Pelham Puppets

Pelham Puppets were simple wooden marionette puppets made in England by Bob Pelham (1919–1980), starting in 1947. While mainly known for making marionettes, the company also manufactured glove puppets, rod puppets and ventriloquist puppets.

Bob Pelham initially started the company as Wonky Toys Ltd on 20 May 1947. The name came from Bob's WWII service nickname, where he was known as 'The Wonky Donkey Officer' as he made small toy donkeys. The company originally started making 'Waloukas', simple wooden toys held together with string. Bob then moved on to making marionettes to sell to children, a new direction as previously marionettes had only been made for professionals. On 14 October 1948 the company changed its name to Pelham Puppets to reflect the change in focus.

One of the keys to the success of the company was the creation of the Pelpup Club for children, which helped to advertise the company's products.

In 1953 the company secured the right to manufacture Disney characters, and Pinocchio became the most popular of the characters they produced.

The factory was initially in Marlborough, Wiltshire. A fire in 1961 created a hiatus in manufacture and led to new ranges being introduced in 1963 and old lines being stopped. The factory was rebuilt and grew in size at the same location, until the site was sold and the factory moved in 1985 to Collingbourne Ducis, also in Wiltshire. It moved again to Gloucestershire in the early 1990s, but the company went into liquidation in 1993.

Bob Pelham continued to head the company and was assisted by his wife Ann; after Bob's death on 19 June 1980, she continued with the business until 1986. In 2008 the Pelham Puppets company was revived by a former employee, David Leech, and it now produces a new line of puppets, some echoing former styles.

Pelham Puppets are very collectible, and those in good condition can change hands for significant amounts of money. There are a number of websites devoted to collecting these puppets.

There are many ranges of Pelham puppets. The main ones are:

Pelham Puppets also made puppets to order for the professional market, used by various companies in their shows. These tend to be larger, ranging from 18" to 2'6".

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