CORRESPONDENCE from the Second World War is being sought for a new project at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The Letters from the Frontline initiative is being created in partnership with the BBC and will explore changing experiences and emotions of Armed Forces personnel and their families during 1945 throughout the final months of the conflict.
A selection of the correspondence will be brought to life through recitals by family members or actors, creating a gallery of stories for the free to enter exhibition that will open at the arboretum on 3rd May.
The original letters will be framed and displayed in the exhibition alongside the recordings.
Rachel Smith, head of learning and participation at the National Memorial Arboretum, said:
“Despite the success of D-Day, Monte Cassino and the Burma Campaign in 1944 having offered glimmers of hope, 1945 was still an incredibly challenging year.
“While the tide had turned, the war would continue for several months – and families exchanging letters with loved ones on the frontline had renewed hope that they would survive to see peace once again.
“Letters from the Frontline will tell the story of those final months of the Second World War, with correspondence to and from Armed Forces personnel charting the journey from trepidation to jubilation as six gruelling years of conflict finally came to an end.”
The exhibition will form part of The Year Was 1945 commemoration programme which will mark the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on 8th May and Victory in Japan Day on 15th August.
The deadline for people to submit letters is 28th March. For more details visit the BBC website.