CHILDHOOD memories came flooding back to Winnie Oldfield when she returned to Bolton for the first time in 73 years.

Endless picnics in the country and the smell of baking Eccles cakes are all images still vivid in the mind of the grandmother, who made the nostalgic journey to the North-west from America to celebrate her 80th birthday.

Winnie was born at 47 Thorpe Street, Halliwell, but left the country when she was seven when her father, Arthur Cooper, went abroad to manage textile mills.

They first landed in Russia, then Canada and the mother-of-two finally settled in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Although the last time she stood on Bolton soil was in 1928 Winnie still has fond memories of the town.

She said: "I remember the very impressive lions at the side of the steps on the town hall, and the Parish Church, which is still a wonderful building.

Cakes

"I remember having picnics in the countryside and there was a bakery around the corner from where we lived. I would be able to smell the Eccles cakes, they smelled delicious. I haven't tried them since, so we're going to buy some today."

Winnie arrived in Bolton with her daughter Charlene Porreca, 47, on Saturday and was joined later by her other daughter Pat Currie, 53, who lives in Scotland. Today she sets off for the Cotswolds and London.

She said she has been impressed with what she has seen.

She added: "The town has changed, like everything. I remember bits of the older parts, but a lot of new buildings have gone up."

She added: "I thought the Market Hall was fantastic, with the glass elevators. We only see glass elevators in places like New York."

Charlene is a genealogist and on a past visit to Bolton managed to trace the family tree and found out that Samuel Crompton, the inventor of the spinning mule, that shaped an industry, was Winnie's great, great, great, great grandfather.

Winnie said: "I was amazed when I found out about that. We are so proud of our British heritage."

Winnie worked as a probation officer for more than 20 years and was also a model. Her husband Charles, who died in 1980, had relatives from Sheffield. It was a very different world when Winnie left Bolton in 1928...

King George V was the King of England.

Laurel and Hardy were becoming the biggest names in comedy, making four comic films in 1928.

President Herbert Hoover became the President of the United States of America. The US economy was thriving, with massive sales in cars and consumer goods.

Over 65s in the UK received their first state pensions.

Voting age for women in this country was reduced from 30 to 21.

Alexander Fleming reported the discovery of penicillin.

DH Lawrence's controversial novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover, was published.

The London and North Eastern Railway offered their customers a revolutionary service, the Flying Scotsman, travelling non-stop from London to Edinburgh, a distance of more than 392 miles. That was the year that was