We would like to dedicate Toydetectives.com to the memory of my hero; mentor; fellow collector – my Dad and Uncle to Bazza, Derek Kelly.
Dad was a real petrol-head, he loved all makes of cars, especially Jaguars.
We started to collect in the summer of 1974 whilst on holiday in Scarborough. I was seven years old. We walked past a shop what you could describe as mix between a junk shop and an army surplus store. There were some old Dinky Toys in the shop window.
Dad pointed them out to me as he had “boxes full of ‘em when I was your age!”
We walked in and embarked upon a journey together that would last until the 25th November 2016, when Dad left us for to take his place in the Promised Land. It was a journey that had some special times, meeting many characters along the way – most great, and the odd one extra special. We roamed the country’s junk shops; jumble sales; swap meets, antique fairs; charity shops; newsagents and flea markets, hunting for the next model to add to our collection. We collected all sorts Dinky, Corgi, Solido, Tekno, Rio, toy soldiers, comics, sci-fi stuff…whatever took our fancy. Dad’s great love were Matchbox Models of Yesteryear!
We bought things back in the day that we couldn’t afford to buy now; don’t get me wrong, we didn’t always buy well, we also bought some duffers along the way.
But most of all, we were together, and that’s what mattered the most. We learned, we loved, and we laughed!
Dad walked tall because love oozed from every pore in his body. He walked tall with God and when he couldn’t walk, God carried him. Dad’s greatest love was for my Mum, and he loved lots of people and the love he gave was reciprocated because lots of people loved him.
Thanks for everything Dad; the love; and the collecting knowledge – we couldn’t have done all this without you!
Si and Bazza