IN just four years, Meltham Memories has become an established favourite on the community calendar.

The Second World War themed event was the brainchild of local man Steve Aldred and Pam Cox, landlady of the Wagon & Horses pub in the town.

Steve dreamed up the idea after casting a jealous eye at the host of community events in neighbouring villages, including Holmfirth and Marsden.

As a lover of vintage war memorabilia he and Pam got together to organise the first event in early 2009.

Their hope was that it would foster some community spirit for the area while also educating people on what it was like to live through the war.

They received backing from Meltham Town Council and hosted their inaugural event in July that year.

Hundreds of people flocked to the fun day to see displays of old army vehicles and soak up the nostalgia, many of them dressed in vintage military attire and 1940s outfits.

The event also featured a fly-by from a Spitfire, a 1940s concert, living history re-enactments and wartime themed food and drink.

It raised hundreds for Help For Heroes and the Forget Me Not Trust.

The ever growing event is now preparing for its fifth year and hoping additional funding will help it raise even more for charity than before.

That’s why the project has registered for the Examiner’s Wish 12 campaign.

They hope people will support them in their bid to raise funds to make the next event even bigger and better. The Memories Weekend is now a massive hit and not just in Meltham.

People travelled from across the region to enjoy the fun.

Thousands turned out in the summer for this year’s event and many of those did so in authen40s clothing and military uniforms.

They even managed to get a World War 2 tank into the village to help boost the event.

The Examiner Wish has £25,000 up for grabs for non-profit groups in our community.

A number of groups have already applied for a share of funding. Registration has now closed tokens will appear in the Examiner from October 1.