Telephone directories

Note that many names are listed in the telephone directories (printed and online) showing just their initials and surnames, without the full first names
You can search the British Telecom Phonebook database by entering a name and a county, town or village. The web site gives the search option as 'Town', but entering a county also works unless that gives too many results
Bedford Central, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard libraries hold a full set of the printed telephone directories for the UK. Other Bedfordshire libraries hold the local phone directories for their area
The printed directories are updated roughly every eighteen months
If it would help you to view historical telephone directories up to 1984, you can search them on the Ancestry web site. You can search Ancestry Library Edition free in all Bedfordshire libraries or at a charge at Ancestry.com.
Ancestry are offering library members access to the Library Edition from home until the end of August 2020.
Click here to log in with your library card number and PIN.
For more details see the Telephone directories page in the Local and Family History section.
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Page last updated: 28th May 2020