Anyone recall these badges?
I could recall the image almost perfectly, but could never find one or any reference to it. I mentioned the badge to my brother Iain Hoffmann a few months ago and he too had a vague memory of them in the early 1960s. I never owned one; rather enviously I looked at them on the lapels of others' school blazers - I recall a girl at Oxgangs Park who had one.
Over the months I've regularly visited eBay each week but with no joy. However there was a positive to this - I've grown to like badges and over the months I've made an occasional purchase. The original reason for looking at badges had therefore almost vanished and then a few weeks ago I couldn't believe my eyes - it brought a gasp from me and instantly I had joined The Happy Smile Club! The boy's face is just as I remember him - a wee bit like a young Alf Tupper or Winker Watson, but an interesting sign of the times - why no girl's face?
It appears that a toothpaste company (Colgate?) worked in partnership with local dental authorities to promote good dental hygiene. It must have been prior to us joining Mr Russell's dental practice, but I recall my first and indeed last visitation to the school dentist at Firhill who was a bit of a brute and when combined with my own cowardly nature was a powerful combination. After a titanic struggle in the chair between the two of us, the dentist managed to stick the needle in to his own hand freezing it and he had to cancel all appointments for the next two hours.
He told my mother to never bring me back.
On the way out I shouted 'Ah suppose a badge is oot 'o the question!'
He told my mother to never bring me back.
On the way out I shouted 'Ah suppose a badge is oot 'o the question!'
