This arresting image from 1929 is one of a series of evocative black and white pictures capturing more than a century of change across the county.
From workers on the factory floor to the early days of the M1 motorway, via some of the region’s most famous landmarks crashing down, this retro photo gallery combines scenes of everyday life with the most dramatic moments from the dawn of the 20th century to more modern times.
Bustling town centres, remarkable aerial shots and the cutest animal photos from Whipsnade Zoo when times were very different all feature in this round-up of the best photos from down the decades.
The pictures celebrate the best of Bedfordshire, including its proud manufacturing heritage, producing everything from cars and chocolates to hats and even luminous knickers so bright that protective glasses were required by the workers handling them.
Do these photos bring back any memories for you?
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1. Airship overhead
The airship R101 pictured passing over Bedford as it makes its first flight in October 1929 | Getty Images Photo: Central Press
2. Vanishing landmarks
The London Brick Company's 18 giant 190ft chimneys are felled on December 1, 1980, in an effort to clean up Bedfordshire | Getty Images Photo: Central Press
3. 60s street scene
September 1969: Looking down George Street in Luton, Bedfordshire, in September 1969 | Getty Images Photo: K. Britten/Fox Photos
4. Town centre
The High Street and Market Cross in Leighton Buzzard in December 1946 | Getty Images Photo: J. Dixon-Scott/Hulton Archive