Christmas in Leeds: 17 retro crackers take you back to the 1960s

By Andrew Hutchinson

Published 16th Dec 2022, 04:45 BST

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This photo gallery is packed with festive cheer and Christmas sparkle.

It brings together a host of festive traditions to showcase how Leeds celebrated Christmas in the 1960s. Christmas decorations, carol singing, shopping scenes and fundraising appeals are all featured in this trip down memory lane. The images are a mix from the YEP archive and others published courtesy of the West Yorkshire Archive Service, David Atkinson Archive and photographic archive Leodis, which is run by Leeds Library & Information Service. READ MORE: The babies born on Christmas Day in Leeds during the 1990s and 2000s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook

Enjoy these photo memories showcasing how Leeds celebrated Christmas during the 1960s. PIC: YPN

1. Christmas in Leeds

Enjoy these photo memories showcasing how Leeds celebrated Christmas during the 1960s. PIC: YPN Photo: YPN

Shoppers laden with the fruits of battle queue on Briggate for the bus home on Christmas Eve in 1962.

2. Christmas in Leeds

Shoppers laden with the fruits of battle queue on Briggate for the bus home on Christmas Eve in 1962. Photo: YPN

Christmas shoppers on Briggate in December 1963.

3. Christmas in Leeds

Christmas shoppers on Briggate in December 1963. Photo: YPN

Spuggy, the clown at Billy Smarts Christmas Circus, being treated by Knoble the chimp, assisted by Daphne Murgatroyd, an assistant at Leeds General Infirmary, in December 1964.

4. Christmas in Leeds

Spuggy, the clown at Billy Smarts Christmas Circus, being treated by Knoble the chimp, assisted by Daphne Murgatroyd, an assistant at Leeds General Infirmary, in December 1964. Photo: West Yorkshire Archive Service

Briggate packed with slowly moving Christmas shoppers in December 1965.

5. Christmas in Leeds

Briggate packed with slowly moving Christmas shoppers in December 1965. Photo: YPN

Christmas morning carol singing on Great Northern Street by members of Morley Friends' Adult School Men's Class in December 1961.

6. Christmas in Leeds

Christmas morning carol singing on Great Northern Street by members of Morley Friends' Adult School Men's Class in December 1961. Photo: Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net