R.G. Mitchell (Sales) Ltd.

 Robin Guthrey Mitchell Snr. was a Lincoln-trained engineer and Skegness-based amusement arcade operator.  He was the third generation of his family to work in the amusement machine industry.  Robin also managed both of his father, William Mitchell's arcades "Coinsville" and "Copperama" (earlier named "Gaytimes" and "Funfair", I believe) for a while.  One winter in the late 1950s, during the long months when the arcades were closed, Robin started carving wooden animal kiddie rides in a small shed along with two part time helpers.  His first ride was "The Pony Express" (later renamed "Rocky"), quickly followed by a camel which would be known as "Humpy".

The rides were a big success and, by 1962, Mitchell had moved to premises in Briarway, Skegness and increased his range to six solo rides and a two-seater roundabout.  He began using fibreglass for his rides shortly afterwards.  One interesting thing to note is that all of Mitchell's original wooden rides would later have their own updated fibreglass counterparts.  While the fibreglass versions didn't always look much like their wooden predecessors, they all shared the same names.

By 1968, Robin Mitchell was employing 30 men and producing around fifteen rides per week.  The firm operated rides as well as selling them and had contracts with Tesco, Fine Fair and Victor Value.

Phonographic were major distributors for the firm in the late 1960s.  At this time, J C Barry was working for them as sales manager.  Barry would later start his own ride manufacturing firm, BAFCO, in 1981.

The company was very successful, and their 9000 square feet premises became too small for the number of rides being manufactured and operated.  In 1970, they built a new £35,000, 27,000 square foot factory in Heath Road, where they would remain until the company was sold over forty years later.  A sprinkler system was set up in the new factory to bring insurance costs down from £2000 to £200.  Robin Mitchell made enquiries and, for an extra £500, was able to have a 40' by 15' swimming pool built into the factory using the water from the sprinkler system!  The water supply was conveniently located near central heating so the pool could be heated too!

With their new bigger premises, RG Mitchell were able to become bigger on the export scene.   In 1971, they appointed Swedish agents, AB Big Bronco of Stockholm.  The firm were already exporting to Finland, Norway, France, Belgium, Trinidad, Thailand, Persia and South Africa, and the list of countries would just continue to grow.

Robin Mitchell was always involved in all aspects of arcades and took a keen interest in the future of the industry.  In August 1974, with the machines in his own operation already having their prices upgraded, he campaigned to get the "default" price of rides changed from 2p to 5p.

The Mitchell empire just went from strength to strength.  In 1975, they bought out Edwin Hall & Co. and MK Chester (Engineering).  For a while, Mitchell sold a specialised "Edwin Hall range" and "Mike Chester range", continuing to manufacture many of both company's designs.  Even once these ranges ceased to exist, aspects of both Hall's and Chester's rides could be seen in the Mitchell line.

  In January 1976, Mitchell announced another 7000 sq. ft. extension was to be added to the factory by summer.  By this point, he had sixty employees and a massive five thousand rides being operated across the UK.  They had more business than at any time before, and the manufacturing side was almost entirely occupied with export work.  They bought a majority share holding in Paris-based kiddie ride operator S.A. Blitha which further increased their export work.

  In the mid-70s, Mitchell's rides were already popular in British shops, supermarkets and arcades.  Now they turned their attention to travelling funfairs and amusement parks, manufacturing large fairground rides.  MK Chester's Jumbos and Kopters were gaining in popularity, as well as juvenile carousels featuring a selection of kiddie ride toys.  They revealed a new type of carousel at the Amusement Trades Exhibition that year.  The brightly coloured tilt and rounding boards rotated continually to tape recorded fairground fairground oragan music, while the platform was static.  The carousel could be purchased with up to sixteen mounts, a mixture of Mitchell and Hall designs, all individually coin operated.  The "ride" even had a mock fairground organ in the centre.

 With the new larger factory space, they boasted an even greater range of kiddie rides and juveniles, as well as increasing their pool table distribution which they had begun in 1973.  Mitchell were distributors of Fischer Pool Tables as well as manufacturing their own bar billiards.  The latest expansion meant a 20% increase in staff numbers.  Ride sales were through the roof, although 80% of the company's output was still for export.

Mitchell also dabbled in playground equipment for a short time, and showed their new range at an exhibition in New Maldon in September 1976.  Few pictures of these products exist to know exactly what they manufactured, although I have seen some of their animal kiddie ride designs as playground "rockers".

1976 was also the year when Mitchell took controlling interests in Skegness Pier.  They now owned five arcades; three on the pier as well as the two in Lumley Road.  Their rides were now priced at 5p or 10p depending on the size of the site!  (I think parents have Robin Mitchell to blame for the quick hike in ride prices back then!)  Their latest success was their "Triple Ride" with three rides on special bases that slotted together to save space, each ride individually operating on 5p.

In 1977, they established a company to operate their rides in Holland, run by Derek Gibson.  They had also taken full control of French operating company Blitha S.A.  Robin Mitchell was quoted in The Coin Slot as saying that "Dutch children are more boisterous than the French and British, and don't behave as well on the rides"!  Through his experience in all three countries, he said that rides that identified with TV programmes were the most popular.  He was now looking to start a Canadian division, preferably in Ontario. Mitchell still continued to make their Edwin Hall line and "even added to it" (although I'm not sure how they could add to Hall's range when Hall was not involved!)  From mid-1976 to mid-1977, 1000 rides had been built by the company, and 1500 had been rebuilt for the operations across all three countries.

Ride releases

1959 - Rocky I
1961 - Humpy I, Stripey
1962 - Jerry I, Ride-About
1963 - Danny Deer I, Red Flash I, Surf-Rider
1964 - Rocky II
1965 - Danny Deer II, Jerry II
1967 - Thunder Jet
1968 - E-Type, Rescue, Z-Bike
1969 - Puffing Billy, SnoCat
1970 - Hovercraft, Moon Bug
1972 - Honky, Hot Rod, Humpy, Jumbo, Splasher, Wagon Train
1973 - Chug-a-Rug, Red Arrow
1975 - Galaxy
1976 - Honda
1977 - The Chopper, The Scrambler, Tiger Tank, Triple Ride
1980 - Helicopter
1985 - Space Walker
1990 - Sports Racer, Vintage Van
1993 - Jimbo and the Jet Set
1994 - Thomas the Tank Engine, Thunderbird I, Thunderbird II
1995 - Alpha Ted
1996 - Musical Mushroom, Safari Jeep
1997 - American Roadster, Mr Softy's Ice Cream Van, Snow White's Enchanted Castle
1998 - School Bus, Budgie's Lighthouse, Beach Buggy I, Flounder, Postman Pat, Tots TV
1999 - Fireman Sam, Steady Eddie
2000 - Bertie's Fun Bug, Captain Pugwash, Coastwatch Boat, Shuttle
2001 - Hank's Hot Dog Van, Hank's Ice Cream Van, Mitch the Dumper Truck, Noddy
2002 - Animal Rescue, Bill & Ben, Hank's Storyteller Van, Percy's Police Car
2004 - Beach Buggy II
Unknown - 4-Track, A-Train, Candy, Clown Car, Cosmo Car, Fire Chief, Fire Engine, Fire Engine II, Fire Fox, Haunted Castle, Lotus Racing Car, Mini Giraffe (?), Motor Bike, Mr Postie, Open Top Forest Ranger, Playtime Car, Red Flash II, RGM Express, RGM Trackstar, Safari Jeep, Sandy I, Sandy II, Sea Scooter, Skunk, Sky Rider, Skyhawk, Skyhawk Police, Space Rocket, Space Scoota, Space Scout, Speedboat, Surf Skimmer, Supersprint, Taxi, The Storyteller, Toy Town Police, Wildlife Rescue