Bob’s puppets brought joy to a generation of youngsters
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HAVE you visited the Wow Gallery at The Wilson yet?
It’s the perfect place to spend an hour or so or even longer.
It’s a fun place to play and discover all sorts of objects related to animals.
There are pots, pictures, things that would have been worn and others that would have been played with.
Some objects are behind glass for you to look at and let your imagination wander but also there are many objects to handle and play with, stories to read, stories to discover and you can make up your own stories.
Nestled in one of the cases is this particular cat which is a Pelham puppet.
Pelham puppets began their life after the Second World War and were the creation of Bob Pelham.
During his time in the army he was known as The Wonky Donkey Officer because he loved making little wooden donkey characters.
This passion was the seed for his toy business launched after the war.
He tested the idea on Jan Bussell and Ann Hogarth (operators of the children’s television programme Muffin the Mule).
He set up his company Wonky Toys Ltd in Marlborough and started designing puppets which were simple enough for young children to operate.
With a small number of employees most puppets were made from recycle materials.
It took some time to convince retailers to sell his puppets but eventually Hamley’s in London allowed him to come in and give demonstrations.
Their popularity translated into sales and toy shops across the country began placing orders.
By 1952, five years after the company launched, Bob Pelham moved his workshops to larger premises in Marlborough where the company remained until it ceased trading in 1987.
The company produced 1000s of puppets in different sizes and colours orgainsed in diferent designs and sets.
One of the company’s greatest achievements was to win the rights to produce a set of Disney puppets including Mickey Mouse.
Following on from this, Bob won the rights to other brands including The Magic Roundabout, The Muppets and The Wombles.
Going from strength to strength the company was hit with tragedy in October 1961 when the factory caught fire and was almost completely destroyed.
Not one to give up Bob and the rest of his colleagues set about rebuilding a new factory on the same site and the 1970s proved to be their busiest decade.
The company expanded to meet the growing demand from home and abroad and at the height of their success Pelham Puppets were exporting to 40 countries.
This success had its consequences and for Bob took the fun out of the making.
Sadly the company suffered in the mid 1980s financial crash then even more so when Bob died suddenly in 1980.
His wife continued the business for six years then decided to retire and close the business.
The rights were purchased by Bob’s long-time friend David Leech later bought the business and continues to produce Pelham puppets to Bob’s designs and his introduced some new ones.