The party consisted of three youth leaders, and 10 youth members, travelling in a Ford Transit minibus from Wrexham to Morocco, via France and Spain. The whole trip lasted about five weeks.

The members were made up of teenagers Paul Jones, Keith Bamford, James Hayes, Steve Davies, Jeff Culkin, Christiano Brennan, Cilla Jones, Gaynor Jones, Wendy Millward and Jackie Perrin.

The group with Moroccan youngsters at lake in the Middle Atlas.

The aim of the 5,000-mile trip, supported by many local people and businesses, including the Wrexham Evening Leader, were to experience life of a Berber village in the Atlas Mountains, and climb Mt Jebel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa.

A booklet produced after the trip, provided a few diary insights and tales from the amazing journey.

It states at the start of the adventure: "Armed with phrase books, bottles of aspirin and anti-diarrhea tablets, we were given a great send off by a crowd of parents, relatives, friends..."

Steve Davies recalls: "It took us about five or six days to get to Morocco, and then when we arrived in Tangier, we spent two weeks driving the entire country. We visited fairs, Marrakesh, so many places.

"When we went to climb Mt Jebel Toubkal, we arrived at a small village at the foot of the mountain, we camped out.

"We got in touch with a mountain guide to arrange about six donkeys to help us carry our kit to a base camp at about 10,000ft.

"At 6.30am the next day, we were woken by a huge crowd of villagers with about 35 donkeys!

"Some of the things we did were unbelievable. For wide eyed kids from Queens Park it was something else."

At Algeciras Gibraltar in the background, Jeff Cullin, 16 and Keith Bamford, 13.

Expedition leaders were George Banks, Sue Taylor and Glyn Davies.

Speaking of George, who played a huge part in the trip, Steve adds: "Ask anyone from my generation that went to Queens Park Youth Club if they knew George Banks, and they will all tell you something that inspired them."

Expressing my amazement of the trip in a chat with George, he said: "Well I can't quite believe it myself! It was such an adventure.

"When I tell people now what we did, they stand there open mouthed. They think we were absolutely bonkers."

In the sand dunes of Erfoud drinking Wrexham Lager.

Experienced youth leader George, originally from Tyneside but moved to Wrexham in 1970, had been doing Moroccan expeditions since 1965.

When youngsters at the Wrexham youth club heard about these, they wanted to know more.

George added that it fired up their imaginations, and things went from there.

I ask him if the trip was trouble-free. "Define trouble-free," he laughs. "For starters, you're camping and it's a mixed group. Although thankfully they were so tired at the end of every day."

Despite some eventful moments, including two of the girls having their bags stolen, containing their passports and vaccination certificates, George adds: "There was something every day, but never really too much to worry about."

A truly memorable moment for all was the trek up Mt Jebel Toubkal.

At Source Bleu de Meski, Erfoud, Southern Morocco filtering the water for drinking.

For those who made it to the top (some fell victim to altitude sickness or injury), the booklet states: "THE TOP! All to exhausted to appreciate the wonderful scenery around us and below.

"For the first few minutes we sat huddles in a stone enclosure to mark the summit.

"Then one by one we got up to look around us. What a sight!"

The trip was a topic of conversation for a long time after their return, as the youngsters were bombarded with questions.

On their return, once the minibus was pushed into life after failing to start on the ferry, the expeditioners made a decision.

They would sponsor a disabled boy from Casablanca, at a hospital in Moroccan city of Fes.

It may have been more than five decades ago but the memories of those youngsters will last a lifetime.

• If you have any youth club memories or photos you would like to share, email claire.pierce@newsquest.co.uk