Were YOU in the Tufty Club?
By Jan McGeachie - 06/06/2007
Were you a child of the Sixties like me who remembers proudly wearing your Tufty badge?
Even now over forty years on, I can hear myself thinking Stop at the kerb, look right and left, look right again. If it is clear then cross when I sometimes cross the road. That initiative alone certainly taught me how to cross the road safely, something which I then taught my own children when it became their time to learn.
I suppose as we were living in North London when I was a child, it was very important for me to learn the road safety message, as we didn’t have a car so tended to walk everywhere.
The roads weren’t as busy as they are nowadays but we still had to learn those basic pedestrian skills from a young age, finding the best places to cross and making sure to avoid wearing dark clothes, making us easier to be seen by passing motorists.
As a family we first lived under my Aunty and Uncle’s roof where no doubt my conscientious parents paid out the princely sum of two shillings and sixpence (12 1/2pence) so that I could join the thousands of others to become part of the Tufty Club and learn not to play in the road.
My parents were too aware of the danger of the roads, especially after my Grandfather was killed whilst riding his pushbike to work. I think that event alone was the reason why my father never did learn to drive and for the rest of his life, always walked or used public transport wherever it was he wanted to go.
Even today I wonder what happened to my little white Club badge with the drawing of Tufty the Red Squirrel wearing his blue jacket and yellow trousers? I seem to remember still having it as a prized possession into my teens – perhaps it rusted away? Or maybe was lost when I left home to get married?
I seem to remember also having an illustrated book with stories about Tufty and his furry friends. It was in one of those that I was taught in simple language the basics of road safety - Willy Weasel totally disregarded advice to go with his Mother to buy his ice cream instead he went alone and was knocked over by a car after stupidly walking out in front of an ice cream van. That abiding memory remains with me and probably accounts for why I’ve adopted the safer method of getting my ice cream from my own freezer whenever I feel the urge for an ice cream!
I seem to remember also having a colouring book which I used to colour in using my box of crayons and I well remember the excitement on receiving the box game with its cardboard figures of Tufty and his furry friends, probably for my Birthday or Christmas. You threw a dice and moved your piece around the board to further emphasis the safety message. The box and contents was hardly sturdy so I doubt if it lasted for long but I do remember playing the game with my older cousins when we all lived together in London.
Tufty Fluffytail was actually created in 1953 in story form by the late Elsie Mills MBE. The friends she created for him included Mrs Owl the teacher, (because she was wise?) the Policeman Badger (who seemed to always save the situation), Bobby Brown Rabbit, Harry Hare, Minnie (?) Mole and of course the naughty Willy Weasel from whom we all learned a lesson.
There seems to be no end for this little red squirrel as even today Tufty has returned to our screens in the cult BBC series Life on Mars. If you were a fan of the series then last month you would have seen Philip Glenister in his Tufty costume trying to escape detection thanks to his co star, John Simm having spotted the character Tufty being used in a seventies school road safety lesson!
When I checked into the history of the Tufty Club I was surprised the concept has been bought into the 21st Century with its own website (linked below). There are also books, mobiles, puzzles, jigsaw, glove puppets, face masks, stickers and guides for teachers which can be bought, as well as a revised Tufty badge which looks nothing like the original, even if it does contain the same message to pedestrians which is still relevant today, to Stop Look and Listen.
Models of Tufty and his friends have also been created as ceramic figures by Cotswold Collectables. These were first launched at the Wade Collectors’ Fair at Alton Towers in 1998 with every model of Tufty and his friends raising money for RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).
What other Road Safety initiative has stood the test of time – who remembers the Green Cross Code? What happened to the actor who played the part of the man in the Green Cross Code? (who children could easily confuse with the Jolly Green Giant) - he became the body of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films!
Tufty and his friends live on as it seems you can still bid for an original Tufty badge on E Bay!