Who had one of these as a kid?
I had a toy like the one shown above when I was a little kid in the 1960s. We always referred to it as a “Gonk” but I am reliably informed that it is actually a Troll Doll.
One of the things I remember about growing up in Newcastle upon Tyne back then was that there were lots of visitors from Norway in the town at weekends. They came by ferry from Oslo and Bergen to do shopping. For that reason I assumed my Gonk Troll was Norwegian, but these dolls seem to have originated in Denmark.
You live and learn.
In the Dark 
July 9, 2024 at 6:41 pm
Had one of those in Cornwall, which the scandinavians to make as far, probably 🙂
July 9, 2024 at 11:46 pm
Cnut the Great was king of Denmark, Norway and England in the early 11th century – quite an empire!
July 10, 2024 at 10:28 am
If you like Trolls, the Norwegian film Troll Hunters is great.
July 11, 2024 at 3:29 pm
I still have three of them, all made by Thomas Dam of Denmark – Tommy Troll, a guardsman troll (with an Icelandic fleece bearskin), plus his two lady friends, Siobhan and Poppy. Though, thankfully, their eyes are not scary like the ones in your photo!
I also had a troll cow – Ringabell (I was not very imaginative), a small troll called Frances, with green hair, and my sister had one called Fleur, with blue hair.
Tommy features being cuddled in many family photos in the late 60s/early 70s and my Dad made him a replacement uniform (the original wore out due to excess cuddling!), which I have only recently had to replace after a number of years wear.
Trolls featured largely in the Lemon-Lamb family!
July 11, 2024 at 6:57 pm
Did you ever have a Gonk?
July 16, 2024 at 9:08 am
I probably did but it was the trolls who had the biggest ‘cute’ factor and the fact that they are still bright eyed and living in the real Midlands bears testimony to their longevity.