CARRYING his trusty camera, Albert Beaney cycled the streets capturing childhood moments in the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Now the lifelong Swindon resident will have his own memory enshrined for the future after a road was named in his honour.

The newly-built street, which lies near his former home off Akers Way, in Moredon, is called Beaney View.

The dedication was suggested to the council by the Swindon Society Albert’s son Trevor, who moved to Moredon with his father when he was six, said: “My dad was brought up in Moredon and everybody knew him in the area.

“If he was alive today he would be so chuffed to have a street named after him.

“There are still a lot of us in the area to this day and it means a lot to us too. It’s a great honour and we all very touched by it, especially by the fact that my father’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren will grow up with his name being a part of the town’s history.”

Albert, who had five children, lived in Ferneham Grove before moving to 1 Pembroke Gardens until he died in 2009.

Trevor, 65, of Stratton, said: “When the old Moredon School was knocked down they had to think of names for the road.

“The council contacted me to gain my permission and I said yes. It’s nice to think it will be there forever.”

Albert took pictures of children between the 1940s and 1970s which would be bought by their parents.

In an age before disposable cameras or digital film, the service was much in demand. However, many pictures went unclaimed. Swindon Museum and Art Gallery holds 40,000 negatives and prints Albert left behind and has held a series of displays to trace people in the images.

Albert, who was born in 1914, carried around a camera as child and always pursued photography as a hobby.

He worked as an officer’s assistant during the war before a spell on the railways. He then pursued his love of photography, and would be followed by children wanting their picture taken as he cycled around Swindon The archive of black-and-white images are rare and unguarded snapshots of the way life in the town used to be.

The museum, in Bath Road, is working with the Swindon Society on a major project to store the collection digitally.