Peter's Minx
Peter Robert Hodgson was born in Hull on 26th November 1923. Stanley Baldwin was the British Prime Minister and it was merely 5 years since the end of the Great War. Sutcliffe Pressings has been making boats for nearly 3 years by now….
Peter would have been about 9 or 10 when he got his Sutcliffe Boat. It’s an early version of the ‘MINX’ 12” speedboat, circa 1932; It has the early plain red name on the bow and came in the early style lift of lid box which was used for the first un-named 12” boats in 1930/31.
Peter's Minx today - praise be for that box!
The box is marked ‘Minx’ in pencil with a price of 5/6 (5 shillings and 6 pence). That was about £13 in today’s money. Compare to the Racer 1 at about 3/6 and Empress at 16 shillings!
It’s not know where Peter’s boat was bought, but it’s quite likely that it was from Hammonds of Hull. In the early 20th century, many towns had very grand department stores, and Hull had one of the grandest. Hammond's was a very grand store indeed and no doubt the toy department would have been a child’s wonderland!
Meccano Magazine - 1932. Some very famous names on that list!
The picture above shows Hammonds department store... impressive eh! Imagine what the toy department must have been like.
Sadly Hammonds was bombed in May 1941 and raised to the ground. A new store would be built in a different location in the 1950’s, but it wouldn't have the same style and opulence as the original.
Peter clearly looked after his boat. The box is intact and and the boat's condition its excellent, but it was also used. Again, it’s not known exactly where Peter sailed his boat, but (again!), like other towns up and down the country in the 1930’s, Hull did have a model boating pond. East Park boating pond was not far from where Peter lived on Anlaby road, so it would have been the obvious place to sail his lovely boat!
East Park boating lake - circa 1935
Peter clearly looked after his boat. The box is intact and and it’s condition its excellent, but it was also used. Again, it’s not known exactly where Peter sailed his boat, but (again!), like other towns un and down the country in the 1930’s, Hull did have a model boating pond. East Park boating pond was not for from where Peter lived on Anlaby road, so it would have been the obvious place to sail his lovely boat!
Peter grew up and the stopped playing with his boat, but it boat remained safe in its box. Peter was in the Signal Corp on the middle east, got a BA back in England and later because the parish priest at the Church of St Oswald in Lythe.
Peter is listed in the wiki section for St Oswald in Lythe....
Peter's precious boat would see the light of day again in the 1960’s when he would show the boat to his then 5 yr old daughter Cath. A bit of tinkering ensured but the boat would go back in its box for another 50 years!
Sadly Peter passed was in 1997, and is wife had to go into a home in 2010, and that is when the boat was found in the loft… still safely tucked up in its box. Fast forward another 13 years and the Peter's boat is safely 'tucked up' in the Sutcliffe Boat Museum for everyone to enjoy.....complete with the scrap of string Peter probably tied on about 90 years ago....