Moving sign of woman walking was unique, says owner

For decades shoppers in a town crowded around the front window of a shoe shop to watch a "unique" mechanical sign of a woman walking, its owner said.

Reginald Wright, 80, from Ipswich, said he was passed on the sign by his father, who ran the shoe shop on Norwich Road in the town.

He added the sign had grabbed "a lot of attention" over the years and children told him they would make sure they sat on the window side of the bus to see her.

Wright said he has had numerous offers to buy the sign, but he has no desire to ever sell her, adding: "You can't put a price on her. It's history."

Wright said it was "pretty unique" to have a moving sign in a shop window when he was a child.

He added that he did not know when the sign had been made, but he could remember her existing for his entire life.

"One person emailed to say she must be from the 50s as she's wearing 50s clothes, but I've known her longer than that," he said.

After spending time in Wright's attic, he said the walking lady has "given up the ghost a little bit" and he has to operate her mechanism manually to get her legs moving.

He said she was "worn out" having been on display for so long but was "repairable".

Wright's daughter posted a video of the sign on social media, which attracted hundreds of comments from people remembering seeing her in Ipswich when they were younger.

Wright said although people had offered to buy her, he wanted to pass her onto his grandchildren, but would consider allowing a museum to have her on display.

"You get the money and you spend the money but you can't replace her," he said.

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