Web Page No 2754

 

30th January 2021

 

1^st Picture: The makings for a cotton reel tank

2^nd Picture: A completed Cotton Reel tank

3^rd Picture: A variety of cotton reels from later years

 

Cotton-reel tanks

Way before the days of electronic games we made their own entertainment – and sometimes our own basic toys as well. A real favourite was the cotton-reel tank, made from materials that were readily available in the average household. You required a wooden cotton reel (plastic was no good), a rubber band, a piece of the end of a wax candle and a couple of spent matchsticks. Cotton reels we usually available because most families did a great deal of sewing at home (mending and making clothes) and so empty cotton reels were abundant, if not you could always raid granny’s sewing basket. As children we had a limited amount of pocket money to spend so a toy for nothing was wonderful.

A slice off the end of candle had a hole carefully made in the centre, where the wick was. Through this hole was threaded an elastic band, one end of which was held in place by a wooden matchstick. The protruding loop of elastic band was threaded through the hole down the centre of the cotton reel and secured in place at the other end by half a matchstick. When the longer matchstick was ‘wound up’, the so-called tank would crawl along until the elastic band unwound.

The inspired child could add all kinds of improvements. The ‘wheels’ (i.e. the rims of the cotton reel) could have notches cut into them to give the tank extra grip and to stop it skidding, and the matchstick that made contact with the surface could be replaced with a slightly longer stick. The half-matchstick that anchored the elastic band at the other end of the cotton reel had a tendency to slip and reduce the tension, making the tank stop prematurely, but this was cured with glue or small nail or pin hammered in to stop it moving. The final touch for a really successful and very mobile tank was a coat of paint or painted design.

A single cotton-reel tank was a fascinating toy, since if notched, it would crawl over small obstacles, and with several tanks races could be run, ‘trials’ held over obstacle courses, and even battles fought. Like most simple toys, it was limited only by a child’s imagination. Although sometimes called ‘tractors’, they were generally referred to as ‘tanks’. But when was the cotton-reel tank invented? Did such toys emulate the battlefield tanks of the First World War? Children certainly played with them during the Second World War and the immediate post-war period, but by the 1960s, growing affluence and the increasingly sophisticated toys available in shops, and television, made them an old-fashioned novelty.

Another factor was the demise of the cotton-reel tank of wooden cotton reels with the arrival of plastics. The first plastic reels looked just like wooden ones, both in shape and colour, but did not work as well as the wooden ones. Once the transition to plastic was made, reels of different shapes were introduced.

Cotton reels for use in the home use seem to have been invented in the mid-19th century. Before then, cotton thread was sold in hanks or skeins and was wound on to a winder or into a ball before use. Large wooden bobbins were used only in textile factories and an industry grew up supplying bobbins for the textile factories, and Stott Park Bobbin Mill near Lake Windermere in Cumbria is now preserved as an English Heritage property, with displays showing the history and processes of bobbin making. Stott Park Mill was built in 1835, initially to supply bobbins for textile factories, but later it produced domestic cotton reels and wooden spools for other materials, such as wire. The mill, which continued in production until 1971, now provides a fascinating glimpse of Victorian factory life and is well worth a visit.

Stay in touch

 

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

Griff Writes

Peter's article about harmonica playing artists from years ago reminded me of perhaps the most famous piece of solo harmonica playing which is probably mostly remembered by people of around our age and that solo piece is  called "The Lonely Man Theme" from 1960.

You're never alone with a Strand

A Strand pack

This  television advert depicted a dark, wet, deserted London street scene in which a raincoated character, played by Terence Brook, looking similar to Frank Sinatra, lit a cigarette and puffed reflectively. This was accompanied by an instrumental "The Lonely Man Theme" by Cliff Adams, playing in the background and a voice declared "You're never alone with a Strand. The cigarette of the moment".

The commercial, written by John May, was popular with the public, with Brook becoming a star, and the music reaching Number 39 in the UK singles chart.

However, sales of the brand were poor and it was soon taken off the market. The public associated smoking Strand cigarettes with being lonely and were put off from buying them. It is regarded as one of the most disastrous tobacco advertising campaigns of all time with only 0.3% of male smokers and 0.7% of female smokers ever buying a pack of Strand cigarettes.

For a step back in time when cigarette advertising was at it's height listen to the Strand advert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjBHUQEiTPw

Take Care everyone.  Melvyn (Griff) Griffiths   ( non - smoker )

 

News and Views:

 

On this day 30th January 1960 – 1965

 

On 30/01/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was North by Northwest. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/01/1961 the number one single was Are you Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was The Russ Conway Show (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 30/01/1962 the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/01/1963 the number one single was Dance On - The Shadows and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/01/1964 the number one single was Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/01/1965 the number one single was Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

 

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