1930s Cadbury-Bournville Cococub children’s club Badge

For sale is a 1930s period WW2 British Home Front Cadbury-Bournville Cococub children’s club Badge. In good condition. 

 

The CoCoCub league was a children’s club run by Cadbury-Bournville from 1936 to 1939, curtailed by the outbreak of WW2. After a long break, the club was revived for a short time in the 1950's but lacked the lustre and excitement it had before. The origins of the Cococub league go back a little earlier, when in1934 Cadbury-Bournville launched a huge marketing campaign that included a family of die-cast/lead figures called the Cococubs. These were given free in promotional tins of Bournville cocoa that sold out in no time so had to be reissued to satisfy demand. Britains Ltd produced the Cococubs figures between October 1934 and November 1936, their style reminds me of Beatrix Potter' characters. Today, Cococubs figures (32 in all) remain highly collectable and examples in top condition are quite expensive.

 

Like other children’s clubs, the Cococub league issued it’s own member’s pack complete with personalised letter, certificate of membership, rule book and membership badge. To maintain interest, there was a monthly club magazine called ‘The Cococub News’ published from 1936 to 1939 (34 issues). The club also had it’s own Saturday slot in many national and regional newspapers who published details of local events, adventure stories, comic strips and secret-code messages. By 1936 club membership had exceeded 300,000 - a testament to it’s popularity.

 

The badge design was also used as the club’s logo, appearing on it’s stationery and letterheads. It shows 'Dumpty Doo' the duck wearing a tam-o-shanter cap and the most reproduced figure from the Cococub family. Ernest Aris (1882-1963) a well known children’s author and book illustrator created the Cococub family characters.

 

This will be sent via Royal Mail 1st class signed for and dispatched within two working days.