Broxburn Junior Football Club is appealing to the community for old photographs and memorabilia in a Reminiscence Project for Alzheimer Scotland.

Alzheimer Scotland has been working with the Scottish football Museum to provide reminiscence projects throughout Scotland

The aim of the campaign – which boasts Sir Alex Ferguson as its patron - is to establish integrated community groups that people with dementia can be part of and for people who are interested in the history of the team they support.

James Pegg, club development manager at Broxburn Juniors, urged members of the community to dig out pictures, newspaper cuttings and memorabilia of the local team.

He said: “We want to get the message out for local people to lend us documents related to football in Broxburn – although we will look into stuff from all of West Lothian.

“We’re just in the process of collecting some memorabilia and have already got some old programmes and a signed photo from the 1970s.”

Alistair Fergusson, trusts and corporate fundraising manager at Alzheimer Scotland, said: “We all know that Scots are passionate about football. We also know that football can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping to trigger other memories. So when we bring football nostalgia to those with dementia it often has amazing results.

“Our pilot project showed that photos of a game can help people to remember where they went for a pint before, where they watched it and in some cases even conversations that took place during the game.”

Locals can submit items they have collected at an open event in Broxburn next month. But don’t worry about parting with treasured nostalgia - the club will return all donated items after copies are made and these will be used to help establish the community reminiscence group.

James said: “The documents people give us, they will get back. They’ll get scanned and pinned up on the wall.

“There’s a football historian working with Alzheimer Scotland and he is scanning the documents. He’s going to take some of it away and put it into the museum in Hampden.

“In the eyes of the Scottish Football Association this would probably have to go into the junior category but it’s not just solely about junior football; it’s more about community football and the history of the sport in Broxburn.

“People can submit by emailing me at james.pegg@broxburnunited.org.uk or if they want to come into Albyn Park and have a look around, they are most welcome.”

The open event, where members of the public can submit items, will be on Thursday, March 22 between 2pm and 4pm at Broxburn Juniors Football Ground, Albyn Park.