Town twinning: is it alive or an old idea, the product of a more prosperous past, long past its sell-by date?

In the 1960s and 1970s, twinning was particularly in vogue.

The Bradford, Shipley and Ilkley twin town associations made links with six towns in France, West Germany (as it was then), and Macedonia.

The Telegraph & Argus Twin Town trophy was awarded for services to twinning, and the first winner in 1975 was the Bradford District Football Association. The last winner in 2010 was Geoff Still, treasurer of the Bradford Twin Towns Association.

Two of the most poignant of the twinning connections were Skopje in Macedonia and Hamm in Germany.

On July 26, 1963, a 20-second earthquake in Skopje killed more than 1,000 people, injured another 4,000 and made 200,000 homeless. Twinning with the stricken town was done for humanitarian purposes, rather than socialising.

Shipley Twin Town Association linked up with the North Rhine wool textile town of Hamm in 1976. Nine years later, on May 11, 1985, civic officials from Hamm were invited to Valley Parade to watch Bradford City parade the Third Division Championship trophy before the last match of the season against Lincoln City.

The fire that killed 56 people and injured some 300 others resulted in an act of sympathy and friendship that touched Bradfordians deeply. The citizens of Hamm presented Bradford with the fire disaster memorial that stands in Centenary Square.

In a reciprocal gesture, Bradford named the road linking Canal Road and Manningham Lane Hamm Strasse.

The 25th anniversary of the fire was marked by a stone block at the Hamm Strasse junction containing the City’s badge and the coat of arms of Bradford and Hamm – twinning of a kind that will last.

Peter Berry, secretary of the Bradford Twin Towns Association, said of twinning: “It’s good for the town. There are lots of organisations – swimming, football, bands – who make their own arrangements. They have active links with towns in Europe. The Aire Valley Singers go across to Hamm and Monchengladbach.

“But nobody pulls it all together. I tried to get co-operation with all the twin town associations so that we could work together. Sadly it didn’t work, but it should work.

“We’re still alive, the Shipley association is still alive. Keighley, the oldest twin town association in the country is in abeyance.

“This association has been going for 40-odd years, but people don’t join organisations, so we don’t get any new people in. Numbers are falling abysmally.”

When Bradford Twin Towns Association was formed in April 1970, there were 42 members. Mr Berry said membership – subscription is £2 a year – was down to about 30, with half that number actively involved.

“We’ve got 14 going to Monchengladbach in September,” he added. “But Rubaix and Verviers – we haven’t been there for years.

“There isn’t an umbrella organisation, that’s the major trouble. The Council could have a dedicated officer to pull everything together. It’s very sad, but it isn’t going to happen, nobody is going to put any money into it.”

Rita Verity, a fair trade retailer in Haworth’s Main Street, chairs the Haworth and Machu Picchu Twin Town Group. She thinks the twin town movement is not dying, but changing with links between the developed and developing world.

This November marks Haworth’s tenth anniversary as a fair trade village.

Children at Haworth Primary School write letters to their Peruvian counterparts and there is talk of an exchange teacher from Machu Picchu, if the funds to pay for it can be obtained.

Rita sees twinning as a way of learning about other countries and, where possible, lending a practical helping hand.

But she agrees with Peter Berry about having a council officer to provide shared continuity linking all the various twin town associations in then district.

“Oh that would be just brilliant. I can’t tell you how great that would be, if they could liase, help and support all the associations and link up properly, I would love that. It would be nice to do more, but I haven’t the time,” she added.