MAY we, through your columns, register thanks and appreciation to the many organisations and individuals who help make last Saturday (September 23) one of the most successful and memorable days in the history of Westhoughton Local History Group at the unveiling of the Westhoughton Timeline in the library, a permanent wall-mounted display chronicling key events and developments in the town's long history.

The advent of the Timeline prompted the staging of a temporary exhibition, entitled 'Aspects of Howfen', a display of 37 watercolour images of the Westhoughton of yesteryear, by Tom Newton MBE, a long-time member of the group, who formally opened the exhibition, and unveiled the Timeline.

The event also saw the launch of two publications, 'Historical Images of Westhoughton' (featuring reproductions of all the displayed paintings), and 'A Timeline of the History of Westhoughton', a souvenir booklet, expanding upon the information displayed on the wall-mounted panels. The Timeline and the two publications are all dedicated to the memory of Pam Clarke, founder-member and president of the group, whose vision the Timeline was, but who sadly died in January without seeing the project come to fruition.

Thanks to the Bolton Library and Museum Services team for the design and production of the Timeline display, to Westhoughton Town Council for generous financial support and to Westhoughton Library staff for help and support. We are particularly appreciative of the tremendous support received from Westhoughton and Bolton councillors, the rank-and-file members of our group, the residents of Westhoughton, and to other local heritage societies who gave us such magnificent support on Saturday. More than 200 people attended the opening and 300 viewed the Timeline/exhibition on the opening day Most of the temporary exhibition will remain in situ until October 31, and the Timeline is on permanent display.

We also express our thanks to The Bolton News for its on-going coverage of our activities, and in particular the major features in recent 'Looking Back' editions which have previewed the event, and which most certainly helped ensure such large visitor numbers, and the resultant widespread interest in our project.

Westhoughton Local History Group 2017 Committee