Toys n Playthings are sad to report the passing of Peter Brennan.
Our Founder Malcolm Naish who knew him well writes about his longtime friend.
I am sad to report the passing of yet another great toy man. Peter Brennan was a one-off, always immaculately dressed he began his toy career with Pedigree who at that time were owned by Lines Bros., who in the sixties happened to be the world’s largest toy company. At around the same time that I was getting involved I first met Peter when he joined Condor Toys in the late sixties and remember the picture of the sales force who had flown to Nuremberg with Condor Airlines.
He spent a number of years in St. Neots working as Sales Director of R.F. Development who amongst other items manufactured ‘BEMA’ swimming aids and also sold Intex in the U.K. With his lovely Welsh velvety tones, he was a super salesman.
During this time and spending a weekend with Peter, he told me he was leaving R.F. and starting a company called Toy Brokers and he continued this model which had worked very successfully in the grocery market as Food Brokers, distributing brands to the grocery trade and so Toy Brokers was formed.
With his love of Classic Cars, Peter opened his offices and a very large warehouse in St. Neots. He had Intex, Fuzzy Felt and later acquired Ideal Toys that included Rubik’s Cube plus many other premium brands.
When Joan and I married in 2005, Peter brought his much-loved ‘Flying Blodwen – his prized Bentley Blower down to Buckinghamshire and with a jazz band leading the way and our guests following behind Flying Blown, driven by Peter he took us up to the church and returned us an hour later to the wedding reception.
Joining the Fence Club in 1991, he became Chairman in 2004/5 and also served as Treasurer right through to 2015. He dedicated a tremendous amount of his time to ensuring that the necessary administrative processes were adhered to. Attending the Fence Club golf day, although never playing golf, he generously auctioned rides at famous Bentley events, further raising money for the club.
Eventually selling his business, this enabled Peter to dedicate his time to enjoying rallying with his beloved Bentleys.
