Legacy Tamworth raised about $400 during Legacy Torch relay

About $400 was collected in the several Legacy buckets manned by volunteers during the torch relay when it came through Tamworth on July 4.

Legacy Tamworth president Greg Roese said the amount they raised was "pretty good", considering the rain deterred many people from showing up.

"We'll put that into a welfare fund to assist Legacy widows, special Legacy luncheons, and help with the payment of accounts such as utilities bills," Mr Roese said.

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Narrabri local John Bell was one of the Legacy volunteers who collected donations at the town hall where the cauldron was lit at the end of the relay.

He said people had been dropping plenty of notes, rather than coins, into his bucket

Mr Bell's grandfather was one of the original ANZACs who fought on the same battlefield where The Promise was made at the Western Front during World War I.

As an Aussie digger's mate lay dying in the hellish trenches of warfare, the promise he solemnly swore was; "I'll look after the missus and kids".

It was a promise that, a few years later, led to the establishment of Legacy.

Mr Bell's grandfather Aladdin Gibbs was gassed on the Western Front when a grenade exploded next to him near where the promise was made at that time.

Mr Gibbs had earlier survived a bullet wound to his hip at Gallipoli before being sent to England for rehabilitation.

Consequently, he was dispatched from army service and sent back to Australia.

Sadly, he died at the young age of 38 due to health issues with his lungs from the gas, leaving behind his wife and three children, which included Mr Bell's grandmother and mother.

The family was among the first who Legacy helped in the 1930s.

Legacy today supports injured servicemen and women and their families but it was originally a charity to help war widows and their children.

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