Gibb photograph archive, Volume 2

No. 20e - Harry Drayton and Eric Dare with a crane built in Meccano.

Harry Drayton (left), Eric Dare (right).

Commentary by Eric Dare: The Head Master had various large games etc., for us to use in the long Christmas holidays - the choristers stayed until Epiphany! Among them was Meccano Set 10, the largest of the Meccano sets, that Harry and I enjoyed using.

Eric explained that this photograph led to him acquiring the volume of photographs. It was shown on BBC Spotlight after the volume had been found, very curiously, as 'lost property' in a park in the Midlands. It was handed in to the Police by the finder. The information about Exeter in the volume led to BBC Spotlight South-West being contacted, to find an owner. That then caused Eric to be contacted, as he was working for Radio Cornwall at the time, and was known to have been connected with Exeter Cathedral as a chorister. He was able to trace and contact Keith Gibb's daughter, living in Topsham, near Exeter. I (Mike Dobson, cathedral choir 1976-) was also told about the volume by Eric, in 2015. After scanning in the images, I returned it to the daughter.

See photographs 16f and 20c, and from the negative volume, numbers 67 and 72. This is the photograph from the missing negative 63, which Gibbs lists as: "Eric D. and Harry Drayton with Meccano Eifel Tower. Mar[ch 19]42."