AN exhibition in Chippenham is reliving the horrors of the Battle of the Somme as it recalls the life of Wiltshire soldiers who died in the horrific conflict.

Created by local historian Richard Broadhead, the exhibition includes details on the lives of more than 60 soldiers who died in the battle and whose bodies have never been recovered.

The Battle of the Somme marked its 100th anniversary this year having run from July 1-November 18, 1916, and is regarded as one of the bloodiest battles in history after more than one million soldiers died.

Mr Broadhead released a book earlier this year, entitled The Great War, Wiltshire Soldiers: The Somme 1916, which includes stories and accounts from more than 850 soldiers from across the county who died in the battle.

“In the book there are about 400 no known graves of soldiers from Wiltshire and this is what the exhibition is about,” said the 51-year-old from Hilmarton.

“It’s probably the biggest loss of life to Wiltshire there has been in living memory if you think about it.

“It’s different to a lot of exhibitions where you’ve just got to read things, you’ve got to pick up the stuff and you get a card for each person with their face on it.

“You read about that person, it’s very personal and the thing that unites all these people is they have no known graves.”

The free exhibition was launched in December at the Yelde Hall in Chippenham and will remain open until March.