For generations young boys played with Sutcliffe toy boats and now they will have the chance to take a trip down memory lane with the sale of a collection in Ilkley and an exhibition in Horsforth.

The boats, which have become collectors items, were produced between 1920 and 1980, when the Sutcliffe factory closed.

Now the end of an era will be marked on Saturday when a collection of toy boats comes up for sale at the Hartleys toy sale in Ilkley.

And a major exhibition will be launched at Horsforth on March 28 by a member of the Sutcliffe family, whose factory was based in the town for nearly a century.

Sutcliffe Pressings Ltd, of Horsforth, started as a sheet metal working company in 1885 and was founded by J William Sutcliffe. He had previously worked in Leeds and Bradford as a sheet metal worker, and at 20 started in business in Horsforth.

At first he shared a building with a relative who was a joiner, making domestic utensils and repairing items of metal work.

He later turned his hand to making goods for the photographic trade, including darkroom lamps and developing tanks.

But this business dwindled with the advent of snap shots.

In 1903 he began to manufacture oil cans which were usually made of tin plate soldered together.

In 1920 Sutcliffe turned to tin plate toys to meet the demand mounting since the demise of the German manufacturers, and the general British hostility to anything German.

Initially Sutcliffe’s launched a series of five tin plate battleships, and importantly chose a substantial gauge of metal from which to work. This, and a generous paint finish, stood the firm’s toys in good stead for longevity, particularly as they were meant to be used in water.

The second choice for the early boats which helped make them stand out was the method of propulsion.

This was a sophisticated version of a spirit-fired water circulation engine and consisted of a coiled U-shaped copper tube in the base of the boat.

The contents of the tube heated up via a metholated spirit burner, turned to steam and were expelled to the rear, propelling the boat forwards.

This system of propulsion continued to be used until about 1928 when clockwork was substituted, and once again heavy gauge motors were used, which provided a long “run” as well as a long life. Once again battleships were produced, the first being the 12” Valiant, as well as a series of speedboats and motor cruisers. These continued until the start of the Second World War and included the first diving submarine, the Unda-Wunda, which dived until the clockwork ran down, when it automatically rose to the surface, and a popular model of Malcolm Campbell’s speed record boat Bluebird I. There was also a rare 24” motor cruiser powered by a battery motor.

In 1940 the factory turned to war work with only oil can production continuing as before. But In 1946 toy production began again with a speedboat named Racer 1. More followed, including the rare and collectable Sooty’s Speedboat and Noddy’s Speedboat.

In the 1960s two electric battery-powered boats were introduced and later the Zodiac, with a plastic hull and electric motor.

Kenneth Sutcliffe, who joined the business straight from school in 1931, was by now fully in charge of the company which continued until his retirement, and the closure of the factory in 1980. The premises were sold and demolished, but many people in Horsforth still remember it and the boats it produced.

Kenneth Sutcliffe died in 1999 and his widow, Joan, last year. Now their three children are offering the remaining collection of Sutcliffe items on the market.

Hartleys Sale includes around 100 lots, mostly individual boats and a few other toys. They are mainly post-war with a number of limited edition items, mainly re-issues of earlier models and produced in the last two years of the factory’s existence.

But there are a few pre-war items, including a 20” yacht and a Minx Speedboat, both of which belonged to Joan Sutcliffe as a teenager before she married into the family. There are also composite lots of display materials, unused empty boxes and old documents including the original patent obtained by the inventor of the “hot air” motor, Frederick Lappin of Middlesbrough .

The sale is on view tomorrow from 1-5pm, and on Saturday from 9am until the sale starts.

A collection of Sutcliffe toy boats will also go on show at Horsforth Museum. The personal collection of Yorkshire enthusiast Jason Priestley will be on display for a year from March 28.

Mr Priestley, who has written a book about the company, bought his first Sutcliffe boat in 1983 and has been hooked ever since. He will be a guest of honour when the display is opened by a member of the Sutcliffe family.

He said: “They manufactured the boats less than a quarter of a mile away from the museum, so I think it’s great that we can show them off.”

Horsforth Museum spokeswoman Nancy de Dombal said there was expected to be a lot of interest.