One question I cannot answer is when did Bedfordshire stop dividing itself up and play county matches as one only. I do not know when north Bedfordshire and south Bedfordshire matches came to an end but clearly later than what most would assume. Well perhaps not but I assumed they stopped in the 1920s -how wrong I was. I don’t have enough information to comment on their regularity and significance, however, the reportage below sheds some light on the matter.
Update: the question of a north/south divide was in fact rooted in our league, which extended to county matches. I have uncovered reportage to prove this. The north/south Bedfordshire county matches were the only means for players within Bedfordshire to compete against each other. In the 1951/2 season, Bedford applied to play in the Luton League, as is stated below, with Leighton Buzzard having already entered a team into division 2. This is a significant discovery. In previous posts it was documented that Bedford also had 6 clubs of its own just after the war. I will continue to search until I find evidence which shows when Bedfordshire was united as a county in terms of league and county matches.
The following year Bedford won the league in their first season, with the team from Leighton Buzzard still in division 2.
Some three years later we find the term ‘Bedfordshire league’ being used and not ‘Luton league’.
McCreadyandChess 
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