Building an army in Kilnamartyra

IN 1976 a truck pulled to a stop in the sleepy rural village of Kilnamartyra in West Cork. In the truck, which had travelled thousands of miles from Sweden, were newly-weds Lars and Gunilla Edman — and some mould-making machines.

The young Swedes, the villagers learned later, had upped sticks and come all the way from Scandinavia to make toy soldiers.

Within two weeks the pair had started churning out moulds for the toys, and the renowned Prince August Toy Soldier Factory was born. “A friend of mine, Erik Wessman, had moved to West Cork from Sweden,” recalls Lars, who had started out working with his father in Sweden making moulds for toy soldiers.