CALLING CRIV-ITE COLLECTORS OF KELLOGG'S CHARACTERS...

The very first SOOTY figure I ever had as a lad was a grey one, included as a free gift in a packet of KELLOGG'S cereal.  Today I received a replacement for it, and by that mysterious, magical, mystical method I've referred to before, it 'became' the actual item I had way back in the early '70s.  Don't ask me to explain how it works - it just does.  (In my mind anyway.)

We usually got Corn Flakes when I was a kid, occasionally Weetabix, and when there was a coveted free gift included, Sugar Smacks or Sugar Puffs.  (Which were the same thing in all but name, and even that was 50% the same.)  I've looked up the Sooty figures on the Internet and, apparently, they were giveaways with Coco Krispies in 1973.

This perplexes me somewhat, 'cos I don't remember ever getting Coco Krispies, but it's conceivable we did on that occasion because I wanted a Sooty.  But what about the year?  When I look at Sooty (and even in memory for decades), I see him in the house we lived in until June 1972, which would mean I had him for a few months before that at the very least.  I can see him in the living room, my bedroom, etc., and I find it hard to believe I didn't acquire him until 1973.

So Kellogg's collectors, could the 1973 date attributed to the Sooty line be for a reissue, or is my memory of having Sooty earlier than that simply a delusion, brought about by me associating him with earlier cereal characters (like CRATER CRITTERS or NEPTUNE & His SEA-BED SERENADERS) that I did have in my previous house?

If you will, do me a favour and rack your brains on my behalf.  Are Sooty and his pals (SWEEP, SOO [spelt SUE by Kellogg's], KIPPER, and BUTCH) definitely from 1973, or were they available before that, perhaps in another cereal?  I'm bewildered by how I could associate these figures for so many years with one particular house, if they weren't issued until sometime after we flitted from it.  Can you help?