The Besford logo is in one corner of each box. It is a red cube with a white B and F on its sides and the word Besford underneath, in a gap in stripes of red, orange and blue.
The robots were made in the 1970s. The Bump ’N Go Robot has a catalogue-style item number, 1091-679. It is about 10 inches tall and takes two C batteries. There was also a Bump ’N Go Space Robot. The box for the robot below says it has “Bump ’N Go Action” and a flashing gun with shooting sound.
Besford also sold a “Mystery Action” Space Ship and a remote control Porsche 911, which could go forwards and backwards and turn left and right.
There were battery train sets as well. The Western Train Set was made in China and sold in at least two versions, one with a black locomotive numbered 1928 and the other with a pink locomotive and cartoon wagons.
Boxed Besford Bump ’N Go Robots appeared at Vectis, the UK toy auction house, in January 2015 and November 2019, each time as part of a group of robots. The toys still turn up occasionally on eBay and in vintage shops, usually for under US$100.
Who made them
Bump-and-go robots, mystery-action spaceships and battery trains were made in large numbers by Hong Kong toy factories in the 1970s, and many firms sold near-identical toys under their own names. Toys like these were common, and the item numbers on Besford toys look like entries in a larger catalogue. Both suggest that Besford was a name used by a firm that bought toys from the factories and sold them on, rather than one that made them. The China-made train suggests the name stayed in use after the 1970s.
What is not known
It is not known who owned the name, where they were based, or when they started or stopped selling toys under it. No trademark, company filing, catalogue or collector’s write-up has yet been found. Hong Kong has had three companies with Besford in their name. They are Besford Industrial Company Limited, Besford International Limited and Besford Limited, but no link between any of them and the toys has been found. Please get in touch if you can help.