The collector: Andrew Thornton, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, UK.

The collection: Toy soldiers.

The story behind the collection...

I have collected many things over the years related to my interest in Military History, such as medals, uniforms, photographic postcards and other ephemera, but this collection of toy soldiers is something that I began recently.

My interest in them, in military history and the evolution of military uniforms stems from being born and spending the first years of my life living at Hyde Park Barracks in London, where my Dad was serving with The Blues and Royals Mounted Squadron of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. Seeing soldiers in ceremonial uniform on a daily basis at such an early age sparked an interest that has remained with me ever since.

I had a large collection of toy soldiers when I was a child. I think some of them are still lurking in my parent’s loft. However, this collection is one that I started fairly recently. As I am now a father to a four and a half year old son, William, I tend to visit toy shops more regularly and discovered that Britains Deetail and Airfix toy soldiers are still being made. Having bought a few of these for my son to play with, I also discovered that there are many manufacturers of metal “toy soldiers” which are sold as collectables. Many years ago, these would have been made from lead, but now are made of pewter or other alloys.

The reason for me starting to collect this type of metal toy soldiers is that they are miniature representations of the ceremonial uniforms worn by the British Forces and look impressive and colourful when displayed in large numbers. I have only been collecting them for a couple of years but I have been collecting military items for over twenty. I used to have a collection of medals, uniforms, photographs and other ephemera relating to local regiments, such as The South Staffordshire Regiment and The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. However, due to financial demands, I had to sell the vast majority of this collection and only have a small fraction left.

My toy soldier collection is of a modest size at the moment but is expanding when finances allow for the odd purchase. I display them on a shelf on a bookcase, arranged as if on parade.

My favourite find is not an item but rather a manufacturer of toy soldiers called Asset Miniatures. They are a small firm but I can ask them to produce a particular item to my painting instructions and they will do it for me without any problem. This is great as it means that my collection can evolve into something unique to me rather than relying on standard sets of soldiers that are produced in larger quantities by other manufacturers.

Eventually, I would like to expand my collection to include as many representations of the participants of the Coronation Procession in 1953 as possible. On the day itself, the officers and troops taking part in the procession or lining the route totalled 29,200: 3,600 from the Royal Navy, 16,100 from the Army and 7,000 from the RAF, 2,000 from the Commonwealth and 500 from the 'Colonies'. There is no way that I have the space for such a huge display, but a more modest version would be an interesting project.

If you are interested in the evolution of toy soldiers, particular those made by Britains, who are the pre-eminent manufacturer in the field, I can recommend the following books:

Stuart Asquith: The Collector's Guide to New Toy Soldiers, Argus Books, UK, 1991.

James Opie: Toy Soldiers, Shire Publications Ltd, UK, 1983 The Great Book of Britains, New Cavendish Books, UK, 1993.

Joseph T. Wallis: Regiments of All Nations: A History of Britain Ltd. Lead Soldiers 1946-66, Joe Wallis, US, 1981.

Images © Graham Powell, Obsessionistas with the kind permission of Andrew Thornton.