A BLUE plaque has been unveiled in tribute to a Wilsden Olympic gymnast.

The salute to Carrie Pickles is mounted on the wall of the house – at 149 Main Street – where she was born.

Around 60 people, including two daughters of Carrie, attended the unveiling ceremony.

The plaque was provided following a hugely-successful crowdfunding campaign.

An online fundraising page was set-up last November with the aim of coining-in £350.

But the initiative was such a success, enough was raised to also buy a trophy – which has been given to Saltaire Gym Club to be awarded to an aspiring gymnast showing outstanding commitment.

“We were delighted with the public response to the appeal and thank everybody who donated,” said Wilsden parish councillor, Jane Callaghan.

“It’s lovely that so many people are now aware of Carrie and that she has been recognised for her considerable achievements.

“People from as far afield as Scotland and Devon attended the unveiling, including former colleagues and people who had been taught by her.

“We then adjourned to the village hall for refreshments, which was a lovely opportunity for everyone to share their memories.”

The fundraising campaign was launched on the 90th anniversary of the Amsterdam Olympics where Carrie won a bronze medal as part of the British ladies’ gymnastics team, which competed in drill, apparatus and vault.

She was also a county and national champion and went on to coach British ladies for the 1948 Olympics in London and the following Games in Helsinki.

And Carrie had a huge influence on people across the district.

“Perhaps her greatest legacy is the number of children and their mothers who attended her gym clubs at Saltaire and Bingley and dance and keep-fit classes in surrounding villages,” said Cllr Callaghan.

“These were people who for the most part had no aspiration to win Olympic medals – although she coached those too, including her own daughters – but who simply enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that came from Carrie’s belief that they could achieve something more than they had thought possible.”

Carrie was the second of six children born to Sarah and Frank Pickles, who ran a grocery business.

She took-up gymnastics at a young age and joined the Bradford Gym Club.

After leaving school she trained as a shorthand typist, but continued to pursue her gymnastic career alongside.

She moved to Scotland in 1983 to live with her eldest daughter, but died the following year.