A Christmas Crocodile
Edward Bentall and John McCarthy, Chairman of the Museum Friends, admiring the latest accession to the Museum
A former resident of Kingston has recently presented the Museum with a mechanical crocodile that was given to him as a cherished Christmas present more than 80 years ago.
Behind it lies an interesting snippet of local history dating back to the First World War. At the end of hostilities in 1918, Sopwith's Aircraft Factory, based in Kingston, turned its hand to other mechanical inventions. Two toys were produced: the 'Kingston crocodile' and the 'Toyland Pug'. Both were sold in Bentall's Department Store.
The toy is on permanent display in the Museum and we are now looking for the Pug.
January 2001
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