Enthusiasts are hoping to save the bacon of a unique collection magazines documenting the history of a firm that was once one of Wiltshire most important employers.

Calne Heritage Centre is the custodian of all thirteen volumes of the C&T Harris (Calne) Ltd. magazines which were published monthly between January 1927 and June 1940. It is the only surviving complete collection.

Now trustees want to digitise it to ensure its survival for future generations.

The bound volumes have gradually degraded over the years, and the time will come when they will become too frail to handle, let alone read.

They are regarded as a vital resource for genealogists, historians, and the general public - both locally, nationally and internationally.

Harris’s bacon, sausages and pies were world famous and generations of local families worked for the company. At the height of its success it employed 2,000 people processing 5,000 pigs and producing 100 tonnes of pies, sausages and meats. The closure in the early 1980s was a huge blow to the town.

Tim Havenith, one of the trustees and author of Calne Place Names, has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money towards the cost of digitising the magazines.

He explained: "Over the 13 years of the magazine, articles have covered news about C&T Harris business, including supplies, distribution, and customers.

"Managing director, John Bodinnar, started the magazine and contributed to every issue, discussing the problems of the industry, along with potential solutions. He was later knighted for his contribution to the food industry during the Second World War.

"Each magazine is a treasure trove of information with contributions from other factories in the Harris Group across England including Dunmow, Highbridge, Chippenham, Eastleigh, Leeds, Redruth, Totnes - making it not just a local resource for Calne, but a unique national resource."

The magazines are full of photographs, adverts, sketches and cartoons, as well as detailed reports on sports and social activities, horticultural shows, Christmas parties, day trips to the seaside, and even details of employees’ weddings, and the presents given to the newly-weds by the departments where they worked.

The aim is to digitise more than 3,800 pages and make them publicly available in a searchable format on the heritage centre website.

Anyone who wants to help secure the future of the archive can donate via gofundme.com/f/harris-magazine-digitisation-fundraiser