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THE week-long effort to bring in £1m to "adopt" HMS Dido proved to be the most outstanding fundraising effort in Bolton's history.

And in 1987 it was remembered at a special reunion evening at the Last Drop Village in Bromley Cross.

Guests included individuals who helped raise the cash, and representatives from banks involved at the time. Among the guests was Margaret Taylor whose father, Walter Tong, was the Mayor of Bolton at the time.

He was one of the leading figures in the drive for the magic million.

Mrs Taylor told the Bolton Evening News in 1987; "I was at school at the time. I remember the bulk of the money came from individuals and children in schools. People just gave what they could. There were no fundraising gimmicks in those days. Everyone just wanted to help the war effort. There was a marvellous atmosphere in the town that week."

She recalled that the amount raised each day was recorded on a large "thermometer" displayed outside the town hall.

Another guest that evening was Richard Hurst whose father ran the Richard Threlfall engineering firm in Bolton which donated £1,000 to the appeal. Also there was Ken Edge who worked for the Bolton Savings Bank which had the task of collecting and counting the cash as it was brought in. Much of the money was given through the buying of National Savings Certificates and Defence Bonds or through interest-free loans until the end of the war.

1:12pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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