A PROJECT exploring the impact of the First World War on Wiltshire has received £74,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Led by a partnership of Wiltshire Council, Trowbridge Museum, Chippenham Museum and the Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury, Wiltshire at War: Community Stories will look at life across Wiltshire 100 years ago, when the war started.

Working with their local museum or heritage group, people will not only have the chance to host one of the touring exhibitions, school or library displays, but also help shape them.

The project will run for the next five years, with funding from the HLF up until 2016.

Communities will be invited to share their stories of Wiltshire during the war to help create a record of how the conflict affected life across the county. This could be by sharing family records with a local museum, taking part in an activity at school, attending a talk at a library or hosting one of the touring exhibitions.

The project will also have a dedicated website sharing all the stories gathered.

Stuart Wheeler, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for heritage and arts, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident the project will help people across Wiltshire to find out how the First World War made local history. This is part of Legacy for Wiltshire which has built on the success of events of 2012 by bringing communities together.”