It all started with a small notice in the Daily Echo.

In 1952, Mr and Mrs F Evans sent a letter to the paper, appealing to other parents of children with cerebral palsy to get in touch with them to form a support group in Southampton.

“Saturday get-togethers” were organised for about six young people – along with meetings between parents to discuss the problems they faced and how services for disabled children could be improved in the area.

From these tiny beginnings, one of Southampton’s biggest charities has flourished.

Now the Rose Road Association provides services for more than 350 young people, with short breaks, play schemes and specialist support for children at the charity’s Rosewood School.

Yesterday the charity launched its diamond jubilee celebrations – urging volunteers to “sparkle for Rose Road” and contribute to a bumper fundraising year.

To mark 60 years since the charity began helping disabled youngsters, fascinating archive material has been released and went on display yesterday.

The materials show that the charity really began to get off the ground in 1954, when £1,000 was donated from Southampton Speedway – and the Speedway Hall in Court Road was specially built as a centre for disabled children.

From the start the community was in full support of the charity, with dozens of events organised every year, including the particularly popular “penny drop” – where huge mounds of coins were built up at pubs, clubs, churches and other establishments before being pushed over and donated to the charity.

High-profile High-profile donors included Saints players, Norman Wisdom and comedy character Mr Pastry.

But it was not all smooth going for the group.

In October 1959 a devastating blaze all but destroyed the association’s day centre.

A few months later, organisers revealed the charity was in such financial hardship that they were considering disbanding.

But once again, supporters rallied round, organising football matches, donating cheques and frantically fundraising for the ailing association.

By 1968 fortunes were looking better for the group, as it moved into a new purpose-built £70,000 day centre in Rose Road.

This was also the beginning of the charity providing short breaks for the families of disabled children, as the centre had a specialist accommodation unit.

As the years passed, the demands placed on the charity were changing and more families were asking for support.

In 2002, the 50th year of the charity, work began on a new state-of-the-art centre in Aldermoor Road.

Once again the charity was set back by fire.

The move to the centre was delayed by nine months following a blaze, but in 2004 Prince Edward officially opened the new Bradbury Centre.

Today the charity says it faces huge challenges, with demand for short breaks for children with complex disabilities continuing to rise.

Fundraisers now need £500,000 every year to help allow as many children as possible to benefit from the specialist facilities Rose Road has to offer.

Rose Road’s chairman, Con Attridge, said: “My daughter Katie is autistic and has been coming to Rose Road for short breaks for nearly six years and she has flourished during her time here.

“I have seen first-hand the fantastic levels of care and support provided by the staff.”

And as it celebrates its diamond jubilee, the charity is once again appealing for Southampton residents to rally round, as they have done so many times in the past, to give the association a much-needed fundraising boost.