大象传媒

During the war, factories which had produced toys were turned over to the production of equipment and munitions. This meant that new toys were in short supply and the lead up to Christmas could could be very stressful for parents wanting presents for their children.
One Christmas (it may have been 1944) my grandmother spent hours searching for a toy she could buy for my father. Finally she came accross a shop which had a few home-made toys and this enabled her to get a single present. Even today he still has the little car, made of a little piece of wood about three inches long and cut into a car-like profile. It is painted with a thin green paint and has dabs of metallic paint to represent the windows. Four small tin buttons were nailed to the sides to act as wheels. It is a far cry from the presents children demand today but it meant an awful lot more.
Out in the countryside of Kent, my mother's family had similar difficulty getting toys. In 1944 however, a P.O.W. camp was established close by and my grandfather was able to buy money boxes in the form of wooden tanks, whose turrets could be removed, which had been made by German P.O.W.s. These proved very popular presents for my mother and uncles.

Paul Geddes

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