A FUNDRAISING drive has been started to ensure fascinating letters written by Ulverston’s most famous son are put on display in the town.

The 41 privately-owned pieces of correspondence from the pen of Stan Laurel failed to sell at auction in Newcastle earlier this month.

Written between 1947 and 1965 to the comedian’s cousin Nellie Bushby, of Ulverston, the letters were expected to fetch around £12,000.

They are owned by Rodney and Margaret Hardcastle, of York, who have built a huge collection of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia, but are scaling down their assets before they move to a smaller home.

The auctioneer has spoken of splitting them up and selling in smaller, more affordable lots if no-one came forward with a suitable offer.

But now a crowdfunding campaign has been set up to raise £16,000 in 30 days to buy the letters and have them on in display in Ulverston’s Laurel and Hardy Museum.

That would also include a second collection which Stan wrote to his pal Peter Preece, who became friends with the comic duo during their UK tours.

Mr Hardcastle has assured Stan and Ollie super fan Ross Owen, who started the online campaign, he will hold onto the letters and sell for that price if the crowdfunding appeal is successful. Mr Owen, 47, who lives near Glasgow, is founder and administrator of the Laurel and Hardy Forum, which he says has become the biggest online database of Laurel and Hardy material.

He said: “We saw these letters didn’t sell, and as Laurel and Hardy fans, it’s our mission to preserve their memory and keep their memory alive for future generations.

“Things like this belong in a museum where people can go and see them, rather than in the hands of private collectors, where they can lie in an attic for years.

“Technically, this is a chance for everybody to own a little piece of these letters and put them on display in the museum.”

The first collection attracted national media attention, as they describe Stan’s “terrible loss” of Hardy after his death in August 1957.

Mark Greenhow, museum owner, said: “The collection would be a fantastic addition to the museum. We do have some letters, but these ones are particularly interesting to us because they were written to one of Stan’s relatives.

“Stan wrote a huge amount of letters over the years; an absolute crazy amount, and we have a few bits and bobs of correspondence, but this is a full chain, with some interesting views, I’m sure.”

Pledges can be made here.