THE Salisbury Museum is making final preparations for the opening of its major First World War exhibition.

The family-friendly exhibition – Salisbury and the Great War: Fighting on the home front – opens next Saturday (October 4) and will run until January 17.

It focuses on Salisbury’s contribution to the conflict at home and on the battlefields and includes stories about local people, places and events.

It will also tell the story of Salisbury Plain’s pivotal military role in preparing British and Empire troops for war.

Museum learning and outreach officer Ruth Butler said: “We are telling the stories of local people including that of Salisbury’s only Victoria Cross recipient Tom Adlam.

"We are delighted to be able to put on display his Victoria Cross and are grateful to his family and to the city council for their support in this.

“We also have many more fascinating stories to tell thanks to members of the public who responded to our call for stories and objects which will feature in the exhibition.”

Visitors will also learn about Mary Douglas, principal of the Godolphin School, who encouraged her young charges to do their bit for the war, and Desmond Pye-Smith, a Salisbury conscientious objector.

Exhibits will chart the changes in the technology of war as well as what life was like on the home front. The museum’s volunteer “stitchers” have been busy making replica costumes for children to try on and there will be opportunities to experience some of the smells that would have been familiar to soldiers training on Salisbury Plain.

The museum has also organised a series of family events during the October half term – a First World War discovery day on October 28 and the museum’s annual Big Draw event on October 30. The museum will also be at Bemerton Heath Centre on October 29.

Funding for the exhibition and associated events and learning pro¬ gramme has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s First World War: then and now programme which gave £10,000. Family and community events are also supported by Salisbury City Council.

The HLF funding has also allowed the museum to bring to Salisbury the acclaimed one-man stage play Our Friends, The Enemy which explores the 1914 Christmas Truce. The production will be staged at Salisbury Arts Centre on October 8 and 9, and will be free to schools. There will also be a public performance on October 8 with tickets available from the arts centre.

There are still places available for the schools’ performances and these can be booked through the museum.