Personal stories tell a new tale of Great War

In Memoriam: Remembering The Great War focuses on 90 personal stories from the King to ordinary Londoners, escaping soldiers, women in munitions factories and conscientious objectors.

More than 250 exhibits include a pistol and bomb used in the plot to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on display for the first time in Britain; the watch and King's shilling given to young men enlisting; Zeppelin wreckage; and the diary of a nurse on the Russian front.

They will be shown with hundreds of photographs and films, such as 1916 documentary The Battle Of The Somme.

Londoners whose stories have been uncovered include the tragic tale of Alice Cross, five, who was killed in a German bombing raid, and William Leefe Robinson, the first pilot to shoot down a Zeppelin over Britain.

Terry Charman, the museum's historian, said: "As well as the great and the good we wanted to tell the stories of ordinary people.

"This was the first total war of the 20th century, killing not just soldiers on the front line but London's civilians and many people are still surprised there was a blitz in World War I."

The free exhibition also hosts a Horrible Histories section for children and runs for almost a year from 30 September.

One of the few public reminders of the war is the scratched plinth beneath Nelson's Column, damaged when celebrating Canadian soldiers lit a fire on Armistice Day - 11 November 1918.

About 700,000 British servicemen died during the four-year war. There were some 100,000 items from the conflict at the museum when it opened in 1920.

PILOT FIRST TO DESTROY AIRSHIP

ON the night between 2 and 3 September 1916, William Leefe Robinson became the first pilot to shoot down a Zeppelin airship over British soil.

Thousands cheered as the blazing airship SL11 crashed to the ground, killing its 16-man crew, in Cuffley, Hertfordshire.

Leefe Robinson became a national hero and was awarded the Victoria Cross.

There were 57 airship raids on Britain during the First World War, killing 564 people and injuring 1,370.

Leefe Robinson was shot down over France in 1917 and taken prisoner.

He died on 31 December 1918 during the influenza pandemic shortly after repatriation.