Richard Bracey, a Welsh miner who left his job in the Tredegar mines in the 1940s, moved to London by horse and cart and eventually founded God’s Own Junkyard, one of Europe’s largest neon sign makers. After serving in the Royal Navy, Richard started work at the now-defunct Power Neon and began to learn the difficult trade of creating neon signs. Having learned the trade for a few years, Richard then left to set up his own company in the 1950s, which has since been passed down and grown into God’s Own Junkyard.
Richard’s signs illuminated the streets of Soho, including the sign for Raymond Revuebar, a theatre and strip club opened in 1958 by the “King of Soho” Paul Raymond. Today, God’s Own Junkyard has grown into one of the world’s “big players” in the neon sign industry. The London-based company produces and ships signs to every corner of the world, including to Las Vegas, Dubai, and Australia.
Despite Richard’s passing in 2012 at the age of 87, his grandson Matthew Bracey continues the family business. Matthew said that despite the grueling and difficult nature of working with neon signs, which “kick out 100,000 volts of electricity,” the business is “pretty much a neon sign specialists, it’s our bread and butter.” Matthew’s father Chris, who worked alongside Richard from the 1970s, also became known at the “neon man” and created signs for Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, four Batman films, and created many other features.
From a small workshop in their family garage, God’s Own Junkyard has grown into one of the largest collections of neon signs and sculptures outside the US. The warehouse in Walthamstow, northeast London, is now home to the largest collections of neon signs and sculpture outside the US. The company still maintains many of the neon signs Richard created for Soho’s notoriously seedy nightlife, including those for the Raymond Revuebar and former dog racing venue Walthamstow Stadium
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