History of the Jelly Baby

Jelly babies were originally called Victory babies, and then renamed Peace babies by a North of England table jelly maker in 1918 to celebrate the end of World War 1.

Everything had to be ceased when the Second World War started in 1939 because of a shortage of raw materials and only resumed production when sweet rationing ended in 1953 and given the name of Jelly Babies.

The first known television report about jelly babies was on 29th January 1965 on the centenary of the invention of the jelly baby. Said to have been invented by a "tramp confectioner" in a factory in the town of Nelson, Lancaster, England. The then BBC reporter Fyfe Robertson at the time, explained how the sweeties were first called "Unclaimed Babies" and later it is alleged the secret recipe was given to a table jelly factory.