Flitwick, the Mill c1960

ampthill siren

My abiding memory of Ampthill is when I used to go to the Saturday pictures with my cousins and the fire engine would be called out. The only problem was the siren that called them out was the old wartime air-raid siren. What a noise !!! I lived in Maulden but often visited Ampthill. thanks for the memories. !!!

Butchers shop

Browsing Ampthill, for the first time, I came across the above photo.  On the left just above the logo is a shop blind that used to protect the meat in the window display from sunshine (when it appeared).  That blind was the bain of my life in 1952/3/4 when I was a so called "butchers boy".  It never ran correctly on it's tracks, and I caused many a car to swerve my long pole manipulations putting it up and down.  Funny when I think about it.  The bicycle outside (possibly me pictured) was used for deliveries.  The carrier full of orders for Maulden and surrounds was a steering hazard particulary in the snow.  One Saturday morning I came to grief down Maulden hill and spent an hour scraping dirt and stones from meat with my pen knife before going on my way.  The complaints arrived back at Ampthill well before yours truly.  Oh the humiliation and all for 2/6p a week.  Humiliation was for being caught out, not for stony meat.  On the positive side the grumpy woman that lived down I think it was called "Duck Lane" never ordered meat again.
As a retiree I live in a nice environment/climate in Tasmania. 15 years ago I passed through Ampthill on a visit and I believe the butchers shop was a launderette.  That's progress for you!!!!
It has been great to reminice with the aid of the Ampthill web site.  Keep it up.
I can see my old Ampthill address, 14 Flitwick Rd on Google Earth.  How Ampthill has altered.
Anyway, Greetings from Tasmania,               Paul Guyton.

Grandma

The lady with the white coat and shopping basket on the right hand side of the photo is my grandmother - Clara Billington - and lovely to see her in print!

Shop names.

The shop next door to The Ampthill News was and still is Cheesman's the chemist and the shop next door to that was Underwood's an electrical appliance shop.

39 Mill Lane

The gable end of the house on the left is 39 Mill Lane and Back St starts at the junction over the hill and not visible here. My father built the house about 1935 when he was  21 years old. I grew up there until 1955 when it was sold and we moved from Clophill for a short time. We returned in 1957 and lived in the Old Police House in The Slade until I married in 1966 and brought my first home in Back St. I have traced my family's time in Clophill from about 1750 until 1980 in a new book which is now available.