A retired teacher has spent years ensuring Bolton's stories are not lost to time, helping preserve memories of communities, schools and people that shaped the borough.
Alan Rigby, 84, has published a series of local history books and memoirs, raising money for community causes while recording parts of Bolton's past that might otherwise have been forgotten.
The Darcy Lever-born and former headteacher is perhaps best known locally for helping publish The Village of Astley Bridge, the final work of historian Norman Hindley after he died in 2020.
Mr Rigby said: "I promised Norman Hindley. I said to him for years, 'How far are you on with the book, Norman?'
"He’d reply, 'Oh, I'm not there yet. Oh, I'm not there yet', for a long time."
Then Norman Hindley spent decades researching Astley Bridge, collecting photographs, records and memories from across the community before his death aged 89.
Afterwards, friends and supporters searched through his papers, hoping to find material relating to the unfinished book.
Mr Rigby said: "We went all through them and couldn't find a thing about his book.
"And under his desk, we found a pile of A4-type sheets. Going through those, it was all typed up, the book."
The manuscript was eventually compiled and published, with proceeds supporting Friends of Astley Bridge.
Mr Rigby said preserving Mr Hindley's work was important because of the years he had dedicated to researching the area's history.
He said: "The book is exactly as he left those notes. I collated them and got them all in order.
"My overriding concern, or wish, was that the book would eventually find its way to the British Library, so that his work would be recorded for posterity."
Copies were subsequently deposited with the British Library and other legal deposit libraries across the UK.
But The Village of Astley Bridge is only one of several books Mr Rigby has helped bring to readers.
He has also published his own memoir, Darcy Lever Days: Memories of a Boyhood, alongside a history of Brownlow Fold County Secondary Boys' School and a collection of poems and paintings created in his eighties.
Mr Rigby said his interest in local history developed through years of involvement with Halliwell Local History Society and community reminiscence groups.
He said: "Astley Bridge is now very close to my heart."
Mr Rigby helped run an Astley Bridge reminiscence group with Mr Hindley before his death, encouraging residents to share memories of school days, holidays, workplaces and everyday life in Bolton.
Many of the stories featured in his books focus on ordinary people and places that no longer exist, from former schools and railway stations to mills and neighbourhood landmarks.
As demand for local history publications continues, Mr Rigby believes preserving those memories remains important for future generations.
His work has helped ensure that stories from Astley Bridge, Darcy Lever, Halliwell and beyond will continue to be available long after those who lived them are gone.
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