November marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of one of the most catastrophic wars in history; World War Two.

In honour of those whose lives were turned upside down by the conflict, Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Long Street, Devizes, is hosting an exhibition called On the Home Front: Wiltshire in World War II.

Air raids, evacuations and the shortage of supplies all caused disruption and hardship for the population. No one could escape the effects of the war and the threat of invasion and bombing whether on the front line or the home front.

Curator Lisa Webb said: “The war is very important to remember. It is living history that has shaped all of our lives.

“The exhibition will evoke a lot of emotions and it will help a lot of people who weren’t there at the time to understand what living in Devizes was like during the war.”

The exhibition focuses on war-time life in Devizes, although material for the exhibition has been loaned from other Wiltshire museums including Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre and the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.

A large number of photographs and period items will be included in the display. Photographs of the various Home Guard and Air Raid Precaution units in Wiltshire are shown alongside ration books, cookery books uniforms and a nightdress made of parachute silk.

Miss Webb expects one of the top attractions to be a set of three oil paintings, on loan from Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre, which were created on tin by Doris Lloyd of Yatton Keynell to riaise money for the war effort.

The paintings were entitlted Wings for Victory, featuring the iconic Spitfire, Warships Week, showing two destroyers under steam, and Salute the Soldier featuring British Tommies on the attack.

Miss Webb, who has spent three months preparing for the exhibition, said: “Devizes was deeply involved in the war which is nice for local people to know about.

“Through the war years, over 30,000 troops were based in Devizes. The Army Barracks on London Road were extensively used by British and American soldiers, and there was a prisoner of war camp where the current Lidl site is.”

She said the exhibition was a tribute to all those who fought on the Home Front.

“They pulled together in a time of national crisis, faced with the prospect of an enemy invasion, in the midst of widespread tragedy and suffering. They acted with dignity and an unshakeable belief that Britain would prevail.”

MP Michael Ancram will open the exhibition on Remembrance Sunday, November 8, at 1pm and it is sheduled to run until March.

Entry to the museum is £4 adults, £3 concessions, children free. There are no extra charges to view the display.