Pushy parents had a Silver Cross Pram

And many of us might recall our very early days and our mother cooing over us tucked into a Silver Cross pram.

In its own infancy, the Silver Cross, like those pictured, looked like it was from Mary Poppins. They were enormous, bouncy, not very nimble and created a bumpy ride for the precious cargo contained therein. They were also noisy – a warship on wheels!

I can’t imagine it would be easy to push one around Asda, a narrow pavement or get on a bus. But, of course, the beauty of the Silver Cross was in its aesthetics, not its practicality, per se.

Silver Cross was the Rolls-Royce of pram manufacturers. It created chariots for babies. No wonder, then, its coach-like prams were loved by the royals, unburdened by the practicalities of public transport or nipping to the supermarket for some Farley’s Rusks.

The Silver Cross name came from the street in Leeds where William Wilson made baby carriage history in 1877 by inventing the first perambulator to feature a reversible folding hood and suspension.

And, so, the iconic prams became the transport of choice for many babies, although pushing one was no stroll in the park.