It seems that Optimus introduced their 8R stove onto the market on 1955 as an upgraded version of the 8. This fits nicely with a lady called Margaret Berwick who bought this particular stove in 1960, used it for many a camping trip with her husband and finally donated it to our collection in 2015 when the camping days were over. The 8R burned what we now call lead free petrol, white or Coleman fuel, though at the time Optimus chose to call it gasoline which caused a lot of problems in the UK since most folk didn’t know what gasoline was – and still don’t! The stove needed to be primed by warming the tank with your hands – some folk used a candle – and allowing a little of the fuel to fill the cup below the burner which could be lit to heat the system which then – hopefully – sprang into life. Methylated spirit could be used to prime the system and a small pump was available, though this required a modified filler cap. The Berwicks have left an interesting wee note inside the stove: “Stove burns .13litres in 50 mins. 1 litre (segg blue) bottle will last about 9 days @ 50 mins(1 filling per day). Lead free or Coleman fuel” There’s also a spare wick and needle bought from Tiso’s, Edinburgh for £8.00 in July 2000, which seems rather expensive when we consider the stove only cost £4.50 back in 1975 as we can see from the advert opposite.