Mammoth bonfire brought 5,000 to play fields

MONEY raised at the Accrington and District Round Table’s Carnival bought a minibus for the Peter Pan Club in 1975 (top left).

A cheque for £1,823 was handed over by chairman Ian Cavannagh to Peter Pan club chairman Frank McKinley at their headquarters on Thwaites Road in Oswaldtwistle.

The donation also helped to buy a cancer screening machine for Accrington Victoria Hospital.

A disco was held to celebrate the opening of St Mary Magdalen’s new cellar premises at Accrington (right, centre).

The renovations began in the early 1970s when youth club members demolished the old air raid shelter.

A mammoth bonfire and £20 worth of fireworks blazed a trail in the sky above Hyndburn in 1975.

It was organised at the Sandy Lane playing fields by Accrington Round Table and attracted around 5,000 people.

Roger Brunt (centre) is pictured with Edwin Airey and Ian Brunt putting the final touches on one of the stalls (top right).

Historian, author and television personality Jessica Lofthouse visited Huncoat Ladies Club for a talk on Lancashire folk, villages and adventures with the Look North camera crew (bottom right).

The picture was taken by Garth Dawson and shows Mrs Lofthouse (centre) with Mrs Broadhurst, Mrs Milek, Mrs Donaldson and Mrs Hockett.

Local industry played a major role in the Harvest Festival services at St Paul’s Church in Oswaldtwistle (bottom left) with 11 firms displaying their products.

Rev Peter Ruffle, canon missioner at Blackburn Cathedral, was the guest preacher and was joined by the Hyndburn Mayor and Mayoress Mr and Mrs McNeil.