30712-08The devastation and glory of war in Swindon is being displayed to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Rows of blitzed houses, American troops marching through Old Town and the Swindon Home Guard proudly clutching their weaponry are among the images which form a free exhibition at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, in Bath Road, entitled Swindon At War.

The 15-month exhibition opened on Monday and aims to reveal the town's war effort both at home and on the front line. It includes pictures of the vast arsenal of guns, bombs and landing equipment manufactured at Swindon's Great Western Railway works.

Besides photographs, rare artefacts are also on display, including the tail of a German bomb which landed on the GWR gas works on July 27, 1942.

Although Swindon wasn't targeted like Bristol or London, some 48 civilians died and 105 were injured in air raids.

Images of bombed houses in Drove Road, Beatrice Street, Whitehouse Road and Ipswich Street graphically illustrate the carnage of such raids.

Robert Dickinson, heritage manager at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, said more images and artefacts were wanted.

: "The exhibition looks at war from a Swindon angle. It examines how the town reacted to domestic needs and production for the war effort."

He encouraged people to bring in more images or artefacts which will add to the exhibition.

Mr Dickinson said: "We want to show how people survived on slender means. People may have recipes or clothing patterns to bring in."

Swindon At War is on display until summer, 2005. Admission is free.