THE countdown has begun. Bury's Fusiliers have just 12 months to raise £1 million or their dreams of a new home in the town will be dashed.

As history has proven, the famous Fusiliers have always been more than equal to the challenges the regiment has faced throughout its 300-year-plus history. Failure has never been an option.

Yet the clock is ticking as the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and its friends embark on a timed mission to raise their share of a £3.3 million project to create a heritage centre and museum in the heart of Bury's Cultural Quarter.

With £250,000 already in the kitty and a promise of £2 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the new museum will only become a reality if the people of Bury get behind the proud regiment which has made the town its spiritual home for more than three centuries.

The campaign office to mastermind the collection of £1 million, has been formally opened at the Arts and Crafts Centre.

The Fusiliers plan to move their existing museum at Wellington Barracks in Bolton Road to the now empty Arts and Crafts Centre in Broad Street. Bury Council is leasing the building to the Fusiliers at a peppercorn rent and will also provide annual funding of £30,000.

Many members of the community with close ties with the regiment have already made generous donations, some in memory of dads, uncles and grandfathers who fought or were lost in the Great War and the Second World War.

The Arts and Crafts Centre building will be renovated, preserving its historic features and bringing it back into use. An extension will be added to the rear, creating a new entrance in Moss Street, opposite the Art Gallery and Museum. The new museum will provide space to display the regiment's collections to high standards. There will be exhibition galleries, education and meeting spaces, a gift shop and cafe.

As well as telling the story of the Fusiliers, the museum will celebrate the history of the Arts and Crafts Centre and several important pieces of memorabilia from more than 100 years of education will be displayed. There will be lots of museum objects on display and human stories and interactive exhibitions to bring them to life.

Bury North MP David Chaytor formally launched the museum appeal's campaign office. He said: "This museum is vital to the development of Bury's economy, the heritage of the town and preserving our military history. By moving the museum to the town centre it will make it more accessible to many more people, to schoolchildren to learn more about the Fusiliers' proud and gallant history."

Colonel Brian Gorski, Deputy Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Lancashire), added: "This is a big project long in the making for about eight or nine years. The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a £2 million grant but we must now do our bit to match the funding. We already raise £250,000 and we have now only got one year to raise £1 million to make sure this new museum is a success story in two years time."

Fundraising projects including a golfing competition, quizzes, dinners and book sales are already being organised.

To celebrate the opening of the campaign office, the Normandy Band of the Queen Division performed an open air concert in Bury's Kay Gardens before taking part in an evening concert at the Castle Armoury Drill Hall.

More volunteers are also needed to help man the campaign office and help organise fundraising events. Local businesses will also be approached to seek their support for the project.

The campaign office will be open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and staff can be contacted on (0161) 764 2810 or (0161) 764 3459.

FACT FILE

The current museum building at Wellington Barracks in Bolton Road is the remains of the Regimental Depot which was built in 1845 and became the Home of the Fusiliers in 1873 due to the XXth Regimental successful recruitment in Lancashire.

During the First World War the strength of the depot varied between 200 and 900 men after the initial flood of reservists when 1,454 men reported to the barracks in 1914.

Mobilisation for the Second World War followed a similar pattern to 1914, the depot becoming a training centre until 1941. By 1948, the Lancashire Fusiliers recruits were trained elsewhere and the depot was reduced to a small headquarters for the Fusiliers Regiment with a full-scale regimental museum in operation.

Four years later, it re-opened for the training of regular and National Service recruits. The full range of duties was resumed, including those connected with men returning from overseas, awaiting posts and men serving the last six months of their service.

The depot continued to train recruits for the Lancastrian Brigade in general, and the Lancashire Fusiliers in particular, up to 1958 when the Regiment became part of the Fusiliers Brigade.The last recruit intake passed out on February 4, 1961 and the depot officially closed on March 31 of that year.

In 1968 the Lancashire Fusiliers became the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers following the amalgamation of the Lancashire, Northumberland and Warwick Fusiliers.

For the last 20 years, Wellington Barracks has survived proposed Ministry of Defence cuts, prompting the creation of the creation of a secure museum facility.