THE Fusiliers' Museum Development Project is now under great pressure to increase the income of its fundraising appeal.

The recent setback caused by tenders for the refurbishment of the Arts and Crafts Centre being returned well over budget has been a blow to the Project Team.

This is particularly after three years of hard work, getting the project off the ground and in winning support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Agency as well as many other charitable trusts, businesses and generous individuals. Chairman of the Steering Group, Colonel Brian Gorski presided over a meeting last Friday and announced to the board "We have managed to reduce the overspend to a much more manageable sum, but we are still struggling to determine how we will fill a wider funding gap by far than we anticipated.

"We really need to call on the support of all of our old friends, comrades and community members".

Shortly afterwards, news came of some very welcome and unexpected support, not from Bury or Lancashire but all the way from Australia - in the form of a bequest.

Doris and James Garlick emigrated from Lancashire to Australia, after the Second World War. They settled there and brought up a family. But James Harold Garlick who had served in the 2/6th Lancashire Fusiliers during the Second World War never forgot Lancashire and always retained fond memories of his service with the Lancashire Fusiliers.

James served with the 2/6th who were recruited from Rochdale and Middleton, and although as a battalion it did not deploy on active service, it did provide many reinforcements to the 2nd Battalion serving in North Africa and then Italy James died in 1995, never having returned to his native Lancashire.

Doris decided at this time that she would re-write her will to include the Lancashire Fusiliers and when she sadly recently died the museum received a donation of £15,000 in memory of her late husband. James Harold Garlick's name will now be recorded in the museum foyer and his life celebrated through the enjoyment and enrichments of others. We hope that others will follow Doris's example of creating memorials to loved ones that would have meant a great deal to them - by supporting the museum and its activities in education, volunteering, activities and events.

Will you make your contribution by sponsoring a brick for the new wall of the museum, which will face onto Sparrow Park? They make original presents, as well as wonderful memorials or demonstrations of commitment to heritage.

Every brick will be represented in the new displays with its owners' name as a record of the wonderful written dedications people have made. With a total of 10,000 bricks involved, the Brick Sale Scheme alone can add £100,000 to the project. If you haven't already bought some, please clip out the coupon here.

The new Fusiliers' Museum needs your help more than ever.

Learn more about this and the museum project or make a donation on our website www.fusiliersmuseum-lancashire.org.uk. For any other information call 0161 764 2208.