The diamond jubilee of Nottingham's Roosevelt Travelling Scholarship will be marked tonight at a special gathering in Nottingham. ANDY SMART looks at this unique project's history.

THE idea first surfaced just a few months after the end of the Second World War, dreamed up by the then Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Francis Carney. He wanted to let the Americans know how much we owed to the leadership of President Franklin D Roosevelt, who died just a few weeks before the Nazi surrender.

"The name of Franklin D Roosevelt will live for ever in the memory of man as one of the great architects of our victory," the Lord Mayor said, as he urged local businesses to contribute towards his scheme to send four young Notts people to America as "unofficial goodwill ambassadors."

Carney's project was given the seal of approval by the Allies' top soldier, Dwight D Eisenhower, who came to Nottingham later in 1945 to launch the scholarship.

He was greeted by huge crowds in the Old Market Square chanting "We want Ike," and he didn't disappoint, delivering a speech in which, characteristically, he thanked everyone who had donned a uniform to help defeat Nazism, and those Nottingham people who made his GIs feel so welcome.

"Victories today are won not by armies and navies and air forces in the field, but by the heart and mind of the population."

He said he wanted to see the two nations draw ever closer by "inter-mingling" and "co-operating." The Roosevelt Scholarship is a product of that shared dream.

But it would be another four years before all the arrangements could be finalised and four young men selected to pioneer the enterprise. They were John Adams, an Ericssons engineer from Bramcote; Boots education officer Denis Greensmith, from Lenton; Fred Riddell, a labour relations officer at Hucknall collieries, and Dennis Goldsworth, a graphic artist from Carrington.

At a cost of £2,000, they were sent off to tour North America, gathering information to help their careers, and spread friendship and goodwill along the way.

Their visit included a weekend spent at the country estate of FDR's widow, Eleanor, and she repaid the compliment 15 years later when she came to Nottingham to speak warmly about the scholarship and the young people it had helped.

The scholarship, open to those who live or work in the county and are between the ages of 20 and 30, is unique to Nottinghamshire and, since 1949, more than 100 young people have visited America.

The scholars follow no fixed programme. They have to organise their own visits to look at their chosen trade or profession, and are encouraged to travel widely in America, acting as ambassadors for the city and county.

The 2009 recipients are Kim Melvill-Smith, 28, a teacher at Henry Whipple Primary School, Bestwood, and Holly Turner, 23, who works at East Midlands Development Agency.

To this day, the scholars still maintain contact with the Roosevelt family and particularly FDR's grandson, Haven Roosevelt, who has also visited Nottingham and will be attending tonight's celebration dinner.

The scholarship was initially funded for seven years but shows no signs of running out of steam.

In fact, it has recently added the name of city-born fashion leader Sir Paul Smith to the list of its vice-patrons.

"Travel is still definitely my greatest source of inspiration and as I am travelling for many months of the year I can say with experience the scholarship is extremely worthwhile and will be very rewarding for the recipient," he commented.

A number of ex-scholars will be attending tonight's dinner. Their feelings were summed up by Barry Hayes, who visited America in 1959, and formed the now-defunct Nottingham Roosevelt Club on his return. "Very rarely does a day go by without my great feeling of honour and closeness to this wonderful scholarship," he said.

Sir Andrew Buchanan, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, who is chairman of the scholarship board of trustees, said: "When I think of the distinguished Nottingham gentlemen who initiated the Nottingham Roosevelt Travelling Scholarship, I feel they would feel very gratified that Haven, grandson of Franklin Roosevelt, is coming to Nottingham to join in the celebrations this weekend of the 60th anniversary of the scholarship.

"I have several friends of my age who were scholars in the early days and who are very grateful for the opportunity they had when travelling to the US was not as straightforward as it is today.

"I take great pleasure in helping to select today's scholars and I hope that young men and women from Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will continue to enjoy the benefits of the Roosevelt Scholarship for many years to come."

To find out more about the Roosevelt Scholarship and how to apply, visit www.rooseveltscholarship.org.