Looking Back: This week’s photograph shows the annual livestock dinner in St Neots in 1956

This photograph shows the large attendance at the 1956 Dinner which was hosted as usual by the auctioneer Victor Ekins of Ekins Witherow and Handley. (Image: Archant)

Mr Storey's image shows the large attendance at the 1956 Fatstock dinner - an annual event held in St Neots in December.

This one was hosted by auctioneer Victor Ekins of Ekins Witherow and Handley.

The St Neots Livestock Market, in New Street, was one of the largest in East Anglia with more than 1,000 pigs, cattle and sheep sold by auction each week.

The annual Fatstock Show was held to allow farmers to show their best animals and judges would award prizes for the champions.

This photograph shows the large attendance at the 1956 Dinner which was hosted as usual by the auctioneer Victor Ekins of Ekins Witherow and Handley. (Image: Archant)

This was followed a few days later by the Fatstock Show dinner where the cups and awards were presented.

"The dinner was for many years held in the Public Rooms which stood at the entry to St Neots river bridge just off the Market Square and behind where Thomas Morris's estate agents offices are now situated," said Mr Storey.

"The Public Rooms were demolished in 1963 to allow the new wider town bridge to be built."

Throughout the 1950s Victor Ekins was the auctioneer. He had succeeded his father Sidney Ekins, and was joined in the late 1960s by his son Anthony Ekins and by Mr Storey and Michael Alexander in the early 1970s.

This continued until the market closed and the site was redeveloped for retirement flats in 1985.

Mr Storey says there are many local farmers and butchers pictured on the photograph and he is asking readers if they can recognise any of the people in the photo.

INFO: If you have any information about the photograph or recognise anyone who is pictured, or you have an old photograph you would be happy to share with readers, e-mail: debbie.davies@archant.co.uk.

Last week's photograph of the fire at a thatched cottage in Great Gransden (inset) prompted a response from Jackie (nee Carter) from Warboys who was aged eight and living in the village at that time. She remembers local children running to watch as an elderly lady, who was living in the cottage, had to be rescued as she was refusing to leave her possessions and her many cats behind. Jackie says the blaze was caused by a spark from a bonfire and the cottage was destroyed. A bungalow now sits on the site.