A Brief History of Syston Twinning

The purpose of twinning is to develop understanding and friendship between nations. It started in the 1950’s, mainly as a result of the Second World War, when it was thought that if people could gain a greater understanding of how each other lived, then the threat of war would recede.

The number of links that have been forged since those early days indicate how successful it has been. Leicestershire is considered to be one of the leading counties in Great Britain for the number of twinned towns and villages it has.

Syston Twinning (formerly known as Syston Twinning Association) was formed in conjunction with the then Syston Parish Council (now Syston Town Council) in 1978. Its aim was to link with a town in Europe that was of a similar size and industrial mix as Syston.

After a comparatively short length of time a possible twin was found in Normandy in Northern France. Negotiations followed, and in 1980 the Twinning Charter was signed. This Charter can be seen on display at the community Centre, School Street, Syston.