It was Bob Pelham’s desire to encourage groups of children to work together for the mutual enjoyment of puppetry that led to the formation of the PELPUP Club. This puppet club was something that became very important and personal to Bob. He wanted to develop a relationship with his customers and make sure they were using their puppets to the best advantage.
His introduction to the Club, appeared in the British Puppet Theatre magazine in September 1950. He wrote: “It was only because I daily get letters from some of those who own a Pelham Puppet, telling me about them and about their activities and seeking further advice and ideas for staging their puppets, also the constant request for plays, that I decided the only way to handle them was through a Club.
They wrote to him as a friend to ask for help and advice and report on their own puppet activities. He wrote back, in his own handwriting, to as many members as he could, in the same vein. That the club succeeded there can be no doubt, in addition to the letters they received every month there were also dozens of plays to read and competition entries to examine.
One is led to wonder how he had time left to run his ever-growing factory! He once remarked, “It really is a fascinating hobby and believe me, it wasn’t the hope of making money that turned my attention to puppets, but a genuine creative interest.”
The first monthly issue of PELPUP NEWS was published in January 1951. The magazine included letters from members and ideas for using the puppets as well as the regular playwriting competition. It was published each month until September 1955 then bi-annually until 1960.
The first ‘glossy’ issue published in 1961 was called Puppet Post. From issue No 3, (1962) it was changed back to PELPUP NEWS since there was already another magazine called Puppet Post. . It was then published twice a year (summer/winter) until issue 46 in the winter of 1983.
During his lifetime, Bob Pelham’s aim was to bring the fun and magic of puppetry to children wherever and whenever he could.
His legacy lies not in the past, but in the future and it’s now well known that many young “PELPUPS” have since gone on to work in the entertainment business today all because they started creating theatre with Pelham Puppets.
It would be another three years before PELPUP NEWS reappeared, by then, Mrs Pelham had sold the business, (in 1986,) and under the management of the new owners, I was invited to produce PELPUP NEWS starting with issue No 47, Summer 1986 to No 50, summer 1987.
The PELPUP NEWS featured ideas for staging shows and PELPOP also shared news about the factory and introduced new characters too. I have created a Face Book Page with regular highlights from PELPUP NEWS. Please pop over to “like” or “follow” the page HERE.