ARTEFACTS from the successor to Bolton's HMS Dido could go on display in a naval museum in Kent.
HMS Dido was commissioned in 1940, then a year later in an incredible wartime fundraising effort Bolton people donated an amazing £1 million in a week to pay for it.
The fundraising appeal captured the imagination of everyone in the town who wanted to do their bit for the war effort.
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And to keep the money coming in, a large "thermometer" was put on display outside Bolton Town Hall showing the daily running total of cash raised.
In a distinguished career, HMS Dido, a cruiser, accepted the surrender of the German navy in May, 1945, at Copenhagen and fired the last shot of the Second World War in Europe.
Now a group of veterans are asking for permission to put several historical artefacts from the ship's successor, a frigate, on display at its home base in Chatham.
Members of the HMS Dido Association visited Bolton to see the artefacts, which include the ship's bell, battle honours board and lifebelt which belong to Bolton Council.
The items are currently in storage at the council-owned Lincoln Mill in Rumworth.
The original ship was decommissioned in 1958 and a new HMS Dido, an anti-submarine frigate, went into service in 1963.
It was sold to the New Zealand Navy in 1983 and renamed Southland.
HMS Dido Association secretary and founder, Colin Bates, from Birmingham, served on the frigate.
He said: "It's our opinion that things of such an historic nature should be on permanent display, and the ideal place would be where the ship was based.
"We would, however, be sorry to take them away from Bolton as we've got a very strong connection with the town.
"The important thing is that they are on display."
The association, which has about 250 members all over the world, is to ask Bolton Council if it would be willing to give or loan the artefacts to the association.
Mr Bates added: "It is our history and it is history that we can't allow to be forgotten."
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