Mills Novelty Co.

The World's Fair, January 19th 1963

Based in Mossley, Mills Novelty Co. were a well known manufacturer of slot machines.  They branched out into kiddie rides in 1962, their first model being Jumbo the Elephant, soon followed by Piggy Bak the Pig.

Unlike many of the 1960s ride manufacturers who attempted to rival the big names of Edwin Hall and Robinson Partners, Mills Novelty Co. appear to have been quite successful and sold quite a substantial quantity of Jumbo and Piggy Bak rides.  They certainly pop up often in old photographs and postcards of seaside resorts from the time.  Mills added another popular ride to the range in 1964, a brown horse sold under several names including Blaze and Goldie.

Mills Novelty Co. animal rides are easily identified by their unusual "stocky" body shape (quite uncomfortable for a young child to straddle!) and the fact that their coin slots were located in the front of their saddles, enabling the child to activate the ride themselves from a safe seated position.

Later adverts placed in The Coin Slot show Mills Novelty Co. selling both "Jumbo" and "Elephant" alongside each other.  I'm unsure if these were two different models...or maybe the same model in different colours?  A camel was also apparently added to the range, but sadly I have never seen this ride so guess the popularity of Mills' rides was short lived.

The Coin Slot, April 29th 1967

A 1971 advert also lists a "Hovercraft".  The format of the advert is not exactly clear as to whether this is a kiddy ride or not, but as it is described as a "2 seater", I presume it was.

The Coin Slot, June 12th 1971

Ride releases

1962 - Jumbo
1963 - Piggy Bak
1964 - Goldie the Wonder Horse
Unknown - Camel, Hovercraft (?)