Founder of Polly Pocket toy model ‘which introduced unbelievable pleasure to hundreds of thousands world wide’ dies aged 91 as his MP son pays tribute

The founder of the toy company responsible for the Polly Pocket brand has died aged 91.

Sir Torquil Norman has been described by as an ‘extraordinary man’ following his death with his son leading the tributes in the House of Commons.

Conservative MP Jesse Norman told the commons that his father helped bring ‘unbelievable joy to millions of young people’ around the world.

Mr Norman added he hopes his father’s values of positivity, creativity and respect for others could inspire Parliament and the country at this time of ‘difficulty and stagnation’.

Sir Torquil served in the military and worked as an investment banker before entering the toymaking industry, a period which saw him establish Bluebird Toys.

Speaking at business questions, shadow Commons leader Mr Norman told MPs: ‘Almost exactly 24 hours ago, my father Torquil Norman died at the age of 91. He was an extraordinary man who flew Seafires and Sea Furies during his national service in the Fleet Air Arm.

‘He created Polly Pocket, a toy which brought unbelievable joy to millions of young people around the House and around the world.

‘And he rebuilt the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm in London, not just as an incredible performing arts centre but as a creative centre for young people and for them to find their way from whatever backgrounds into jobs.’

Sir Torqui was educated at Eton College, Harvard University and Trinity College, Cambridge, before taking on National Service in the RAF.

He then worked as an investment banker in the US for over a decade and returned to the UK in the 1960s where he entered the toy making industry.

From 1973 he was the was CEO of Berwick Tempo before founding Bluebird Toys, makers of Big Yellow Teapot House, the Big Red Fun Bus and Polly Pocket.  

Polly Pocket became a licensed product of Bluebird Toys, based in Swindon, in 1989 and from there its popularity exploded – becoming a childhood staple for 90s children due their portability and eclectic styles. 

By 1994 an estimated three quarters of British girls owned a Polly Pocket, with the company selling more than £100million worth of the pocket-sized product.

And when it was sold to Barbie-producer Mattel in 1998, the doll soon increased in size – alongside the launch of new removable clothing styles.

The dolls were priced at around £10 during their original release, but prices have escalated thanks to a hunger for vintage toys still in their packaging.

While vintage editions of the toys do have extortionate asking prices it is later models that are fetching the highest prices on eBay. 

Mr Norman highlighted his father’s values and noted he always said the secret to success in the toy business was to have ‘a mental age of seven and an eye for detail’.

Sir Torquil bought the derelict Roundhouse arts venue in 1996 for £3m and raised £27m to restore it as a 1,700 performance space, re-opening it ten years later. 

He stepped down as the Roundhouse Trust chairman in 2007, the same year he was knighted for his services to the arts and to disadvantaged young people.

The business then went on to found the Global Vehicle Trust which helped provide affordable transport for rural areas in developing countries.  

While paying tribute to his father, The MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire added: ‘Incredible energy but also amazing resilience and focus on the long-term; turn up at the finishing line was one of his maxims.

‘And even in his 80s he was building and creating a new enterprise to develop flatpack trucks, if you can imagine such a thing, that could be developed and sold around the world at low cost and in countries supporting businesses and people.

‘I think the whole House would perhaps agree with me that we need these values today, a time of difficulty and stagnation and international conflict, we need these values of creativity, of ambition, of drive, of respect for others and, above all, a capability – not just a focus on the head but on the hand and the heart as well.

‘It’s something I feel very strongly about, we’re trying to build this new university in Hereford, a specialist technical engineering college, precisely to bring those kinds of different aspects of the human personality together in the service of better jobs and better possibilities. 

‘I also think it raises a question of us as a House and as Parliament, which is to encourage us all to ask the right questions and to support long-term solutions, even when those questions and those solutions may not be ones that we’re ideologically or politically drawn to.’

Sir Torquil had married Lady Elizabeth Ann Montagu in 1961, and the couple went onto have five children, including artist Amy Sharrocks and politician Mr Norman. 

Mr Norman pushed for more co-operation between different political parties on the long-term issues, adding: ‘One of my father’s maxims, you’ll discover he has many, was that the secret to success is taking a large bite and then chew it.

‘I think we could do that more perhaps as a House and perhaps as a country.’

Deputy Speaker Nusrat Ghani sent her condolences and ‘love and prayers’ to Mr Norman and his family.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell thanked Mr Norman for his tribute to his father, saying of Sir Torquil: ‘I didn’t know him but in the short time (Mr Norman) has spoken about him today, he sounds like a wonderful father to have.

‘Someone who invented children’s toys but also sounds like somebody of great wisdom who gave him great advice and I’m sure we can all in this House live by those values of positivity, creativity and resilience that he so fondly shared with us.’