Part Two - Coin

Part Two,
“The first British Coin Machine Distributors “
In the early 1920’s Great Britain enjoyed the start of the industrial revolution,
our troops had come home from France, and families were united and spending
their leisure time at the seaside.
One of the most popular forms of entertainment in those days was to go to the
seaside, take the kid’s with their buckets and spades to play on the beach, or take
a stroll along the walkways of the Pier, most English coastal towns had a steel
pier, these were dotted around the British coastline.
These Piers started being built from around 1880 to 1900, many of them had
large bandstands or pavilions where popular brass bands and popular
entertainers of the day played to capacity audience’s, it was not unusual for
more than 2,000 people a day to pay a Penny to go through the turnstiles just to
stroll along and embrace the ocean air.
After all these were good Victorian times, when ladies dressed up, opened their
parasols and strolled along the prom or the Pier, to be admired by the gentry of
the day in their straw boaters, or put a “Penny in the Slot” of a Peepshow or one
of the novelty machines that were scattered along the walkway’s of these Piers.
From 1875 until 1910 these so called “Pleasure Piers” served a dual purpose,
many of them had a landing platform that the steamships of the day could use for
disembarkation of their passengers, especially at low tide when the steamships
could not disembark or even get into an harbour.
This in turn created crowds from the passengers disembarking at the Pier head
and then they would walk along the walkways of the Pier past the various
“Penny in the Slot” Peepshow machines or the novelty machines of the day, that
were ho so tempting for the passerby to put that “Penny In the Slot” .
Machines were designed with cast iron bases or cast iron feet that kept them at least out of the puddles
of water that would emerge on the Pier walkways after an heavy rain storms
These busy Pier locations became very popular with the coin machine operators
in the area, and so good were these locations that new machines were being
designed and developed with these locations in mind, the biggest drawback with
operating “Penny In the Slot” machines in these locations was the adverse
weather conditions, not only would the steel Piers get a pounding themselves but
the machines that were strung out along the open walkways were left to the
mercy of the weather.
Because of the “Pleasure Pier” locations being seasonal and also mainly being
busy at the weekends, coin machine manufacturers started designing the two
player games, that in theory could take in twice as much money, that theory
being two players would each put in a penny each to play, but because that
meant that one player could not play on their own on the machine the
manufacturers came up with the idea that if two players participated in the game
the winner of that game would get their penny back, so that is how the saying in
the description of these machines “Penny Returns” as most of the machines came
to be known in the trade.
An impressive line-up of two player games (mainly Charles Ahrens models) along the walk up to the
Blackpool “Pleasure Beach” during the 1930’s.
The popularity of the “Pleasure Piers” during the early part of the 19th century
was to set the tone for the operation of coin operated machines at many other
types of locations such as amusement Parks, Railway Stations, Bus Stations and
the new Holiday Camps that would be springing up in the future.
So between 1896 and 1912 there had been several new coin machine companies
designing and manufacturing coin operated machines in cast iron and making
them not only very heavy to keep them from being swept away during the
vicious storms that pounded the British coastline, but also stop them from being
stolen from these locations that where totally left out in the open along the Pier
walkways.
But then everything was to be put on hold, it was now 1914 and for the next four
years, everything would change, it was the start of the First World War
During the years 1914-1918 England would be involved in a War like it had never
known before, England’s young men and Women were called up to join the
various sections of the military and be shipped off to France. (Including many
traveling showmen and women who went to serve their Country) So for the next
four years, the British coastline would stay prepared for any invasion from the
mighty German armed forces.
This meant not only would the “Pleasure Piers” be closed to the public and be
turned into civil defense and embarkation centers for the British troops, but also
to the new coin machine manufacturers that were manufacturing machines for
these locations, they would also be put on hold while they too turned their
production facilities into factories producing materials for the War effort.
We can now fast forward to the early 1920’s, when England was starting to get
back on her feet, between 1918- 1920 many of our young men and women had
returned from the great war and started to build their futures, many of these
young men and women were the traveling showmen who had suffered as much
financially by being closed up from 1914-1918 as they did by losing so many of
their family members who died for their Country during that time.
Oxford St, Giles Fair during the early 1930’s
But the traveling showmen being the breed that they are, also started to prosper
once again, it was about this time that the coin machine manufacturers like
Hayden & Urry, Charles Ahren, Bradley and Bryans were becoming known to
the traveling showmen who were introducing coin operated machines to their
various “Gaffs” (Fairs) also we saw the first coin machine “Jobbers” (as the coin
machine distributors were known from the late 1920’s till the early 1930’s)
popping up and started selling coin operated machines to the traveling showmen,
companies like Kraft Automatics Ltd, Bolands Amusement Machine Supply Ltd,
Chicago Automatic Supply Company, Samson Novelty Company and Ruffler &
Walker Ltd who for the next 40 odd years would dominate the British coin
machine industry.
Amongst the first of these manufacturers was Haydon & Urry who many years
earlier had introduced the traveling showmen to the new moving picture
phenomenon known as The Eragraph, Haydon & Urry was formed in 1893 and in
1896 formed Automatic Machines (Haydon & Urry Patents) Ltd in 1897 Haydon
& Urry’s “Eragraph” was being tested in a tent on a fairground and advertised
as the first Cinematograph to be shown in England, Haydon & Urry’s thinking
was the best way to get a feeling for their Cinematograph machine was to show
it on the traveling fairs that traveled to different venues all over Great Britain.
The “Eragraph” the first Cinematograph to be used by the Traveling showmen in 1897
Haydon & Urry employed three brothers by the name of Monte, they were
George, James and Dick , George Haydon trained these three young men to
become Cinematograph operators, they all had experience in photography, so the
Monte brothers quickly became the main link between the would be
Kinematograph buyers and Haydon & Urry, the brothers built up a trusting
relationship with the traveling showmen ( something along the lines of Ralph
Horwitz who was a trusted supplier of coin operated machines to the traveling
showmen all over Great Britain in later years) that would last for the next
several decades when one of the grand children of Dick Monte would marry into
a traveling showmen’s family, the well known Collins family.
So not only did the traveling showmen start the coin machine industry as we
know it in Great Britain, but also the showing of the first moving picture shows
to the British public.
We are all proud to be travelers, and although Michael Green like his predecessor
the late Ralph Horwitz are and were “Flatties” we can accept them as trusted
associates of the traveling showmen.
Next Week, Part Three:
“The Early British Coin Machine Manufacturers”