Rushden and Higham Ferrers have completed their September National Savings Drive, with a record which compared well with the rest of Northamptonshire.

Only street and factory savings groups were brought into the campaign, and in Rushden these increased their contributions by 40 per cent, above the monthly average, while at Higham Ferrers the increase was 33 per cent.

In actual figures the September small investments at Rushden were £16,513, compared with £11,630, the monthly average for the April-June quarter. At Higham Ferrers the companion figures were £2,618 and £1,978.

First returns of the group campaigns show that some of the groups did conspicuously well. Employees of Messrs. Sanders and Sanders, the Rushden boot firm, paid for a light ambulance and two stretchers by lending £330; Queen-street (objective £50 for Bren gun) raised £102 10s.; Park-avenue (£40, parachutes) £43; Church-street, £45 3s.; St.Margarets-avenue (£68, clothing 10 soldiers) £112 10s.; Prospect-avenue light ambulance) £303; Griffith-street (£50, Bren gun) £76 17s.

Fletcher-road, Quorn-road and Woodland-road, with a combined monthly average of £12, raised £53 and fulfilled theirhope of paying for a Bren gun. Harborough-road and Little-street increased their group membership by 80.