Scarborough; a very warm day; July 1974. I was seven years old.
We had family on the East Coast and we used to go and visit twice every year; religiously the first weeks in July and September.
It was either a Tuesday or a Thursday (as those we our “official” Scarborough visiting days) and we walked past a different looking shop.
It was strange in that we hadn’t seen anything like it before; a kind of second hand store which sold collectibles and militaria / army surplus.
I can still hear my dad’s words as he pointed to some old looking toys in the window,
“I had boxes full of ‘em when I was a kid!”
We ventured in.
I can still remember the sight and the smell of shop; swords; guns; uniforms ; helmets; flags; daggers; guns; and old toy car and soldiers…like one big jumble sale mixed in a light concoction of a musky odour.
Dad made a beeline for the shelves filled with old looking cars –Dinky, Corgi, and Spot-On.
We were in that shop for ages, much to Mums displeasure!
We came away with:
• Dinky XK120 Jaguar (featured image)
• Dinky Army 10 Ton Lorry
• Dinky Army Water Carrier
• Dinky Army Ambulance with wounded soldier on stretcher
What we bought from that shop unbeknownst to us at the time would change our lives forever and became the seeds of a collection that would still be growing 43 years later.
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