Did you know, 100 years ago Kingston was about to be swamped by Crocodiles?! Wooden ones, made by the Munitionettes in the Sopwith Aviation factory (now the Hawker Centre) and sold during Christmas in Bentalls. This was the true story upon which The Christmas Crocodile was based, and we were lucky enough to receive Heritage Lottery Funding to research their story.
During the research, we came across an original Crocodile for sale. I had looked for an original when planning the project, but only half-heartedly as I honestly didn't believe we'd find one. I certainly didn't budget for it.
The Heritage project is over, and the show performed, and yet still the thought of this little fella sitting on a website, his story not known, ate away at me. Now that I know just how important the women who made him were in shaping the town I live in today, it seems wrong that he shouldn't be returned to Kingston.
So we're crowd funding to bring the Crocodile back home to Kingston.
But not just that. We're crowdfunding during Women in History month to bring a piece of history, created by the women of Kingston, back to Kingston.
We nearly have enough to buy him. We're also hoping to raise enough cash to get him restored and made child friendly so that we can take him out to the kids in the borough, and tell the story of the Kingston ladies who made him.
If you'd like to contribute to this Kingston project then please follow the link below. There are suggested amounts, but please feel free to donate a smaller or greater amount if you would like.
And then share his story. Let everyone know that there once was a deluge of Crocodiles in Kingston, and plans are afoot to bring one back. That should raise a few eyebrows!
https://www.gofundme.com/the-kingston-crocodile
