THE passing of Baroness Barbara Castle, the former MP for Blackburn and cabinet minister in the Wilson government, brought back fond memories for me.

Back in the late 1970s, when I was chairman of the Federation of Blackburn Tenants and Community Associations, we were fighting for a Tenants' Charter, which was a nine point declaration of the desire to improve the standard of life for council tenants.

Although we campaigned vigorously, no one seemed to be taking any notice, so it was decided that I would be nominated by the federation to stand as a parliamentary candidate for Blackburn. From that moment on, everybody was taking notice, and it was then that I came into contact with Barbara Castle MP.

Even though I was a possible contestant for her Blackburn seat, she showed great sympathy and understanding of our problems and in the end she was able to persuade others in the Cabinet that we had a case to answer and we finally got the important sections of our charter -- although by then she had left the Cabinet.

We were all very grateful for her efforts and delighted at the outcome. We all loved her.

She was unique. She had energy, drive and conviction that had no equal. She suffered the slings and arrows of jealousy and arrogance -- many from within her own Labour movement -- with incredible dignity.

She was a giant of her time. We mourn her passing. She was our Barbara.

EDDIE DUXBURY, Arthur Way, Blackburn.