With every man wearing or carrying a raincoat or overcoat, staff of J S Ramsbottom and Co Ltd – ‘the Complete Electricians’ – line up outside their own Bow Street premises prior to an outing.

Founded in 1924, Ramsbottoms pioneered such 1930 innovations as radio rental and Radio Relay.

The right-hand shop window shown here is advertising the quality and simplicity of Radio Relay.

Ramsbottoms branched out in 1956 with a record showroom in Cooke Lane, described as “the only music store in the town to be fitted with sound-proof audition rooms”.

When their Bow Street and Cooke Lane premises were demolished, Ramsbottoms moved in 1967 to extensive showrooms in High Street, where they remained until 1981.