These photographs of the redevelopment of the Airedale Shopping Centre were all taken on 21st September 1986 by Roy Willoughby. Up until this point, the 1960s shopping precinct had been open to the elements, but at this time work was underway to build a roof over all the walkways.
Roy Dean Willoughby was born in Keighley on 1st February 1932, and lived most of his life in East Morton. He wanted to be a cabinet maker but his father was a fishmonger, with a shop in Bingley, and Roy followed in his footsteps. From the late 1960s, he owned and ran the fish and chip shop at 253 Bradford Road (now Stockbridge Fisheries) up until 1983. There are tales of him giving the leftovers at the end of the day to those who were struggling or homeless. After he retired and sold the business he went on to work with his son at Studio 127 on East Parade. They were signwriters and made posters, producing shop signs for businesses in Keighley. He was passionate about photography and he took thousands of photographs throughout his life. Some of his photographs are believed to have been used by Keighley News. Roy passed away on 7th May 2012. Many of Roy’s photographs can be seen on the History Society’s Flickr site courtesy of his grandson Billy Stride.
