John William Odell, OBE (19 March 1920 – 7 July 2007) was the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

inventor of

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...

toys and the engineer responsible for their unique design.Jack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead, ''New York Times'', July 17 2007
/ref> He joined with partners Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith to form

Lesney Products Lesney Products & Co. Ltd. was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name. The company existed from 1947 until 1982. History Lesney was founded on 19 J ...

.''Times Online'' "Jack Odell" obituary
/ref> The company initially made small products for

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

such as

dashboard For business applications, see Dashboard (business). A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel (IP), or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or small aircraft. Usually located directly ahead of the driver ...

s and doorhandles. Odell designed a small

steamroller A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through ...

in 1952 for his daughter to take to school. It proved to be a big hit for her and her friends. The company started manufacturing small toys to meet the demand with a million copies of a small

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

sold during the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1953. The first 3 vehicles were a road roller, Muir Hill dumper and a cement mixer. All were introduced in 1953. By 1966, more than 100 million Matchbox toys were sold each year. Odell retired in 1973 but returned in 1981 when Lesney ran into financial problems. The company was declared insolvent in 1982 and sold to Universal Toys. He founded

Lledo Lledo was a British manufacturing company founded in 1982 by Matchbox (brand), Matchbox co-founder Jack Odell, and Burt Russell, and based in Enfield, London, Enfield. The factory produced mainly die-cast toy, die-cast scale model model commercia ...

, a small vehicle model manufacturing company, and was active in that business until 1999 when he retired. Odell had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

when he died in July 2007.

References

1920 births 2007 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Toy inventors Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British inventors {{UK-business-bio-1920s-stub