He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake. Bletchley has seen many a personal appearance from the big man over the years so here’s a look back over some of them. Living Archive MK will be featuring many more festive memories of Milton Keynes on their Facebook page over the next few weeks so give them a follow on @living.archive.7 if you want to see more. The oldest images here are those of Father Christmas on horseback (and you thought he travelled everywhere by magical flying sleigh!) outside the old Bletchley railway station and hosting a lucky dip with toffee apple prizes – wonder what the losers got? These pictures have no dates on them but judging by the style of clothes and clues from the other material found with them they are probably from the early 50s. We skip a couple of decades to the early 70s with these lovely pics of Mr Claus officiating at a coin race in Queensway (1972) and meeting his adoring public outside the Co-Op in 1974. The annual Co-Op Christmas parade was a highlight of Bletchley’s annual calendar and drew huge crowds every year. Next up Rudolph makes a guest appearance outside the Brunel Centre as part of the Bletchley Round Table’s festive fun in 1983, and finally we have something of a mystery. This cool Father Christmas (was he auditioning for a stage version of The Blues Brothers? Did he have a bad hangover that day?) dates - we believe - from the late 80s or early 90s. But where is he? And what was the occasion? Were you there? Let us know! To find out more about how Living Archive MK preserves memories of Milton Keynes in past times and browse the online book sale – free mystery gift with every two book purchased and they make great Christmas gifts! - visit the website.
