Reminiscence Group

Reginald's Story

Reginald Higgins was shy but he was proud of his hair, he was one of the Brylcreem Boys. He was quite the handyman, always willing to do repair jobs for he neighbours. His brother was in the war but he was excused military service due to a heart condition.

He enjoyed making toys out of wood. Friends would bring him odd pieces of wood to make toys for Christmas. He also made model farms and used little lead animals, trees, model ponds, ducks and Shire horses. The children had a lot of fun arranging them on the models. Instead of getting money for these toys, he was given sandpaper, paint and nails as these were in short supply.

He became well known and was approached by the War Dept., His background was checked and he was cleared and asked to make a model copied from a photograph of a harbour which was on the French Normandy coast. The model was collected by two army officers and Reginald was sworn to secrecy. Reginald felt he was doing his part for the war effort. Several mothers were waiting for toys for Christmas and he found it difficult to explain the delay.

Meanwhile Reginald's wife was busy in the kitchen making jams and preserving fruit, some of which was sold for the Spitfire Fund. The war ended, he tidied up his workshop and his elderly mother passed away.

His eldest child handed all his models, tools and books to the local museum. They were then sorted by the Curator for future generations.

© 2003 Audrey, Brian, John & Muriel
Reminiscence Group, Bedford Museum