I can, Steve. It was given with the issue for 30 September 1961. They had given a Sports Star Spotter the previous week. It would be the best part of 18 months before the next free gift.stevezodiac wrote:Just picked up "Famous Fighting Planes of World War II" free gift booklet given away with Rover and Adventure. It was 50p in Deptford flea market. Can Phoenix please tell me which issue it came with date wise? I don't think R&A was numbered was it?
The probable reason why Rover and Adventure wasn't numbered is that they closed at the same time, but not with the same issue number, as Adventure had been running for just under six months when Thomsons launched The Rover. Thomsons probably couldn't make up their mind about numbering, and they certainly seemed to consider Adventure the weaker title because the word Adventure was to disappear from the masthead in October 1963. A similar situation occurred on 11 May 1991 when Judy and Mandy were closed down, Judy being the senior by 7 years, but with a different outcome. The company then took the decision to amalgamate them as equals, calling the new paper Mandy and Judy, or M&J as it became known, with an issue number from 1 and a date. It was to continue in that form for 6 years, at which point it was annexed by Bunty.
