Mechanical Memories Magazine

A Lasting Laughing Memory
by Richard Goddard
One ofmy earliest childhood memories of the arcade was at the sea-;ide. 1 was around 5
years old so it would have been mid 1950's. I vividly remember standing in front of a
large box, it had glass on the front and inside was a figure of a man and when a penny
was inserted in the slot the figure would move and laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
This experience etched a deep imprint on my memory for two reasons: firstly I had
never heard or seen such a thing before and secondly I was so spellbound by this that J
just stood and looked while my parents, aunt and uncle, oblivious of my fixation, went
onto the pier without me, not noticing that 1 had stopped walking with them!
The automaton was located at the front entrance of a pier and I well remember the
large space between it and the pier entrance, as it was bustling with people. 1 cannot
remember at which resort we were staying but it would have been in the Southwest,
perhaps Weymouth, but more likely Teignmouth or Paignton. l don't know how long I
was standing there looking and listening to this amazing item; I didn't even know 1hat I
was on my own until my uncle can1e rushing up saying something like 'what are doing
here, come on!' That memory has stayed with me and I can still remember it vividly 56
years on.
When I became hooked on this fascinating hobby of ours a number of years ago, I
started to look for any information about the Laughing Policeman; yes, that's not a miss-
print, I said Laughing Policeman and it was the first experience of anything coin
operated that 1 can remember; an indelible memory. However, I could not find anything
at all about him . l did find pictures and many video clips of the Laughing Sailor and also
a sound file of the Sailor on the Pennymachines website, but alas no Policeman and I
was so sure that this was what I had seen and indeed heard, all those years ago.
They say that memories can fade over the years and that you can also come to
believe in things and experiences that are a corruption of your original experience. So
was it a Sailor or as I had thought, a Policeman? Well, after so many years of not seeing
one or being able to find any reference to one, I reluctantly accepted that indeed it was a
Laughing Sailor and that my memory was really playing tricks on me. But deep at U1e
back of my mind there was something not right and I was still pu7..zled, as I was sure that
the automaton was laughing to music, and that music was the Laughing Policeman by
Charles Penrose recorded in 1922. When our girls were young we bought a Children' s
music tape (Hello Children Everywhere - Uncle Mac, remember him?) and on it was the
Laughing Policeman. When I heard it, it brought back those early childhood seaside
memories of being transfixed by this character - or so I thought.
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