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Ridgmont was a self sufficient thriving village in the years leading up to the Second World War and during the War. Very few people had any form of transport other than a bicycle or a horse, therefore, everything required had to be available within the village, grown by the villagers or delivered into the village by door to door tradesmen.
Click here to see a map showing where the different amenities were in the village; there was a shoe shop; grocery shop; bicycle shop; blacksmiths; dairy farm; bakers and butchers.
The village was also well served by tradesmen from the neighbouring towns and villages. These would call, usually on a weekly basis, to your door or in the street selling their wares. Most had a characteristic bell or call to signal their presence, as described by Cecil Woodland in his diary:
Ridgmont was well served by a variety of 'door-to-door’ traders. These consisted of three bakers:

Mr Dove from Husborne Crawley,

Mr Brett from Eversholt

and Mr Deeley who was a confectioner from Woburn Sands;
Mr Circuitt the greengrocer from Wavendon;

an Ironmonger Mr Hile from Woburn;

a tailor and dressmaker Mr Pruden from Chesham

and Mr Hales the chemist from Woburn Sands.
There were also many other tradesmen who would call on a weekly basis

Mr Young would deliver milk, butter and eggs;

Sid Yates would deliver fish

and Mr Beale would deliver oil.

There was also the Thursday man, whose title derives from the fact he delivered goods on Thursdays, who would trade all manner of goods including brushes, tinbaths and a multitude of other household items.