a boy in toy town

Series

Series Name: Britain Can Make It

Issue

Issue No.

Date Released

1946

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 3

Summary

COI synopsis: Mrs. Williams and her small son, Tony, visit a toy factory somewhere on the outskirts of London, which until recently were engaged on high pressure production for war.
A lot of these toys are for export, but some are for British children, for by now the deliveries of toys to Britain’s shops are already back to 50% of pre-war supplies.
COI Commentary - COMMENTATOR: A sign of the times - of retunring days of plenty - was a visit to a factory somewhere on the outskirts of London, engaged up till recently on high pressure production for war. And to prove to at least one family that there were better times ahead, we invited Mrs. Williams and her small son Tony along to see for themselves what has now become the largest toy factory in the world. Tony was just six - that means he was born in 1940 - and, of course, he had no idea - how could he - that such places existed. But Mrs. Williams will tell you about it herself.
MRS. WILLIAMS: Tony was quite overcome at his first sight of the machines and the labour which seemed to go to so much trouble for such little toys. He was bewildered by the scale of everything. So at first he amused himself picking up some of the parts of dolls’ heads which had just been pressed out and then tried his own strength on a big lever to see if he could make it work.
Just over the way they were sticking the dolls’ heads with glue and holding them together with rubber bands. Soon the smell of paint in the air drew him off again to where a spraying machine gave the heads their coat of paint. Once or twice I had to stop him from the sort of thing boys will do.
There were hundreds of dolls here in various stages of completion - all of them beautifully made. I almost wished I had a little girl with me who would have appreciated those things. I think Tony was getting a bit restive by now, but I was determined to see how these dolls turned out when finished. I saw them on the conveyor belt and they were all that dolls should be, with eyes that opened and shut - clothes you could take off and all at a price well within everybody’s pocket. But now I felt it was only fair to take Tony over to where toys more to his taste were to be seen, model garages with petrol pumps and everything, but alas, no cars. "There’s nothing in it", he said to me. Well, that was put right. A miniature production line where thousands of small cars were being assembled. All of them exact reproductions of the real thing. I was told that some of these small models of the jeeps that raced along our roads during the war will now be going across to America to amuse the GI’s children and probably their fathers, too ... There were saloons, lorries and racing cars as well. This was much more Tony’s line.
But I knew it was the big motor cars that really excited Tony - the kind you could get right into and drive yourself. They were being dipped in enormous paint baths and their shiny dripping bodies, quite complete save for tyres and number plates, were hung up to dry. We were told that 15,000 pedal cars, 12,000 dolls, 6,000 scooters and 50,000 clock-work motor cars are turned out here each week. It seems a lot of toys.
And now came the high spot of Tony’s day. The motor cars he last saw being dipped in the paint baths now finished and waiting for a driver. There were scooters, pedal cycles, porters, trolleys, too, but he had eyes only for the cars. Oh yes, he wanted to get in and as no one seemed to mind, in he got and drove away perfectly happy.
COMMENTATOR: A lot of this is for export - but in case you think, as I did, that Britain’s children are still to be denied what they’ve been deprived of for so long, the glad news is that deliveries to Britain’s shops are already back to 50% of pre-war supplies; and there’ll soon be even more. British toys are on their way to the hearts of British children, who until so recently have had to do without.

Keywords

Children; Industry and manufacture; War and conflict; Toys and models

Written sources

The National Archives INF 6 /592
Central Film Library Catalogue 1948, p83.
British Film Institute Databases

COI Reference

MI 360/5

Credits:

Sponsor: Board Of Trade
Producer: Duncan Ross
Production Co.: Films of Fact
Commentator: Geoffrey Sumner
Producer: Jack B. Holmes
Camera: James Hill
Editor: Len Green
Support services: Peter Hennessey

This series is held by:

Film Archive

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Notes: The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).
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