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Puppet Mystery Solved: 50-Year Attic Secret Revealed!
3 Apr
Summary
- A beloved Mother Clanger puppet vanished from a London exhibition decades ago.
- A deathbed confession revealed the puppet was hidden in an Irish attic.
- The treasured puppet has now been reunited with its family on display.
A 50-year-old mystery surrounding the theft of the original Mother Clanger puppet from a London exhibition in 1973 has finally been solved. The handcrafted figure disappeared when two 15-year-old boys took it, with one, Michael O'Connor, confessing on his deathbed. He revealed that the puppet had been stored in his attic in Ireland.
Following the confession, O'Connor's son, Michael Burke, retrieved the puppet and contacted the Canterbury City Council's Museums and Galleries. The treasured Mother Clanger puppet has now been returned to England and is on display at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury, Kent, reunited with her Clanger family.
This heartwarming reunion brings a close to a long chapter of curiosity and eventual discovery. The puppet, though showing signs of age such as faded wool and a damaged nose tip, is in remarkable condition. It is now exhibited in the Smallfilms Gallery alongside other favorites from creator Peter Firmin's work, like Bagpuss, marking a proper homecoming for the iconic character.
