LAND left vacant by the Bridge Street demolition was used during the Second World War for parking military vehicles, as seen here behind the Earl of Harewood, Lord Lieutenant of the County, as he takes the salute at a 1944 parade.

The occasion was the opening of Keighley’s Salute the Soldier Week, one of a series of special efforts for wartime causes.

The initial target in this case was £750,000, the cost of equipping a battalion from each of Yorkshire’s six infantry regiments.

This parade comprised the army and Home Guard, civil defence services, the WVS, British Legion and youth and voluntary organisations, marching to no less than five bands.

The Earl of Harewood later marked an indicator in the Town Hall Square, which already, at the start of the week, registered nearly £379,000. By the end of the week, Keighley had raised £1,102,941.

This photograph was supplied by David Petyt, whose father was third from the right in the guard of honour provided by the Home Guard.