In 1939, when Val’s father went back into the army, the family’s possessions, including the prized dolls’ house and toys, were put into storage until the Ripleys found a new home.
When the family did settle again the toys were put in the attic and not seen again for decades.
Val said: “We thought they were all gone. But after our mother died in 1977 my sister Pam and I discovered all our toys in their pre-war crates. It was so emotional I can’t tell you.”
With a pristine collection of vintage toys, Val and her sister decided to expand their collection and share it with others. Together, they opened Ty Twt Dolls House and Toy Museum in Newport in Pembrokeshire.
That was 26 years ago and Pam has since died, but Val still welcomes visitors and school groups to show them the toys of the past.
Val said: “I ask them if they have dolls houses, but all theirs are pink.”
The collection, she said, is a document of social history and shows how the way we live, even down to the appliances we have in the home, has changed over the years.
The oldest house in the collection dates back to 1840 and displays a typical home of a wealthy family in the early Victorian period.
“That was the date when dolls’ houses became children’s toys,” said Val.
