Skip to main content

Wend-al Toys of Blandford

These days most toys seem to be made in China. Yet 70 years ago, some very fine toys were made in Blandford. Wend-al was a Blandford company which was a highly regarded maker of aluminium toy figures.

Edgar Kehoe was its founder. Immediately after World War II he was looking for a business opportunity. Travelling in France, he discovered his opportunity in the town of Luxeuil-les-Bains where a company named Quirala was making die cast aluminium figures. At the time, lead was more commonly used in the manufacture of toy figures. This company, located in the French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Compte, did not use lead but solid aluminium. Quirala was a combination of the company founder’s surname Quirin and the word aluminium. Edgar Kehoe realised that solid aluminium was stronger and lighter than lead and would not break. As a consequence, he struck up a deal to use French moulds and so production began in Blandford in 1946. He opened his factory in the former Blandford Isolation Hospital that had just closed. Within 18 months, the company was employing 50 people and exporting its products across the world.

The company prospered and gained an excellent reputation and this led to them making their own range. These figures were identified by having a paper label on the base. Wend-al products were generally divided into three categories. These were figures, such as toy soldiers, zoo & farm animals and farm vehicles. At the time, use of plastics to make toys was in its infancy. However, in time the company was unable to compete with plastic toy competition so the business sadly closed in 1955. Wend-al toys are still highly sought after by collectors and several can be regularly found for sale on the internet. Recently, a rare 1948 boxed nativity set of Wend-al figures was advertised for sale at £470. While a Wend-al salesman’s wooden sample case was valued at £600. In 2005, author Philip Dean published a hard back book, Wend-al of Blandford. It detailed the history of the company and included many illustrations of its products. That year, Wend-al Toys founder, Edgar Kehoe had celebrated his 100th birthday.

Today, all that remains, located close to where the aluminium figures were made, is the name Wendal Road, Blandford.




Labels:

Comments

  1. Joy Reynolds30 September 2021 at 15:59

    Can anyone tell me more about the Model House in Blandford St Mary. I have been told that in the 1940s and 50s, the people who lived here made model toys but I don't kow much more than that.

    Thank

    Joy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15 December 2022 at 16:20

      Hi joy I don't know about toys made in Blandford st Mary but the wendal toy factory was on the upper Shaftesbury road Blandford which was there in the forty's and fifty's I know this because my Dad was a manager there after the war.
      Regards David

      Delete
  2. Flick26 March 2023 at 16:08

    Hi David, that's amazing! Do you know anything about Edward Kehoe himself or have any Wendal toys?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panda Pops

Panda  Blue Rasperry Ade, Strawberry Jelly & Ice Cream and Casper Ghostly Limeade were all unique soft drink flavours produced by the Panda Pops brand owned by Badger Beers. Panda Pops were often sold in small bottles of fizzy drink that were as sweet and sticky as it was as possible for them to be. Other popular Panda Pop flavours were Cherry Ade and Bright Green Cola. Even more singular blends could be concocted by mixing two or more flavours in a Panda Pops mixing bowl. Panda Cola achieved a sort of cult status and there is even a song, ‘ Warm Panda Cola’ . While among Panda aficionados there was even the spoof blend of Princess Diana Memorial flavour! The Blandford drink competed remarkably well against American giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. Panda Pops date back to the 1960s when the Blandford brewer dropped the name of Sunparlor for its soft drink brands. Sunparlor had also been the name of a winning race horse owned by a member of the Woodhouse family. Cream soda was...
2 comments
Read more

Holton Heath's Tragic Explosion

Ten were killed and 23 were injured according to newspaper reports at the time. This made it one of Dorset’s worst ever industrial accidents. Holton Heath employees were blown into unrecognisable fragments necessitating a roll call of the factory’s entire staff before the identities of those killed were identified. Eleven men were originally believed to have been killed but when a roll call was held one turned up. A crimson red plume of acid vapour had towered into the sky resembling the shuddering eruption of a volcano. It was caused by the bursting of a sulphuric acid tank. Close by low buildings vanished and the shock affected houses for 20 miles with roof slates dislodged, ornaments knocked down and windows broken. The sound of the explosion could be heard at Shillingstone some 18 miles away. Closer to the factory, a hoe was wrenched from the hands of a gardener who was flung against a tree. One fortunate employee, Charles Rogers owed his life to having to leave, just before the ...
1 comment
Read more

History Slice with an Aussie Flavour.

  From Dorset Gallows to Van Diemen’s Land is the unlikely but true story of political corruption, hangings and transportation in the small market town of Blandford in Southern England.  It is available as a paperback from  Amazon in the United Kingdom, Australia and the USA. The book uncovers the extraordinary tale of two ordinary men, George Long a shoemaker and Richard Bleathman a butcher. Driven by belief and dissatisfaction they are swept along by events. Sentenced to be hanged in Dorchester Gaol for their protests against political corruption they are instead, following clemency appeals,  transported to Van Diemen’s Land -  on the other side of the world. ‘A fascinatingly  good read.  This book entirely complements the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs - also transported to Australia.’ (Richard Holledge, newspaper editor, freelance journalist - London. As read in the Independent, New York Times & Financial Times. Author of   Voices of the M...
Post a Comment
Read more