Pictures that came from a Rainbow

BOTH photographs published in this week’s Memory Lane were kindly given to us by Pamela Lord, nee Rainbow who lives in Shrewsbury.

She found them while sorting through some old photographs which belonged to her parents, Frank Rainbow and his wife Phyllis (nee Edmunds) who were both from Chronicle country.

Phyllis used to live on the High Street in Henlow while Pamela’s father grew up with his younger brother Arnold in the care of their mother Carrie Dinah at 10 Campton Turn, opposite Handscombes Farm and the New Inn, Shefford.

As Pamela didn’t recognise either of her parents in the pictures, she kindly donated them to Memory Lane to see if they would be of interest to readers.

The larger photo here on the right is of Shefford Boy Scouts, including members of the Scout band.

The year is not known but it is likely to have been taken around the late 1920s, due to the fact that both pictures were printed on postcards bearing the same typeface on the back and the other photo was taken then.

These were the early days of Scouting, which was founded in 1907, and the boys are wearing the original uniform of khaki button-up shirt, long shorts and a broad brimmed ‘campaign hat’.

It is said that Scouting’s founder Baden Powell, who was an army officer stationed in India during the 1890s, based the original Scout uniform on the tropical uniform of the British Army at that time. The neckerchief came about as it could double up as a sling or bandage in an emergency.

The second smaller photograph on the immediate right is of Campton Football Club and was taken in 1927-28. The team were obviously cup winners that season and unusually, the local vicar is also posing in the picture.

Can anyone shed any light on this photo or the players in it? Please contact us.

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