When Kathy showed me her Sindy Jack in the Box over a decade ago now, we debated was it real? Kathy was sure it was, and when Lesley contacted us about her Sindy Puppets wearing the same outfit, we were convinced this was not a coincidence. When Margaret sent us pics of another Sindy in the Box, we felt pretty confident she was a real toy and not a one-off. But then Sue really put the cat amongst the pigeons by showing us her Paul in the Box dressed in a medieval jesters outfit. Same type of box clearly labelled as a Good-Wood Toy. We had never seen him before.
We were able to establish quite early on that Good-Wood Toys (Lavant) Ltd did make wooden Jack in the Boxes, but we could only find the Jack in a Box which was a quite scary, furry creature, and the altogether less alarming Teddy in a Box. But no Sindy and no Paul.
It maybe sounds a bit sad, but I have been looking for proof of these two for years. Quite by chance I saw a Good-Wood Catalogue I hadn’t seen before so took a chance and bought it, and to my joy, there they were! I was bemused to see that Sindy was now “Glamorous Jill”, and Paul, bless him, was a Clown in a Box described as a “Jolly Jester”.
That got me thinking about Good-Wood Toys itself and I asked around amongst friends in the Tri-ang community about the company. “Do you mean Scalextric in Havant?” was one reply when I mentioned Lavant near Chichester, the site of the Good-Wood factory. In fact, thanks to the deck chair, four-poster bed, Sindy and Paul jack in the boxes and the Sindy puppets, Pedigree Sindy collectors seem much more aware of Good-Wood Toys.
So over Christmas I got thinking that maybe we ought to improve what we say about Good-Wood and its founder Walter Lines. But as with all these things, as the years go by it gets harder and harder to find information. Good-Wood was established over 60 years ago now. It was not a flashy company, it simply made very nice wooden toys.
Then I came across a very interesting article on Walter Lines on an online website catering to automobile enthusiasts https://velocetoday.com/walter-lines-and-the-british-toy-industry/ so I bought the book “Three Million Miles in a Volvo and Other Curious Car Stories” by Giles Chapman. I was fascinated to read that Walter Lines as a young teenager joined his father and uncle’s firm which made wooden toys. And it made complete sense to me after all his years in toymaking, where he rose to be one of the most powerful men in the business, that when he retired, he would return to his roots. It’s really bizaare sometimes how a completely unrelated subject gives you the inspiration needed on something you are trying to write about. The one thing I couldn’t find was a contemporary photograph of Walter at about the time he was retiring, so I wrote to Giles and asked if we may use his? He replied promptly and kindly agreed. So we have added to Sindy’s four-poster bed page, a short bio on Walter and written down all we could find on the Good-Wood factory, just so it doesn’t get forgotten. And if anyone knows anything else about Good-Wood Toys that they think we should write down, please do get in touch.
All four Good-Wood Toys pages have been amended or tweaked:
The advert has been added to the Sindy and Paul Jack in the Boxes page and the text updated Sindy & Paul Jack in the Boxes
Walter Lines and Good-Wood Toys has been added here Sindy’s Four Poster Bed
A new catalogue photo has been added to Sindy’s Deck Chair which actually refers to Sindy Sindy’s Deck Chair
The Sindy Puppets page has been tweaked Sindy Puppets
With continuing thanks to Lesley, Margaret and Sue for originally sharing, and to Giles for the new photograph.
Kathy and I wish everyone a belated, but Happy New Year!
