Our latest pictures from the archive show Oxford in the early 1970s when the Co-op was still in Queen Street.
The Queen Mother got a warm welcome when she visited the city in 1973, and the same year the remains of an old well were found in the city centre.
As the Duchess of York, the Queen Mother had opened the maternity unit at the Radcliffe Infirmary in October 1931.
She also opened the unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital 42 years later.
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Among those who met the Queen Mother during her visit to the John Radcliffe was one-year-old Justine Pyne.
She had been invited with her parents, Mr and Mrs Robert Pyne, of Milton Road, Oxford, as she was first baby born at the unit.
Mrs Pyne said: “When the Queen Mother approached us and saw Justine had fallen asleep, she said that was just the way it should be.”
The Queen Mother was given a tour of the hospital and saw one of the latest arrivals, three-hour-old Clare Jones and her mother, Julia Jones, of Crown Road, Kidlington.
In a small ward, she spoke to four mothers, including Pamela Davis, of Toot Baldon, whose baby Nicola had been born a few days earlier.
Her husband, Michael, brought their two other children to the hospital to meet the Queen Mother.
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One nursing sister was expectant mother Rosalind Higson, who volunteered to be examined on the hospital’s ultrasound machine.
The Queen Mother was able to see the outline of her baby on the machine’s screen.
She told Sister Higson she was plucky to volunteer for the demonstration.
Earlier in the day, the Queen Mother opened the £250,000 British Red Cross Society flats for elderly people, known as Wyndham House, in Plantation Road, North Oxford.
When she arrived, she was greeted by a thunderstorm as well as loud cheers from the crowd.
She stood under an awning to unveil a plaque while spectators sheltered in doorways from the rain.
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Before going to the John Radcliffe Hospital, she had lunch with the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace.
The same year, when workmen found a hole in Queen Street further investigation revealed the remains of an old freshwater well.
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About the author
Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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