AS we head into autumn, thoughts of Harvest Festivals spring to mind.

Many of us will have fond memories of the special services we attended during our schooldays, often held either in school, at the local church or at events within the local community.

Harvest is a tradition Britain has celebrated since Pagan times.

This annual celebration - which generally falls towards the end of September, early October, on the Sunday closest to the harvest moon - is an important date on the ecclesiastical and the community calendar.

Music, hymns and prayers form part of the celebrations and churches are often decorated for the occasion with baskets of fruit and food.

Traditionally, harvest recognises the food brought in from the land so, naturally, the focus is on feasting and also expressing appreciation for the crops our farmers painstakingly produce.

Perhaps more importantly though, is the recognition, through the festival, of the importance of giving and sharing and helping others.

Quite often, schools get involved with collecting tinned food and other non-perishables to pass on to help boost stocks at local food banks.

The food can also be distributed within the local community to the elderly and the vulnerable.

Here we take a look back in our archives to see how schools and community organisations celebrated this annual tradition throughout Bradford and district.

Our photo gallery shows harvest celebrations in the district throughout the years.

Interestingly, the black and white image of the collection of the first harvest corn at Park Farm, Eccleshill, doesn’t have a date other than that it was taken in

September, however, it is evident from the use of horse and cart for horsepower, compared to the modern machinery today’s farmers rely on, that it was taken in bygone times

Other photograps feature harvest celebrations captured in the mid-eighties to the early nineties.

The St John’s Flower Festival and the harvest event at Bradford’s Industrial Museum demonstrate the coming together of communities along with the community spirit which remains at the heart of the harvest celebrations we enjoy today.

Of course, Harvest is also a sign of the start of autumn.

According to the Met Office, the meteorological autumn begins on September 1 and ends on November 30.

Perfectly described by the young English poet, John Keats, as ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,’ autumn introduces us to the first phase of winter with darker evenings.

The autumnal nip in the air prepares us for the colder months.

But each season has a special significance.

The warmth of the sun in the summer months, and the lighter mornings and longer evenings make way for the darkness many find cosy and comforting during the colder months.

Crunching through the carpet of fallen leaves - and who could forget conker collecting? - is just one of the autumnal highlights to look forward to.

The T&A archive has produced some lovely photos capturing seasons from the past.

Two pals brace themselves under a brolly for the autumnal downpours.

Another photograph captures two women side-stepping puddles during the deluge.

Fond memories of a season many look forward to as we swiftly approach the end of another year....