MARVELLOUS TOYS
As producers of the Sidmouth Folk Festival Children’s Programme, we’ve teamed up with Sidmouth C of E Primary School and Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum to bring you ‘Marvellous Toys’, a collection of new songs written by pupils and inspired by local people’s memories of their favourite toys from their childhood.
The Day I Got My Doll
Fox Class were inspired by the memories of Rosemary Sowden who talked about her toy doll that she was given growing up in the 1940s.
Here’s what Rosemary says about her doll:
“When I was growing up in the 1940s there were not many toys to play with as toy manufacturing had ground to a halt during the second world war. I had one doll which was my most treasured possession. She was about ten inches tall and had a face made of porcelain which made her very fragile. She was dressed in a long white nightdress which covered her entire body. I would gently lay her down in a makeshift cot that my dad had made for me and took good care of her. She was a very good baby needing no attention whatever, but I loved my little doll and made sure she was always comfortable.
Sadly, I do not remember what happened to her, but I do have very fond memories of her. It is good to see so many dolls of a similar type now on display in the Sidmouth Toy & Model Museum. They remind me of the happy times I had growing up with my family looking after my baby doll.”
Find out more about Sidmouth Toy & Model Museum by visiting their website here.
Marvellous Toys is a collaboration between Little Seeds Music, Sidmouth Folk Festival, Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum, and Sidmouth Primary School, and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The interviews were conducted by Marilyn Tucker of Wren Music.
