't remember what it was about (probably nothing - just to ease the boredom) but he grabbed my big sister round the neck. In desperation to rescue her, I found a marble (another great passtime) in my pocket and wanged it at him. He went down screaming and clutching his bloodied left eye. We, believing I'd blinded him for life, ran like hell and hit in our den - the old Anderson air raid shelter. We were too scared to emerge 'til bed time when, to get it off my chest, I confessed to my father, as he was less likely to give me a slap or get worked up about it than my mother.

The next day Dennis was back on the street again, as big a two-eyed thug as ever, all be it with nasty bruising and a cut to one of them. :shock:
 
This is tiger Tim he is nearly 50 years old my dad bought him for me in Germany. When I was little his eyes frightened me as they shone in the dark. He has lost one now probably to many cuddles! Wendy

My_Tiger.jpg
 
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Tiger Tim

Morning Moma P,
Was it the Tiger Tim out of the comic?
Here is a photo of me with my Tiger Tim bag on.
 
I don't think so cause he came from Germany, I just called him that! I love your hair bow's Patty!

Does anyone remember the cans we walked on with string threaded through so you could hold them and walk along.
 
The only cans I ever had were the ones with holes punched in them and a long wire handle to hold them with. One lit pieces wood and then put coal on top, in them. The next part was to swing them around to get the air pressure to make the coals burn. Great on a autumn/winter evening - kept the hands warm
Will.
 
:angel: Remember them Moma P ... I should Cocoa... In fact I still make them for my little 'Rug Rats' at work and they love them... Some of them haven't been walking on their own two feet very long, so the giggles and sense of achievement when they walk on two tins is great.:)

Does anyone remember the cans we walked on with string threaded through so you could hold them and walk along.
Click to expand...
 
What a great idea Pom, I have two grandchildren who are nearly three I think I shall save some tins!
 
Pretty little patty, love the bow, i have done all of those things with the tin cans, great fun, think i will show my grandchildren too. but i suspect that my sons will think i am barmy.
 
Lovely pics........ The tins are fun and the kids will soon get the idea. Easy to make and it's something different these days.
 
I had a Teddy bear That was in much worse condition than "Tiger Tim", he went everywhere with me, including Jeromes photographers, to have my photo taken, the photographer tried everything to make leave Ted out of the picture but apparently i was having none of it. That Teddy went everywhere with me to the despair of my mum
 
I remember those tins with the string to make telephones Alf. String was at a premium in those days and most people saved it for around the house and not for children's toys. My brother and his friends had a den in the gulley, left over land at the back of our house and they would make these "telephones" to use in the den for their games. The best thing that happened though regarding telephones. Our neighbours son, Dennis had been in the Army and had bought home a Field Telephone set...Army issue.
I think it worked on batteries. It had yards and yards of connecting cable
and Dennis gave the set to my brother, Peter. Very few people had house phones in those days so something like this to play with was just perfect.
It was very eerie to be able to talk to someone quite a distance away and plan strategy for the games. We also used to use it in the house so that my brother could listen to TV programmes. He wired it up going down the stairs under the carpet and along the hall when my parents were out one day and hid the phone behind the TV. It worked but then the wiring was discovered and it was confiscated by my parents for a while. We had hours of good fun though.
 
Jennyann, Its so funny how things trigger the memorie you mentioning the army phones. My Dad was always in the army and navy stores he had a compass from a ship, we had a distress box kite which I nearly lost in Sutton Park. My brothers flew it on holiday in Bournmouth with extra string it went so far out someone called the coast guard. I was so glad I was to young to be involved. Oh I nearly forgot my first swing was a parachute seat my Dad was so inventive, he fixed it to a frame outside our back door my sister and I loved it! so did our Mom as she could leave us in it safe.
 
Moma P...so many toys were home made years ago and the kites in particular..no fancy kite shops like they have now back then. It was fun to help to make kites and we had plenty of safe space to fly them in Witton Lakes Park. Loved your story about the box kite flying out to sea. It was always a challenge to find enough string to fly the kites.

There was an Army and Navy surplus store in Erdington High Street for years opposite the Parish Church. My first water wings came from there
and were very ugly really but they did the trick. They were light grey and army issue if you could imagine that! The shop was always busy and they sold all sorts of interesting things. Didn't see any parachute material though! That swing sounds like the Jolly Jumper type thing we used to bolt above the door and put the baby in. You could keep an eye on junior and the baby would love jumping around. Great to have had an inventive Dad Moma P.
 
Hornby Trains

Does any-one remember the toy train shop, i think they sold mostly Hornby trains and lots of balsa wood so maybe model airplanes too, if i remember correctly it was on the corner of Cherry Street
 
I remember the "can-stilts". We found the dried baby milk cans the best for them - cocoa tins best for the telephones and old paint tins for Will's fire cans (the residue of paint in the bottom improved the flammability).

Would you believe my grandsons have been bought the modern equivalent of the stilt-cans, factory made in plastic, together with traditional stilts made in aluminium? Seen as they enjoy these better than PS2, I can only imagine how much more fun they would get from the proper home made ones.
 
I remember the baby food can stilts Cromwell. They were the best because the cans were much larger. Oisin, I can't imagine the plastic versions of these lasting very long unless they are made of very tough plastic.

Kids had to be more inventive years ago and it seems that most of them were constantly looking around the area for materials to make these toys. Do you remember looking for pieces of wood to attach to a roller skate so that you could go down a paved hill at lightening speeds. Pram wheels were at a premium but I never remember anyone stealing a set and leaving the pram wheeless.
 
jennyann,

My grandsons even have bought plastic sledges that don't fall to bits when they're going down a 1in2 incline at 60 m.p.h. :Aah: - what's the fun in them then? ???

Yes, wheels were at a premium. I can remember stripping down a perfectly good Pedigree or Swallow for the wheels, but always with the owners permission. You could get them from people who's kids were walking and had electric fires so didn't need transport for the coke or coal any more.

The wheels never gave a problem but despite all my experience and experimentation, I could never devise a reliable steering system for any of my mokes, which probably accounts for the state I'm in today. :(
 
My brothers trolly

Oisin my brother's (who are probably reading this) had a trolly called Sputnick it was burgundy in colour with a white Sputnick painted at the front. I of course was only allowed on it supervised by one of them, because as they said "I was a girl and couldn't steer it". They wouldn't get away with that comment now!!!!!!!!!!
 
:angel: Well actually it's baby food tins or Milo tins we use at Preschool, as there ain't many other kind of tins around any more, it's all plastic jars and bottles now.
 
My favourite toys - (Dad was a silver spinner by trade) -One day he brought home a humming top which he had made - no colours on it - I loved that thing - the other gift I liked which so much fun was a cap gun -LOL yes - though I am a girl and even had dolls - I played with the boys forts soldiers marbles and Jacks and trading cigarette cards -

I decided at a very young age I was not going to be left out of anything ha! ha!
 
Beryl, I had a cow girl outfit I can still see it. Black skirt with a yellow fringe and a black waist coat to match. I loved to play cowboys and cowgirls although I always seemed to be killed!??? Do you think the boys were telling me something:)
 
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