It may look like the gent’s from the City of London resplendent with his bowler, brolly and copy of The Times but this was in fact taken in Churchgate, Bolton in 1965.

We’re pretty sure that shoe shine boys were not a common sight on Bolton’s streets - certainly the stares he’s attracting from passers-by would seem to back this up.

It’s possible it was some sort of promotional campaign but there’s nothing on the photograph to tell us for sure. Notice too the phone boxes which were much in demand.

If you can shed any more light on the picture email john.anson@nqnw.co.uk