Shamus O D Wade Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range list

 I mentioned in an earlier post that I was attempting to compile a list of all 36 figures in the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range produced between 1982 and 1984 by Shamus O D Wade, and here it is:

Oojah-Cum-Pivvy, the full set of 36 figures, photo courtesy of liveauctioneers.

These are the O (Ooja-Cum-Pivvy) reference numbers I've identified in the order they are shown in the image above.

O.11 - O.6 - O.10 - O.9 - O.5 - O.12 - O.8 - O.4 - O.15

O.16 - O.34 - O.18 - O.1 – O.21 - O.2 – O.26 - O.30 – O.29 - O.3 - O.14 - O.7

O.22 - O.32 - O.35 - O.36 - O.33 - O.31 – O.19 – O.27 - O.25 - O.20 - O.13 - O.28 - O.24 - O.17 - O.23

O.1         Mexican Infantry Alamo

O.2          Irish Kern (1545)

O.3          Irish Galloglass (1522)

O.4          Soldier of the King of Muli (1931)

O.5          Greek Light Infantry (1813)

O.6          Etruscan Warrior

O.7          Kataphractos c. 1050 (Byzantine) -has a long removable spear

O.8          Basilikoi Anthropoi  c.880 (Byzantine)

O.9          Patzinak  11th century  (Byzantine)

O.10        Varangian Guardsman  c.1030  (Byzantine)

O.11        Hand Gonne Man (Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, Aug 22, 1485)

O.12        Man at Arms  (Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, Aug 22, 1485)

O.13        King Richard III (Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, Aug 22, 1485)

O.14        Wounded Archer (Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, Aug 22, 1485)

O.15        Mounted Archer, Fighting on Foot (Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, Aug 22, 1485)

O.16        Chief Petty Officer (WRINS) 1945

O.17        Petty Officer (WRINS) 1945

O.18        Leading Auxiliary (WRINS) Naval HQ 1945

O.19        Auxiliary Stripping Gun, Karachi Gunnery School 1945

O.20         Auxiliary (WRINS) Naval HQ New Delhi 1945

O.21        Private Tristan Da Chuna 1944

O.22        Regimental Policeman, Pakistan Armoured Corps, 1983

O.23        Regimental Policeman, Punjab Regiment, Pakistan,1983

O.24        Cadet Southall Squadron Air Training Corps 1964

O.25        Chiswick Armed Association (1798-1802)

O.26        Flight Sergeant Zahir-id-din Barber, Indian Air Force (IAF), Burma, 1944

O.27        Flying Officer P J Chandran, Indian Air Force (IAF), Burma, 1944

O.28        Flight Lieutenant Chopra, Indian Air Force (IAF), Burma, 1944

O.29        Aircraftsman Matthews, Indian Air Force (IAF), Burma, 1944

O.30        Aircraftsman Valiram Shauni, Indian Air Force (IAF), Burma, 1944

O.31        Junior Commander D. Kapila, Women's Auxiliary Corps (India), 1944

O.32        Sergeant A. D'Silva, Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) 1944

O.33        Officer Cadet (Indian), Women's Auxiliary Corps (India), 1945

O.34        Officer Cadet (European), Women's Auxiliary Corps (India), 1945

O.35        Officer Cadet (Anglo-Burmese), Women's Auxiliary Corps (India), 1945

O.36        Corporal, Ceremonial Parade, Women's Auxiliary Corps (India), 1945

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Shamus was well known for his extensive, and perhaps rather esoteric, interest in military history so I expected his selection of subjects for the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range to be diverse but I was surprised to find that 20th century Indian Armed Forces would comprise half the entire series.

In his Collectors Guide to New Toy Soldiers, Stuart Asquith tells us that the figures were sculpted by Graham Morris and manufactured for Shamus by Peter Cowan of Albion Miniatures, each figure was released singly in a limited edition of 100.  

Having said that it does appear to me that the range does comprise a number of small sets: 

O.7 to O.10 Byzantines, O.11 to O.15 Those who kept Faith at Bosworth Field, O.16 to O.20 Women's Royal Indian Navy, O.26 to O.30 Indian Air Force and O.31 to O.36 Women's Auxiliary Corps (India)

The five "Indian Air Force" figures (numbers O.26 to O.30) were based on a famous Second World War photograph of a Vultee A-31 Vengeance Crew from No.8 Squadron. The photograph (reproduced below from "The Eagle Strikes" shows Flt Lt Haveli Shah Chopra (one of the RAF 24) and his Gunner Fg Offr P J Chandran leaning against an A-31 Vengeance dive bomber, flanked by the three airmen/ground crew Zahir-ud-din Barber, Mathews and Veliram Shauni. 

On a personal note I wanted to compile this listing because I knew Shamus over many years, and although he could be a rather enigmatic character I liked him for his unbounded enthusiastic love of all types of toy soldiers.  I thought there might be a familial link to explain the preponderance of Indian military in the range but could find none, Shamus was born and raised in England to Irish parents while his wife was from Trinidad, they lived in West London where he had a career in advertising and his wife was a barrister.

American Revolution Swoppet conversions at the Plastic Warrior Show 2025

 Dennis Donovan brought along more of his conversions for the American War of Independence, or as some would term it the American Revolutionary War, either way they are stunning figures and he has garnered a well earned reputation for them over the years.

When Dennis first started making his cavalry conversions he used bodies and heads from original Britains Swoppet figures with legs and horses from Helmet kits.  

Over time the Swoppet parts became harder to source so he had a mould made to produce the basic torso in plastic while continuing to use Helmet parts and heads, the result is a range of mounted figures that perfectly compliment the original Britains foot models.

 Britains Swoppet figures inevitably lose their hats and weapons so these ones above have had their missing original parts replaced or remodelled with Miliput.

  Early on I bought several units of Dennis' cavalry conversions when I was building up wargame armies for the period, and some are shown in earlier posts on here, just wish I had the space to get some more!