CAEC ( Or Cacky ) Howard’s olde yard down Rope Walk and Charles Wells when it had not just a football stadium but also a dog track.
P.S Found pics on the Worlde Wide Wobble thingymajig.
Poikey:
CAEC ( Or Cacky ) Howard’s olde yard down Rope Walk and Charles Wells when it had not just a football stadium but also a dog track.P.S Found pics on the Worlde Wide Wobble thingymajig.
Great photos poikey, tend to forget that CAEC Howard were quite a big concern back in the day and of course Charles Wells who owned the land on which Bedford Town FC had their ground later went on and basically closed the towns football club down by serving them notice to vacate that location so they could expand their brewery (like they couldn’t have built it somewhere else! 
)
Photo of the main stand being demolished.
I sat in that stand a few times and watched a few of the old players like Jimmy ■■■■■■■ who I worked with when I was 23… I also played on that pitch twice in the Beds & Bucks Cup.
Regards Andy
Kempston, here’s a link on the stadium and Cackys! Also found a bit on Frederich Ray.
Probably worth mentioning that Rogers Transport was/is the same Rogers that had an aviation business as well as the agricultural engineers, think there was 6 in total and the they was also millers, one mill being at Castle Mills and the old mill next door to the olde St Johns railway station. If I remember, it was Neville Rogers that had the bypass moved before it got built so as not to interfere with his airstrip at Castle Mills. The aviation side certainly had a base at Cranfield and I think Hatfield as well.
greyhoundracingtimes.co.uk/2019 … the-eyrie/
howard-ventures.com/about-us/our-history/
discovery.nationalarchives.gov. … 18fb74723d
abpic.co.uk/pictures/operator/W … roup%20Ltd
OldishJoda:
I sat in that stand a few times and watched a few of the old players like Jimmy ■■■■■■■ who I worked with when I was 23… I also played on that pitch twice in the Beds & Bucks Cup.
Regards Andy
I used to go from as soon as I could walk, my dad used to take me, we stood in the covered terrace behind the goal. Used to love it, I’ve been to the new ground loads of times and even helped with the construction of it but of course it’s nothing like the old ground.
Poikey:
Kempston, here’s a link on the stadium and Cackys! Also found a bit on Frederich Ray.
Probably worth mentioning that Rogers Transport was/is the same Rogers that had an aviation business as well as the agricultural engineers, think there was 6 in total and the they was also millers, one mill being at Castle Mills and the old mill next door to the olde St Johns railway station. If I remember, it was Neville Rogers that had the bypass moved before it got built so as not to interfere with his airstrip at Castle Mills. The aviation side certainly had a base at Cranfield and I think Hatfield as well.greyhoundracingtimes.co.uk/2019 … the-eyrie/
howard-ventures.com/about-us/our-history/
Interesting stuff poikey, I never knew Rogers were involved in all this other stuff but I have seen the landing strip for his plane.
Not been to the Football ground, but Goldington Road has a traditional feel to it and some good rugby played there.
Been up from Cornwall a few times when the Cornish Pirates play Bedford.
Stayed at the Park Inn and drank at the Kings Arms - not a bad weekend away.
Kempston, as you go through Great Barford towards the Black Cat, Rogers Engineers was on the left which was always kept immaculately. Next door to a scrap yard, Terrys I think.
Rogers Engineers had a few other yards. Weedon, Stamford, Kettering and one Birmingham way off the top of my head.
Poikey:
Kempston, as you go through Great Barford towards the Black Cat, Rogers Engineers was on the left which was always kept in an immaculately. Next door to a scrap yard, Terrys I think.
Rogers Engineers had a few other yards. Weldon, Stamford, Kettering and one Birmingham way off the top of my head.
Honestly knew nothing about that, thought they just ran the transport fleet. Obviously a bigger concern than I thought.
whisperingsmith:
Not been to the Football ground, but Goldington Road has a traditional feel to it and some good rugby played there.
Been up from Cornwall a few times when the Cornish Pirates play Bedford.
Stayed at the Park Inn and drank at the Kings Arms - not a bad weekend away.
My brother in law goes to the rugby, I seem to recall he went down to Cornwall for the away game and made a mini break of it. Have they improved the roads down there yet I only went a couple of times when driving lorries but did have one holiday down there at Perranporth, started out very early and got a good way down before stopping for a break. Got as far as Indian Queens and that was it, sat there for ages then just crawled all the way down from there, took me nearly 8 hours! Put me off going again + it rained pretty much every day. 
The roads are improving Kempston, they are now working on dualing the last bit - apart from Hayle to Penzance, which is unlikely to happen for years.
It still rains bang on cue every year, as soon as the kids break up and the holiday season starts it ■■■■■■ down, that goes on for 6 weeks until they all go back - then it’s dry and sunny again.
Rogers are still in business!
whisperingsmith:
The roads are improving Kempston, they are now working on dualing the last bit - apart from Hayle to Penzance, which is unlikely to happen for years.
It still rains bang on cue every year, as soon as the kids break up and the holiday season starts it ■■■■■■ down, that goes on for 6 weeks until they all go back - then it’s dry and sunny again.
Poikey:
Rogers are still in business!
I was forgetting about the garage business, didn’t they also own the Land Rover dealership the opposite side of the road to where the Tesco is in goldington?
No, that was probably Marshall’s. The land that garage sits on was owned by a nearby farmer. Now the grey matter ain’t what it used to be but said farmer became known as Tesco Ted……namely E F Wootton from Ravensden who ran and may still run some bulk tippers.
Poikey:
Kempston, as you go through Great Barford towards the Black Cat, Rogers Engineers was on the left which was always kept immaculately. Next door to a scrap yard, Terrys I think.
Rogers Engineers had a few other yards. Weedon, Stamford, Kettering and one Birmingham way off the top of my head.
Rogers Aviation was situated in Hanger 1 at Cranfield Airfield better known as the College of Aeronautics in those days, then as Cranfield Institute of Technology, my friend was a Aircraft Fitter there, I also lived on the College so knew the place well.
Rogers Aviation was next door to Beds Air Centre, Beds Air Centre and aircraft was used for the filming of Michael Crawfords Some Mothers Do Have Them !
Rogers Engineers also had a yard in the centre of Sherington Village in between Newport Pagnell & Olney but I think it finished approx 40 years ago.
Regards Andy
Andy, think the Sherington link mentions when Rogers shut that yard.
Regarding Cranfield, think that was the main base as I seem to recall one at Hatfield too. Know a lot of Some Mothers was filmed in and around Bedford many summers ago when I was a sprog!
Cranfield was home to S M Ementon buses/coaches and believe some vehicles belonging to Jimmy Laughton was also based nearby, a brick haulier possibly from Manchester.
Poikey:
Andy, think the Sherington link mentions when Rogers shut that yard.
Regarding Cranfield, think that was the main base as I seem to recall one at Hatfield too. Know a lot of Some Mothers was filmed in and around Bedford many summers ago when I was a sprog!Cranfield was home to S M Ementon buses/coaches and believe some vehicles belonging to Jimmy Laughton was also based nearby, a brick haulier possibly from Manchester.
Jimmy Laughton had some F86’s 6 wheelers based near the Mobile Home Park Lodge Road, he used to run down to Taunton I think.
Yes Ron & Stella Ementon had the yard at the top of Cranfield Hill and on Crane Way where they lived. Their son Bob is still living in Cranfield.