IN the run-up to Christmas 55 years ago, the Adver ran many pictures of children in and near shops in Swindon’s town centre.

The area was in the midst of a massive programme of redevelopment which would culminate in the 1970s with the building of the Wyvern Theatre, the Brunel Centre and the David Murray John tower.

Although the nearest thing most children had to high-tech toys in those days was likely to be a train set or a clockwork robot, they were every bit as excited as a child of 2019 hoping for the latest games console.