The toys on display at the event on Sunday, November 18, are all related to the conflict, such as a ‘soldier’ teddy bear and a c.1917 cloth Royal Flying Corps doll.
Like many other soldiers who fought during the First World War, Percy Kynnersley- Baddeley, a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, carried with him a small teddy bear – which he named Edwin.
After Kynnersley-Baddeley’s death on June 29, 1916, aged 22, at the Battle of the Somme, the battered little bear was found and returned to his widow Verna, to whom he had been married for just six months. Edwin, which last sold at Christie’s South Kensington in 2002 for £4230, will feature in the exhibition.
The fair was launched in November 2016 at
the Pillar Hall at Olympia, also west London. This is the second time it has been held at the larger premises of the town hall.
It will offer 100 stalls of antique dolls, teddy bears and toys dating from the 18th to mid-20th centuries at prices from £10-10,000.
Organising duo
The fair is organised by specialist Daniel Agnew, who formerly ran Christie’s teddy bear auctions and now runs a biannual specialist auction for Special Auction Services, and Hilary Pauley from the online Teddy Bear Museum.
They also run the British Teddy Bear Festival at Woburn Abbey each June..
