IDENTICAL triplets, the first to be born at Blackburn Royal Infirmary, on May 19, 1943, received a right royal welcome.

For a missive sent just five days after the arrival of the three baby girls, came directly from Windsor Castle.

It proved to be the King's Bounty, a £3 cheque to Peter and Marjorie Sumner, of Samlesbury, the shocked parents of Anne, Elizabeth and Marjorie they'd only been expecting one!

Our story follows the appeal of a couple of weeks ago for information about the King's Bounty payment and Anne, who still lives in the area, came forward.

She also has the original letter from George VI, dated May 24, 1943, which stated: "The keeper of the Privy Purse has received His Majesty's commands to pay the King's Bounty to Mrs Marjorie Sumner. The enclosed cheque for three pounds is accordingly forwarded, with His Majesty's good wishes for the future welfare of the children."

Said Anne: "At a time when there was no state aid for families and in the middle of a war, when everything was in short supply, the King's Bounty, paid for multiple births, helped a little, but it still meant family, friends and neighbours all having to pitch in with donations."

The parents were married at Blackburn Cathedral in 1935 Peter ran the blacksmith and wheelwrights business at the Windmill and Marjorie was a music teacher at Westholme and the girls were their first children. The first two arrivals, Anne and Elizabeth weighed in at 3 lbs while Marjorie tipped the scales at 3 lb.

There were no maternity facilities or incubators at that time, so, after the birth on ward 5, they were wrapped in cotton wool, kept warm by radiant heat and fed every two hours, by eye dropper pipettes.

They were immediately baptised by the vicar of Balderstone, the Rev J Smyth, but were well enough to go home after just five weeks, thanks, says Anne, to the dedication of the nurses, seen here giving them a last cuddle, along with Dr Keith Cummings.

But their homecoming caused quite a problem how to get hold of enough milk, at a time of rationing, to feed three hungry youngsters? Cow and Gate forwarded 12 cartons following the birth, with compliments, but the fact the product was available only through chemists and clinics was a headache.

The problem was solved by the manufacturers, who agreed to regularly supply a case directly to the family, putting it on a train in London to arrive at the local station.

The girls, who went to Mellor Brook infants, always attracted attention. Even Winston Churchill stopped his car to speak to them while travelling through Blackburn in 1944 and their birthdays always meant posing for the photographers, which Anne admitted they hated.

She recalls: "We always wore the same outfits, although we had our own colours, right up until being 17, when we were going to a dance.

"We were also the first set of triplets the Beverley Sisters came across and I remember being invited backstage at the Grand in Blackpool, to meet them."