A previous post mentioned how I had seen a coachbuilt pram on display in a residential care home for the elderly.  This is a similar story, as when I had occasion to pop into another care home,  in the entrance was a coachbuilt pram.

This one was a grey Silver Cross, not one of the high coachbuilts, but one on a detachable chassis, a Malvern model I believe. I mentioned to a member of staff that I am interested in prams and she told me that the pram belonged to her and had been used for her own children. As we all know storing prams when they are no longer needed poses something of a problem, so this lady had taken it to her place of work and told me it is loved by the residents.

As we were chatting one of the elderly residents walked towards the pram and started to wheel it around. I was impressed to see how it helped her to walk, she had placed her walking stick by a wall and managed to walk around by holding onto the pram.

After I left it struck me that instead of having shopping trolleys all that is needed is a coachbuilt pram, imagine how much easier it would be to pile shopping into the pram instead of struggling with all those heavy bags! We know the prams are a talking point so it would be a great way for elderly people to make friends and get chance to chat to passers by. No doubt there would be a few laughs too when instead of seeing a baby in the pram, they would see a bag of groceries! But, you never know, it could be a trend that takes off!

Another thought that occurred to me is that  if you are short of storage space for your pram, perhaps you could offer it on loan to a residential care home for the residents to enjoy.

Pram of the Month for August belongs to a lady called Lyn. And I am posting this a day early because Lyn’s birthday is 31st July so hopefully it will be a nice surprise for her to see her pram as Pram of the Month. Happy Birthday Lyn!

The pram is a Silver Cross Ambassador from the 1950’s and has been professionally restored by Pat of Perfect Prams ClassyCanopies (see her facebook page for more info).

A while ago Lyn had asked Pat if she could restore a pram in grey and although Lyn knew Pat had started on the restoration she didn’t know it was finished.

Some prammie friends arranged to meet for lunch at Port Sunlight and unbeknown to Lyn they had also arranged for Pat to deliver her pram as a surprise! I just wish I could have been there to see her face when she saw the pram!

Isn’t it beautiful? I love grey prams, they can be dressed with any colour and always look fantastic as grey is a very neutral colour.

Each time a new post is added to the website subscribers are sent an e mail from the admin for this site. A reminder that if you want to add a comment on these posts then please go to the website and add your comment there. If you reply to the e mail I don’t always receive your comments and they can’t be added to the relevant post.

Sometimes people comment on the website post asking for advice, it is always useful to have input from other Vintage Pram Fans about some of the queries.

Therefore when you read a post on the website,  scroll down and read any comments, or add your own, that way they can be shown for everyone to see which makes the post more helpful and interesting.

So remember – don’t reply to the e mails, click on the website link and leave your comments there please!

When you buy or sell a vintage pram you need to make sure it arrives safely at its destination. I have heard some horror stories from prams being lost or stolen and of otheres being badly damaged in transit.

Therefore it is of the utmost importance that when choosing a courier you choose one that is recommended and has been used by other pram buyers/sellers to deliver or collect a prized pram safely.

If you can collect or deliver a pram yourself  then you will save on courier fees, but if you don’t have a large enough car or van then you may have to hire one. This is worthwhile if you feel you really want to transport the pram yourself. Or you could go by train, many people take their coachbuilt prams on trains but you would have to check the station has a lift between platforms if there are a lot of steps. Compare costs of using your own transport with the fees a courier would charge.

Some of the large courier companies will transport prams, but some will insist on measurements and weight before they will quote a price. Somewhat difficult if you don’t know how much your pram weighs!  A warning to be careful about using a large courier company as many of them use scanners on all the items they transport. A lady I know had her pram delivered by one of the well known companies, when it arrived the body was badly damaged and two of the four wheels were so badly buckled they were unuseable. The seller of the pram had taken lots of photos before she despatched it which was fortunate as she could then prove the damage had been done in transit. The excuse they gave was that the pram had been put through a scanning machine and the damage had been caused from that. A valuable pram was ruined and beyond repair, not to mention a very upset seller and a very disappointed buyer.

Advice I would give is to use someone who appreciates how much our prams mean to us. I have used a courier which is highly recommended by prammies all over the UK, you can find him on Facebook under his title The White Pram Man, where you can find his contact details. His name is Davy and he charges very reasonable prices and will deliver or collect all over the UK. However do bear in mind this is a one man business and you may have to wait a short time until he is in your part of the country before he can arrange to be with you. He is a very pleasant man, highly efficient in that he ties  a label onto your pram and gives you a receipt. But best of all, you don’t need to pack the pram as Davy will pack it securely and safely in his van, using padded covers to protect it all. And perhaps even more important, after he collects your pram it will be stored securely until he is in your area to deliver it.

Davy will usually be able to give you an approximate date when he can deliver or collect, but sometimes delays occur which are beyond his control so please bear this in mind. When using any courier. even if they give you a definite date and approximate time to arrive, delays can occur due to traffic, weather etc.

Our prams are very precious to us, especially vintage ones which are irreplaceable, no amount of compensation from a courier firm can pay for the loss of damage to a loved pram. So please do be careful and heed the advice given here, much better to use a courier that “knows his stuff” than just a parcel courier who probably doesn’t realise the sentimental value of our prams

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I am often asked advice on how to restore a vintage pram,  and one of the problems associated with restoration is how to obtain parts to replace the old ones.

I always recommend you look on E Bay as there are several sellers who specialise in supplying replacement parts for vintage coachbuilt prams, or indeed modern prams.  And it is not just parts you can find on there, in fact you can find all kinds of bargains associated with vintage prams!

To find the items you are looking for just click onto the BUY option on the E Bay site and then type in the item you want, perhaps you need new tyres. It is no use just typing in “tyres” because you will be directed to sellers of all kinds of tyres, and if you type in “pram tyres” you will be shown tyres for all kinds of prams.  It is best to include the word “vintage pram” or the make of the pram such as “Silver Cross” in the search box to be directed to the most appropriate sellers.

In previous posts I have mentioned about buying prams from E Bay, this is an excellent place to obtain vintage prams at a reasonable price but do check the condition before you bid by asking the seller any questions you may have.

Below are some items available from E Bay for prams, as you will see it not only includes pram parts, but also items to “dress” the pram and baby and if you are wanting to dress the part to push your pram at vintage events, then search for clothing and accessories too.

Why not check out these items yourself  by typing these words into E Bay – vintage pram, coachbuilt pram, Marmet pram, Silver Cross pram, Vintage pramset, vintage baby, pram hood, vintage pram tyres, hood arms, vintage dress, forties dress. These are just some of the items you may find on E Bay that will be of interest to anyone with a vintage pram, have a look around and see what you can find!

Pram of the month for September has been sent to me by a Vintage Pram Fan, this is the message I received, with photos of the pram, what a lovely e mail!

I have been a fan of your site for a while since I decided to buy my little boy Mason a silver cross pram for his 1st birthday.

I found a silver cross normandie pram on eBay and have restored it completely myself. I’ve repaired the chrome and painted the wheels and added fur trim around the hood. Then brought a matching mattress and bedding that matches the canopy. I’ve put a lot of hard work into the pram and would love to enter your ‘ pram of the month’

I have attached a photo for you, hope you think I’ve done well with it!

Thank you for al the great advice on your website I’m a huge fan!

Yours sincerely

Carrie

Whenever  I have been out and about at various events or just simple outings with one of my coachbuilt prams, I wish I had a pound for every time I hear the comment “how lovely it is to see a proper pram”. These prams never go out of fashion, last for years and provide not only comfort for the baby but protection from the elements. In a British summer the weather can be very unpredictable, a sun canopy protects baby from the sun and on windy days the pram hood can be used to shelter the baby. An unexpected shower of rain doesn’t send the parent fumbling around underneath the pram for a plastic raincover, the pram hood on a coachbuilt pram is soon pulled up.

I often hear young parents comment that they would love a traditional pram but have no room in their house. In response I am often tempted to say that if they had a traditional pram they would not need all the other pieces of equipment that must clutter up their houses far more than a pram would.

The benefits of a traditional pram far outweigh the modern, flimsy ones. The size of the bed unit in a modern pram is so small that I often see babies with their feet overhanging the end of the bed, in a traditional pram a child has lots of space to lie down and move around as the bed size allows for plenty of “growing room”.  Depending on the individual child a large coachbuilt, such as the Balmoral, can be used until a child is around two years of age as the bed size is 40″ long and even with the hood up there is lots of headroom. The smaller coachbuilt models, such as the Tenby or Kensington, have a bed size of 36″. Compare that with a modern buggy.

The suspension of a coachbuilt pram gives a smooth ride for the baby, the old saying “the bigger the wheels the smoother the ride” is very true. Not only that, but the large wheels makes the pram easier to manoeuvre.

Then there is the cost, “I would love a coachbuilt but they are way out of my price range” is a common remark when I am out and about with my pram. But when I look at the price of a modern pram I really don’t understand this!  Spending almost £1000 on the pram alone is nothing for modern parents, then add the cost of all the extras they feel are necessary and the cost soon mounts up.

Not only will a traditional pram  last for more than one baby without showing any sign of depreciation, it is far easier to keep clean and more hygienic in my opinion.

When my first grandchild was born I bought a Silver Cross Kensington, secondhand but in excellent condition. The cost of this was less than the modern one her mother needed for bus journeys and guess what – the Kensington is still pristine whereas the modern one was consigned to the council tip long ago.

What I found hardest with the modern pram was cleaning the interior bed unit, the fabric had to be removed from the frame and laundered and until that was done the pram was out of use. Even a pram liner seemed so inconvenient to remove for laundering.  With my Kensington a clean sheet over the mattress and other bedding changed daily (or more often sometimes if the baby brought back some milk etc) and the pram was still able to be used.

I fully understand that with today’s lifestyle a traditional style pram is not ideal for everyone, but I do not accept that the cost of buying a coachbuilt is prohibitive or that modern houses are too small for one. Get rid of the baby gyms, playmats and other “Must haves” and you will have space, then look on EBay, Gumtree or Preloved and you will find lots of coachbuilt prams within your budget. And then you will have a pram not only for the first baby but for others that may follow! And when your own children have outgrown it, store it in the loft (more information on storing a pram in a previous post) ready for grandchildren! Surely the initial cost is worth it!

When choosing a pram for a new baby there are a lot of things to consider, and it is good that now more modern parents are realising the benefits of a “proper” pram and opting for a traditional coachbuilt one.

A coachbuilt pram has always been a status symbol, every mother wants the best for her baby and many now choose a coachbuilt model as the latest “must have”. If the budget doesn’t run to a new one then there are plenty of secondhand ones that can be brought up to baby ready standard, even customised so it is a truly unique pram.

It is a source of pride to wheel out a firstborn in a new pram, but nothing can surpass a coachbuilt with gleaming polished bodywork, sparkling chrome and spotlessly clean wheels. Being a proud new mother means you want to show off your new baby to everyone, wheeling around a coachbuilt pram will certainly bring people to admire both the baby and the pram, not always in that order either! A real showstopper!

Today’s young mothers no doubt find their modern “buggies” practical for a modern lifestyle, but will these be around in fifty years’ time or even when a second baby comes along? Is it false economy to pay hundreds of pounds for a modern pram when the advantages of a “proper pram” are so great? Some of the modern prams have a “footprint” that is almost as large as a coachbuilt pram, so they are not, as is commonly believed, smaller.

More and more experts emphasise the importance of a baby lying flat in its pram during those first few weeks, instead of being scrunched up in a car seat or buggy. With a coachbuilt pram, baby sleeps contentedly and safely, stretched out or curled up. Keeping the pram in the main living area of the house enables baby to become used to household noises and family life from the onset. A baby is part of the family and families spend time together, why should a baby be put in its cot for a daytime nap, out of the way of everyone, isn’t it  much better to have baby where you can keep an eye on him/her. Putting baby in the pram for daytime naps also gives a clear message that the cot is reserved for bedtime and may help baby to settle down easier at night.

As the baby grows it can sit up, supported by a backrest, (which is integrated into the pram) and securely strapped in, surrounded by toys and play happily. Older siblings are on an eye level with the baby allowing interaction from an early age. When out and about the child faces mother/father, this has been proved to be advantageous for a baby’s development, only this week I read an article in a daily newspaper about this.

Baby bouncers, playpens, baby chairs and other modern accessories are not needed, a coachbuilt pram fulfils all these purposes, even the smallest house has space for a pram and then benefits from a lack of clutter created by other baby paraphanelia. A pram tray can be used to store items when the pram is in the house, as well as being useful for shopping when out and about.

When another baby arrives the coachbuilt pram can accommodate a baby in the pram, together with an older child (up to 3 years old) safely strapped onto a toddler seat, clipped onto the bed of the pram. No need for cumbersome double buggies that are too wide for normal doorways.

One of the best advantages of having a coachbuilt pram is that the baby sits higher up and is not in line of fumes from passing traffic. Nor is it so low that people in crowded areas trip over the pram and risk falling onto the baby. Most importantly, the protection offered by a coachbuilt pram makes it far safer should a road accident occur and the pram is hit by a car. There have been newspaper reports in the past where a car has mounted the pavement, damaging the pram but leaving the baby unscathed.

Pushing a coachbuilt pram is good exercise, a great way to save the planet instead of using the car for those short trips out. And what an easy way to shed that post pregnancy weight! The bouncy suspension makes pushing these prams a joy and ensures a comfy ride for the baby. It is a true fact that “the bigger the wheels, the smoother the ride”. Bigger wheels also mean it is easier to push a coachbuilt pram through snow.

Look at the picture on the left, showing a coach and horses, in comparison to a vintage Osnath pram, both with big wheels, sheer elegance.

Of course we don’t remember being wheeled out ourselves as babies, but we can ensure our own babies have the same comfort we had, by insisting on a traditional pram and making sure they are wheeled around without feeling every bump and given a smooth ride.

More posts to follow on what to look for when choosing a coachbuilt pram, and how to restore an old one, so keep checking in to the site.

And while you are here, why not take a look at some of the adverts that appear on the right of the posts? Usually these are for related products/services which are there at a glance instead of having to do a search for them, if you see something you are interested in then just click on the ad and you will be redirected to the advertiser’s website.

After a summer of many pram events, some vintage, some WW2 and some just pram walks organised by groups of people interested in prams, we are now nearing the end of events for this year.

One of the last of the WW2 events for 2016 is being held in and around Pickering in North Yorkshire over the weekend of 14th – 16th October.

I attended for the first time last year, the activities were spread over different venues. One town, Levisham  was turned into a French wartime village, Le Visham, other events were taking place at Goathland and steam trains were running on the North Yorks railway throughout the day. I overheard one lady commenting that “the train was absolutely packed! And those  soldiers were SO noisy!” This somewhat amused me, it was as though the event was actually taking place in wartime, with so many servicemen travelling on rail passes this must have been what it was like in the forties.

The local shops in Pickering were decked out with flags and bunting and some had tape on their windows, just as they used to do in wartime as protection against air raids. And if you go, make sure you look in the charity shops for vintage items!

Men, women and children strolled through the streets, dressed in forties fashions. Some of the men were in uniforms, others dressed as “spivs”. Women wore uniforms of the forces, or land army uniforms whilst others dressed smartly draped in fur stoles and pretty hats. Other women portrayed the working classes, with their hair in turbans or headscarves and wearing “pinnies”.

If you do go along to Pickering, especially if you take a pram and a reborn, be warned that you will be mobbed by people wanting to push the pram or hold the baby. Last year I went with my family, they were amused that every few yards I was stopped by someone and before long a crowd of people gathered around. All in good fun of course.

Make sure if you dress up that you keep as authentic as possible with the fashions of the forties – plain, simple dresses with no pleats, frills or other embellishments except for perhaps a brooch or hand embroidery. Stockings were seamed but a line drawn up the back of your leg with eye pencil will suffice! Look on the internet for other ideas, no need to buy something special, I reckon if you search your wardrobe you will find something that can be improvised.

As for the babies and prams – again no frills or fancy pram sets, plain embroidered pillowcases, plain fabric quilts maybe trimmed with a narrow frill of the same fabric. Babies dressed in hand knits, tuck a teddy or other soft toy into the  pram but preferably a threadbare one as even those were in short supply in wartime. Droptoe prams were especially popular throughout the forties, but don’t worry if you don’t have one, you can take a coachbuilt pram from any vintage but make sure you dress it correctly.

Unfortunately I am not able to attend this year, but I look forward to seeing photos from any of you if you do go. Just add them as a comment on here or e mail them to me. Enjoy the weekend!

Pram of the Month is from 1936 – the Lyndon by Silver Cross. I wonder if there are any 80 year olds around who were pushed around in this pram?

The price was 5 guineas – five pounds, five shillings. Available in several colours the pram could also be ordered in white, but at an extra cost.

And look at the Silver Cross logo in the bottom left of the picture. This was replaced with a different one after the outbreak of WW2 as it resembled a swastika.

Each year manufacturers of baby products attend a Trade Exhibition where they can show off their latest designs and models, this has been happening for many decades and often prams and related items would be included in exhibitions focussing on the home, not just dedicated baby equipment trade shows.

At the beginning of the 1960s, some of the well known manufacturers of baby products were preparing to display their latest items. Royale Baby Carriages, who were based in Nunhead Grove, London SE15 had a new pram, the Newport, which had a 42 inch body with 24 and 20 inch wheels, this retailed at£29.17s, just under thirty pounds. They were also displaying the Boston model, which was a detachable body on 18 and 14 inch wheels, with a fold over handle, and this retailed at £25.13s.9d. The Rye model was on 14 inch wheels and was £24.16s.6d. New colours for the year were Jade, cornflower, peony and Windsor grey. Below is a picture of a Royale pram which I found on a visit to a steam railway a few years ago.

Tansad Holdings of Great Bridge, Staffordshire introduced two new high coach built prams, four prams with detachable bodies , one drop end pram and five pushchairs, including one twin pushchair. The high pram was called the Flair, and the detachable ones were Felicity, Diadem and Society. 

Prams were very much sought after and pram manufacturing was an expanding trade, gone were the days of the fifties when everyone was recovering from the war years and prams had been handed down. Those little girls who were growing up in wartime were now the mothers of the 1960s, who wanted the latest pram models for their new babies and there was plenty of choice.

Swallow Prams of High Road, Tottenham, London N17 offered a wider range of prams and pushchairs, the Consort sold at £17.10s.0d , Madison £17.19s.6d and the Havana being the most expensive at £21.19s.6d. Swallow had not only introduced new models to their range but they had improved some of their existing models and colours included the popular duo tones.

I wonder how many of these prams have survived today and how much they are worth now!

Amongst my papers about vintage, coachbuilt prams, which have been collected over many years, I came across information from the 1970’s with advice on how to buy prams and pushchairs and it makes quite interesting reading.

The advice is divided into sections – Buying a steel body pram, buying a soft body pram and buying pushchairs. Have ideas changed since the seventies or is the advice still applicable to today’s parents? Read on and decide for yourself.

A steel body (or coachbuilt) pram is advised for babies born in the winter months as these prams offer better protection against the cold weather.

It goes on to say that if you enjoy walking on a daily basis then these prams are strong enough to last a long time, there is space for shopping and the springiness makes them easy to push and comfortable for baby, adding that a coachbuilt pram is a good investment for anyone planning to have more than one baby as it will see you through several babies.

The article then goes on to say that unless you have a lot of storage space at home, and you travel by car a lot, then you may be better off with a soft bodied pram. These prams fold flat and will not only fit into a car but they can be carried upstairs for people who live in flats. They are also recommended for babies born in spring and summer when protection from cold winds is not as necessary. 

Suggestions for using a pushchair are made if the pram is to be used for only one child, and advises that the baby can be transferred into a pushchair from a carrycot at around 6 months.  An interesting piece of information is where it suggests that a lightweight buggy is okay for holidays and short trips but no good for every day use as they are not designed for durability. And the most important is where it states that a baby should be able to lie flat in a pushchair.

I don’t think there is anything that we didn’t already know is there in this information? But I am still amazed to hear parents say “I have only a small house, so don’t have space for a traditional pram”, or “if I take a pram in the car it means I have to wake the baby up to lift him out of the car seat.” Goodness, however did we manage in the previous decades!

I know parents are advised not to leave a baby in a car seat for more than three hours, yet I still see them in shopping malls. How long is their journey to and from the shops? How long do they spend shopping?

However, on the other hand, I have also noticed a lot of new parents pushing a modern version of a lie-flat pram. Thank goodness manufacturers are taking heed of traditional advice.

(all pictures courtesy of Silver Cross)

Maybe the title of this article is a little misleading, but read on!

Lots of young parents nowadays tell me they can’t have a coachbuilt pram because it would be too big for their house. This leaves me baffled! How did our grandmothers manage, they often only had one living room which had to be used as a kitchen, dining room and living room, possibly for a large number of children too. But they still found space to have a coachbuilt pram.

I was out with my pram a while ago and a very old lady stopped to admire it,  she was 93 and my word what a remarkable lady she was! She told me she was one of 12 children and they lived in a “one up, one down” house, that is one room downstairs and only one bedroom upstairs, no indoor bathroom. I am sure a lot of us remember these houses, some of you may even have lived in one.

The lady told me her name was Violet and went on to tell me about her childhood. Being next to the eldest in the family she knew a lot about babies and told me that the children were never told when a new baby was expected, the first inkling they had was when their mother said she felt unwell.Then either the next morning when the children got up, or in the afternoon when they came home from school, there was a new brother or sister!

All the children in Violet’s family were born at home, she exclaimed it was beyond belief that the whole family slept in one room but were undisturbed by the mother in labour or the cries of the new baby.

Violet remembered her mother had a “large black pram” but couldn’t remember the make. This pram was bought secondhand from a neighbour when the first child arrived and continued to give good service for the rest of the 12 children. “My mother would have the new baby in the pram, the next youngest sitting in the bottom of the pram and the rest of us toddling alongside and we walked miles”.

The pram was kept in the living room and Violet told me she remembered how her younger brothers and sisters had to vacate the pram to make way for a new baby, sometimes when they were little more than a year old. By the time each child reached two years of age they were expected to walk everywhere, but if their little legs were tired they might be allowed to sit on the pram if there was room amongst the next youngest babies and the shopping.

So if young parents today think they have it hard, having to lift their baby out of the car into the pram when out shopping, or thinking they have no space in the house for a coachbuilt pram, they should read this and hear how Violet’s mother coped!

Oh and what happened to the pram after Violet’s mother had no more babies? “Well, it was a bit battered but my mother always kept it spotlessly clean and when she had done with it she passed it on to a neighbour.”

Can you imagine any of today’s flimsy prams lasting through so many children? No, neither can I!

How many of us would have loved to work for one of the large pram manufacturers in the days when they were producing coachbuilt prams? Imagine what a pleasure it would have been to see these being brought to life, from pieces of metal the pram bodies were shaped, stove enamelled in different colours, coachlines and other decorations added. Interior bedlinings fitted, hoods and aprons fixed, wheels and chrome work, and handles all had to be in place before the pram was passed for final inspection.

Throughout the process different workers would each do their own job to produce the finished product and each stage underwent rigorous inspection to make sure it was of the highest quality. Then the testing to make sure the pram wheeled correctly! That would be my perfect job – imagine being able to wheel different prams around the factory floor all day long to test they were suitable for sending out to retailers!

Of course, as well as pram manufacturers other companies were making sun canopies and leather reins. And not forgetting the makers of beautiful baby clothes and pram quilts and rugs.

Maybe some of you worked in a pram factory, or perhaps in a related trade? Maybe you worked in a babywear shop or one of the large department stores that sold prams. If so, do share your memories with us.

Below are some old pictures of the inside of the Silver Cross factory when it was situated in Guiseley (all photos courtesy of Silver Cross)

Please look carefully at these beautiful prams – have you seen any of them? Have you been offered one that is for sale? Look carefully at the photos, the colours, the designs on the sides, etc.

Sadly all of these prams were stolen this week from a pram collector in Nottingham, UK. The premises had security in place and police have been informed, but understandably the owner is very upset.

Unfortunately this is not the first instance of prams being stolen, not very long ago some were stolen from a courier’s van as they were awaiting delivery to their owners, one of these was a twin dolls’ prams that had been owned by the same person for many years and had been sent away for restoration. This is a photo of it:

Prams not only have financial values, they also have great sentimental value and even though they may be insured that does not compensate for how much they mean to the owner.

Do make sure that wherever you store your pram that it is in a secure place, also mark the pram with identifying marks such as your postcode either by using an ultra violet pen or by etching into the metal. Take lots of photos of your pram, from every angle, make a note of any marks, scratches, dents etc that will help identify your pram if it is stolen. CCTV is a good idea, you can keep your premises under surveillance and tracker devices in the prams are invaluable.

But above all, please spread the word about these prams which have been stolen, let’s make them too hot to handle so whoever has taken them will find it difficult to sell them on.

My website is viewed by pram enthusiasts all over the world, please spread the word amongst the pram collector community wherever you are, not just in the UK. Add a link to this post on your facebook group or your own facebook page, anywhere you think may help to alert prospective buyers. Look on selling sites, such as E Bay, Preloved, Gumtree and local ads in your own areas.

If you are offered one of the stolen prams for sale, or see one, then notify the police and tell them you believe them to be stolen goods. If you can take photos of the pram and the person with it that will be helpful too. Enquiries into these thefts are ongoing and there is a good chance the culprits may be found, but in the meantime please be vigilant because if the thieves decide to dispose of them quickly they may try selling them on. If that happens the buyer will be guilty of receiving stolen goods.

For more tips on security for your prams please go to the search box at the top right hand side of the webpage and it will show you relevant posts.

Pram of the Month for November is a dolls’ pram from Silver Cross, the Millenium pram.

This model was produced for the year 2000 and was a limited edition. The body was cream and each pram had a numbered plaque on the side. The hood and apron were navy and there was a matching pram bag. The pram was on straps, modelled on full size style prams.

I bought mine secondhand from a girl who had received it new when she was about 8 years old, but when she was leaving home to go to university she decided it was time to part with all her toys to raise funds for her years as a student. No amount of persuasion could encourage her to keep it, safely stored at her parents’ house, until such time as she may have a little girl of her own. I often wonder if she now regrets letting it go, her university life over a few years ago now and by now she may be thinking ahead to starting her own family.

It is always sad to part with a pram that was bought for a child, but we have to accept it was given to them and as such they are entitled to do as they like with it.

I received the following as a comment from a lady in Canada, but felt it needed to be a post as it is so interesting and I am sure many of you will be able to identify with what the writer has to say, in response to an earlier article about working at Marmet, thank you Sandy for sharing your story with us. I am not sure what model you mention, but this picture is of a Silver Cross Regency which was available in two tone colours so may well be the same as yours.

Hi Lucy and all! I truly enjoyed reading Margaret’s recollections of her time spent at the Marmet factory, in fact I was jealous of the fact that she was around all those gorgeous prams every day. What an amazing experience that must have been.

I’ve always been obsessed by prams. When I was 11 years old my Mam became pregnant with my little sister and I was so excited, you’d think it was me having the baby! All through her pregnancy, I was scoping out all the prams I saw on the streets and right from the start was drawn to the Silver Cross/Wilson high prams, but I studied them all before deciding which would be my little sister’s pram.

After Susan was born, Dad and I took the bus down town then walked inside the big Upton’s Store that sold Silver Cross and Wilson prams. I dashed over to the big 2-tone green Wilson high pram on display, as this was the one I had loved right from the start. So poor Dad didn’t have a chance because I wanted THAT pram so badly. It was very expensive at 33 pounds, but it’s the one Mam and I wanted (she loved that model as much as me so poor Dad din’t have a chance:-) So Dad made the arrangements to finance the pram, bag and canopy, then I proudly pushed this big, beautiful, empty pram all the way home.

Once susan was a bit older I was allowed to push that pram with her in it all over the place and sometimes wore my roller skates too. I walked many miles pushing that pram and always took a baby bottle and extra nappy with me in the bag at the front. Mam used to say that she didn’t know she had a baby!

BTW, the two-tone model that we had was the one with the shaped chassis and a chrome strip accent that ran across the lower part of the side of the pram. Does anyone remember that model? There was another style option that didn’t have the chrome accent strip but sported a chrome motif on each side instead. It was 1958 and my little sister is now 58 years old.

When Susan was about a year old, Mam sold the pram to her sister in law who was expecting a baby. A Silver Cross, Airforce blue push-chair with hood and apron was purchased to replace it. The frame and metal parts of the push chair were pale blue. I can remember being very upset that “MY” pram was gone.

Many years later, after emigrating to Canada, getting married and expecting our first baby, we bought a Tan-Sad pram in 1971. This lovely pram, with many upgrades and renovations over the years as three more sons followed the first has served us well. Now my grand-babies get the pleasure of using “my pram” when they come to visit us.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their memories.
Sandy.

Throughout winter it is inevitable that the white tyres on your pram will soon become dirty after every outing. It is best if you can clean them as often as possible, but if they are still grubby and grey looking then you may want to paint them in readiness for Spring.

I use a product from car accessory shops such as Halfords, tyre wall paint, which is used to whiten the tyres on cars and hence is very durable. There are other products for sale on auction sites but unless you can be sure of the make up of the paint then it is best avoided. Similarly with using shoe or trainer whitener, this is not meant to come into contact with the ground and will soon wear off if you use it on tyres.

The tyre wall paint is easy to use but you do need to be very careful to mask off the chrome before you start. Remove the wheels from the pram and wash and thoroughly dry them before commencing. A thin paint brush is preferable as you can get close to the rims. You may need to apply two coats of paint, allowing to dry between coats. Once the wheels have been painted don’t rest them on newspaper whilst they are still wet as the print will come off and you will have to start all over again. It is much better if you can suspend the wheels until they are completely dry, perhaps hang them on a clothes line or something similar.

The paint is also perfect if you are restoring, or simply cleaning up, a pram that is to be used for a new baby. We all remember how proud we were of pushing our new babies out in their sparkling new prams, everyone could tell it was a new pram because of the very clean tyres!

If you need tips on cleaning your tyres just go to the website www.VintagePramFan.com and type “tyres” into the search box at the top left of the webpage and relevant articles will come up. And if you have any tips you would like to share please leave a comment.

Another tip worth remembering in winter, if we have bad weather then wheeling your pram through snow helps to clean the tyres! Just make sure you dry the chrome afterwards to remove traces of salt that may have been used to grit pavements and roads.

Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think this year has simply flown and we are into December already!

For something a little different this month I am asking if any of you remember receiving a dolly pram for Christmas and, if so, would you like to share your memories with the rest of us? You can e mail me at VintagePramFan@hotmail.com and I will add your stories to the website over the coming weeks to take us through to Christmas.

Alternatively, perhaps you are restoring a pram or have bought one for Santa to deliver to some lucky little girl (or boy) this Christmas?

A few years ago when my granddaughter was only 3 years old I bought her a Silver Cross Millenium dolls pram, to be honest I think I was more excited than she was! The pram was far too big for her at that time and much too heavy for a three year old to push so it was kept stored away until she was a bit older. But then I realised as this was a Special Edition pram it was not really suitable for a child to play with and more of a keepsake model so I sold it and bought her another one to restore. She is now older and doesn’t even remember the Millenium pram, but absolutely loves her older one.

S0 if you are thinking of buying a dolls pram this Christmas perhaps you should bear in mind the age of the child before opting for a coachbuilt one, there are some lovely smaller models that are suitable as first prams for young children.