THE EARLY YEARS

At an early age, William Britain Sr, who was born in 1831 in Birmingham, moved to London. He trained as a brass cock or tap maker, but by the 1871 census he was described as a toymaker. It’s not known exactly, it’s thought the 1860s, when William Britain started, with the help of his children, to make toys. However by the late 1800s he had built a reputation as a producer of high-quality mechanical toys.

To provide for his growing family, and expand his business, William Britain turned to the idea of making toy soldiers. German makers had somehow monopolised the market and he thought there would be demand for British-made toy soldiers, so began making them in 1893. The success of the toy soldiers was, in part, due to the use of the hollow cast manufacturing process. His son, William Britain Jr, is credited with developing the technique for the firm. In this, the two-piece mould is held together while filled with molten metal. Then, to ensure the inner surfaces are fully coated with metal, the mould is swung. Once a thin shell has formed inside the mould, excess metal is poured out. This reduces the quantity of metal needed to produce the model and gave Britains the competitive edge.

At first, Britains made its soldiers in several different heights, but quickly 52 mm (equivalent to 1/32 scale) became the main scale. The firm continued to develop the toy solder range over the following years, becoming market leader in the process. By 1910, it was reported that Britains was using six tons of lead alloy a week, making 200,000 soldiers. Such was their popularity, Britains opened an office in Paris.

William Britains Sr died in 1907, leaving the family firm to his eldest daughter. She was not interested in running the firm and Britains Ltd was formed to allow her brothers to buy shares and continue to run the business.