Dunstable Yesteryear - remembering the iconic red phone boxes

Remember the iconic red telephone boxes from the days when a public phone was an essential amenity in every community?

This photo was taken in December 1988 when a lorry travelled around Dunstable collecting the old boxes, which were being replaced by new metallic grey versions. These were supposedly less claustrophobic and user-friendly, especially for disabled people.

The scene here shows the corner of Southfields Road and London Road in Dunstable. Now, with mobile phones becoming so widely used, many of the “new” boxes have been little used and have disappeared. That is certainly the case today at Southfields Road.

There is one very special red telephone box remaining in Dunstable. It stands in Church Street near the Kingsway corner, close to the Marshe almshouses and alongside a postbox bearing the crest of King George VI. The phone box is protected and officially listed as being of historic interest. British Telecom is about to remove the payphone inside and Dunstable Council would like to take over the box under the “Adopt a Kiosk” scheme.

The picture here, taken by Chiltern Photographic Arts for the Dunstable Gazette, also appeared in Pat Lovering’s book Dunstable Decade which featured local photos from the 1980s.

Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.