Playing At Soldiers

Susan Morrison reckons you can’t have a mediaeval Hollywood movie without knights in shining armour but wants to know when did the Norman knight come to Scotland and who was hiring him? Dr Fiona Watson has the answers and it’s earlier than you might think. But if you wanted to refight those historic battles on your living room carpet, you’d need some toy soldiers. They’ve always had a topical side to them too, reflecting whatever conflict was going on at the time. The great age of the lead toy soldier covered the big conflicts of the 20th century and sparked controversy about war toys - did they cause war-mongering or were they good for your kid’s mental development? Euan Loarridge of Glasgow University has been in the miniature trenches examining their campaigns. And we’re kicking off an investigation into a witch-hunt in South Queensferry with Dr Ciaran Jones - more on that next time.