Dunstable Yesteryear - Parading past Keep's Corner
A scooter passing the old Woolworth’s building in High Street South, Dunstable, was the only sign of traffic when this photo was taken of a parade by the Dunstable Girls Life Brigade in about 1963.
It’s a reminder of the times when the view of Dunstable crossroads was dominated by a series of giant posters advertising the goodness of Guinness.
But equally familiar was the drapery shop of J.H. Korn, the business name of Mr Herschkorn, which stood at the end of Middle Row for many decades.
Even better known was the newsagent’s shop established by Frederick Keep in 1924. Older Dunstablians still refer to this part of the town as “Keep’s Corner”.
Mr Keep came to Dunstable from Newbury in 1904 to work at Waterlow’s printing company. He joined the army in the First World War and fought at the battle of the Somme and at Ypres, where he was wounded by shrapnel.
He was a lay preacher at Dunstable’s Victoria Street Methodist Church and was elected to Dunstable Council in 1933. He was Mayor of Dunstable between 1937 and 1940.
Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.