Tricycle
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1950 - circa 1959
Materials
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Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 671865
Summary
A 1950s tricycle, recently restored (summer 2015) by the donor (Graham - father). The original colours were blue and red. The tricycle had been stored in the garage and shed and was in pieces before being reassembled. It was bought from Tiptop and was a private sale. The tricycle was bought in circa 1982 for the donors’ Daughter (Lucy) – who was just over 3 years old. Lucy had Perthes disease in her hip bone and had to wear a leather body splint (called a Birmingham Splint – laced up like a corset and down her leg) to enable her leg to be suspended behind her attached by a chain from a special shoe then attached to the splint. She had a modified shoe – an ordinary shoe adjusted to enable the chain to be attached. This kept her from putting weight onto her joint while it healed. The splint was removed 18 months later. She didn’t sleep in the splint. She went swimming regularly. The condition was then corrected. Lucy had to learn how to get about on crutches for quite a long time and she became very good on them after a lot of coaxing and practice, even played football on one leg! She liked to go down the slide. Lucy had a soft toy monkey called Cuthbert which her father made a crutch for! The tricycle was bought to enable Lucy to sit on it – a tricycle was idea as it was stable. Although she could not pedal a bike her parents hoped that she would get some help from the local Kids which she did. They would attach a rope to the tricycle and tow her around the local street pavements. It was kept all these years and it was put in the shed in bits. Lucy carried her dolls and books in the back. The donor (Chris - mother) writes "We first noticed that something was wrong when Lucy developed a limp. Lucy was referred to a specialist and Perthes was diagnosed. Initially she was on traction in hospital, then she had to wear a plaster cast on both legs adjoined by a pole in the center to keep her legs wide apart. Even then she was unstoppable and in the few weeks that she wore the plaster casts she managed to wear it out in places. Following this the Birmingham splint was made. I really used to feel for Lucy especially in the summer having to wear the splint in the hot weather but she never ever complained. She was a little star." Sadly Lucy passed away several years ago – although unrelated to the Perthes disease of her childhood.
Provenance
Donated by Mr and Mrs G. R. Burchell (Graham and Chris) in 2015.