THE past will be brought back to life at a Heritage Day to raise the profile of Victoria Baths.

The baths were threatened with closure earlier this year, and it is hoped the event will remind the community of the role they have played in the area for many years.

It will include an exhibition featuring the memories of residents who used the swimming baths in past decades.

There will be stories, photographs and memorabilia from before the Second World War.

And there will be a chance for people to be recorded telling their own stories of the baths.

The heritage day has been organised by the Save the Victoria Baths campaign,

Jill Russell first swam there as a schoolgirl in 1945 on a visit to Nottingham. She became a regular when her family moved to the city a year later.

She said: "I used to swim length after length. I joined the Nottingham Ladies' Swimming Club, which was the start of a whole new way of life for me, which lasted for many years."

Jill went on to captain the club, swim for the county and become a schools swimming instructor.

Pat Worrall, 70, of Rugby Road, West Bridgford, was even more grateful for the facility.

She said: "On Saturdays we had to have a bath there because we didn't have one in our house."

Many people remember the wresting held at the baths and how the pool would be boarded over to allow roller skating.

Local residents fought the proposed closure of the baths and now the facility is expected to be redeveloped, but there is a debate about which bits to keep.

Matt Anderson, chairman of the Save Victoria Baths campaign group, said: "Whatever happens to the baths, it's clear there will be changes to the building and we feel it's important to celebrate the existing leisure centre and all it means to people. The baths continues to play a key part in the life of the local community."

Co-organiser Wendy Honeyman-Smith said: "It's vital these memories are preserved for the benefit of future generations."

The Heritage Fun Day at Victoria Leisure Centre will take place form 10am to 4pm on Saturday, September 13. It will feature free swimming from 12pm to 4pm.

charles.walker@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk