Children’s toys – the ‘make do and mend’ way

For centuries, children’s toys were generally home-made, created out of other everyday objects. But many museums also have toys that were home-made as a result of rationing resulting from the Second World War. As well as affecting food and clothing, the war restricted toy production.

Child’s scooter

Ryedale Folk Museum 

Many materials, including rubber and metal experienced shortages – exactly the objects that you might expect to find in a child’s scooter.

This scooter might not have been a top-of-the-line model, but it would have made a treasured gift at the time. Crafted by her illustrious Uncle Jack upon his return from the frontlines, it must have been wheeled proudly by its young owner, Judith Ann Kneeshaw.

Many families had been separated for months and even years by the war, as had presumably been the case with this family.

The scooter is also a lovely example of what can be achieved by recycled materials, with the hinges even repurposed from old window latches.

 

 

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Activity – Explore the story behind the scooter.

 

Why did so many families have to ‘make do and mend’?

Items that had previously been imported were no longer able to enter the country easily and many materials and factories were needed for making essential products and munitions.

A government campaign encouraged the population to ‘Make Do and Mend’. This phrase gets used today to encourage people to be more environmentally-aware as consumers, as well as the phrase ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.

Jill’s Biggin Croft House

Highland Museum of Childhood

Many materials, including rubber and metal experienced shortages – exactly the objects that you might expect to find in a child’s scooter.

This incredible dolls’ house was created by May Armstrong for her daugher Gillian, known as Jill, whilst Jill’s father was serving during the Second World War. He was a captain in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, leaving May, like many mothers, to care for the family at home.

May showed incredible creativity whilst constructing this house out of a wooden crate in the style of a traditional biggin croft house. Can you see the plaster applied to the walls, as well as a straw thatch?

May also used fabric scraps for curtains, melted sardine tins for the fire grates and matchboxes to make the kitchen drawers.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Home-made toy farm animals

Portland Basin Museum 

Wooden toy farm animals like these would have been commonly found in many homes during the 1940s and 50s. Children still play with farm animals today, although they are relatively unlikely to have been handmade.

Each animal has been simply constructed on a small wooden platform to make it easier to ensure that they stand upright. Their carver only need to create an outline for each animal in wood, then fill in details with paint.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Talking Points
Which toys would you miss if they couldn’t be manufactured?

Do you think this scooter looks safe to ride?

Do you think children will be riding scooters in another hundred years?

Have you ever had a scooter? Would you like a scooter like this one?

Nowadays, lots of adults ride scooters too. Why do you think that is? 

Do you ever make your own toys?

Why do you think homemade toys are better for the environment?

How else could you get hold of toys, so as to reduce damage to the environment, without buying them new? 

 

Activity – Create your own scooter design  

 

In the Classroom

Hotseat

Interview a member of the class in role as the scooter’s owner about her present.

Did she like it? Where did she go? Why was it so special?

Or hotseat Jill about her incredible dolls’ house. What do all her friends think of it?

Hold a debate

Explore Jill’s croft house in more detail on Museum of the Highland and decide, is it time children stopped getting new toys?  

Hands on History

Ryedale Folk Museum’s collection has lots of objects and buildings to help you explore childhood. Visit the Victorian school room, or take part in a range of family-sized traditional games around the six-acre museum site.

Borrow loan boxes to explore childhood and the home front during World War Two from Tameside Museums service or take your group to pay them a visit or join in a workshop.

Find more incredible Highland toys and games at Highland Museum of Childhood. 

 

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