EXHIBITION: On the Home Front: Wiltshire in World War II
Sunday, 08 November, 2009

An exhibition about life on the Wiltshire Home Front during World War II.

Focusing on Wiltshire the exhibition explores how the local civilian population dealt with the impact of another world war, just 20 years after the end of the first. 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.

From how the Home Guard was formed to defend the local population to rationing and the promotion of ‘dig for victory’ the exhibition looks at how those left on the home front dealt with the impact of the war. Women were encouraged to participate fully too, whether staying at home and ‘making do and mend’, taking up jobs in munitions factories or becoming a land girl. Children too were affected, not only with rationing, but directly through evacuation to safer areas such as Wiltshire. Around Wiltshire the military presence increased affecting the social life of the rural communities. Prisoners of War were also held in the county and their experiences will also be shown. Finally, as the war ended the exhibition will look at the celebrations held once victory in Europe was announced.

A large number of photographs will be included in the exhibition, including various Home Guard and ARP units in Wiltshire. There will be lots of period items displayed, including wartime ration books, recipes and cookery books, ARP, Home Guard and nurses uniforms and gas masks. There will also be an oil painting by an Italian POW and three paintings by Mrs Doris Lloyd to sell for fundraising for the war effort in Yatton Keynell.

We are very grateful to Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre and Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum for lending us items for this exhibition.

The exhibition finishes on Sunday 14 March 2010.