A LIFE sized voluntary aid detachment nurse is just one of the exhibits a Barry history group has unveiled to commemorate the Great War outbreak.

The Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre, at Barry Island Railway, showed off its new exhibits to commemorate the centenary.

Other exhibits include a model of a Great War battlefield and a display board telling the story of former Royal Flying Corps pilot, Flt Lt Bill Bassett.

Barry at War chairman Ade Pitman said: “As people enjoyed the unusually hot summer weather on the beaches around Barry, Europe was poised on the edge of a catastrophic war. It is a little known fact that some of the first shots of the war were actually fired from Barry; capturing German freighters destined for Cardiff docks.

“There were no radio sets fitted to merchant vessels back then and the luckless crews had no idea that war had broken out. By mid-September 1914 over 1,000 vessels had been stopped under the guns at Nell’s Point, with over 200 German seamen being detained.

“Barry at War have been planning for the Centenary of the Great War for over a year now, and donations from visitors have enabled us to purchase some more displays.

“Our life sized voluntary aid detachment nurse represents one of hundreds of these women who helped to run the Red Cross hospitals around Barry during the Great War. There is a lot of information on the excellent website by Tom Clements on these hospitals, and we have a memorial plaque in the museum from one of them.

“Our display about Flt Lt Bill Bassett celebrates the close links that Barry at War have with local Cadet organisations, as this former Royal Flying Corps pilot, who was shot down over France was responsible for establishing Barry`s Air Training Corps Squadron.”

He added: “Our Great War battlefield model is nearly a metre long and is designed to highlight the differences in uniforms and technology between the early part of the Great War and its conclusion. As funds allow, the display will become more interactive, with display panels giving information about the things going on in the diorama.”

Volunteers from Barry at War will also be supporting the Porthcawl Great War event on August 2 and 3.

The Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre, at Barry Island Railway Station, is open Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm.

It will also be open on Sunday, August 10 and for the Wartime Weekend on August 30 and 31.

For details, visit www.wartimeglamorgan.co.uk or call Ade Pitman on 07930 874161.