Trayton Holmes , son of founder Gordon Holmes , joined the company in 1949 ; his son , Oliver Holmes , joined the company in 1972 and eventually became the managing director . Also in 1949 notable designer Clifton Rendle died , while Florence Attwood lived until 1952 . After the war new buildings were built on the site and an automatic stuffing machine was bought from the United States in 1955 . In 1957 the " Cheeky " bear was first introduced to the Merrythought range , a design which continues to be produced to the present day . In 1996 the Farnell brand name was bought by Merrythought . In 2001 a special Hope Bear was produced , raising money for the World Trade Center Disaster Fund
World Trade Center Disaster
September 11 attacks
Merrythought