AN exhibition, created by National Museums Scotland, opened this week at Hawick Museum.

It presents a picture of Scotland during the First World War through treasured objects from official and private sources, passed to close relatives and down through generations.

The Next of Kin exhibition was previously shown at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle.

And Hawick Museum will be the third of nine touring venues around Scotland.

It is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government. Each of the host venues will be adding material from their own collections to tell local stories which reflect the themes of the exhibition.

The exhibition at Hawick Museum will tell the stories of Newcastleton born Walter Barrie and the Wilson family from Roberton.

Walter Barrie was a part-time corporal in the Lothians and Border Horse and had plans to join the family-run hosiery firm when War broke out. In October 1915 he was sent to the fighting front in Salonika, where he bought crafts to send home to his mother.

He was later killed in action at the Battle of Messines in June 1917. Many of his souvenirs are on display, alongside the commemorative scroll and memorial plaque sent to his next of kin.

Tom Wilson, son of the headmaster at Roberton School, fought with the King’s African Rifles in German East Africa.

On July 13, 1917 his family received the news of Wilson’s death by a sniper. Wilson’s service medals, on display, were presented posthumously to his father by King George V at Ibrox Park, Glasgow.

Shona Sinclair of Hawick Museum said: “The museum collection is at the heart of the stories we reveal in Hawick’s contribution to the Next of Kin exhibition. They paint a vivid picture of individual and family experiences of the war.

"The research carried out for the exhibition has revealed much about Walter Barrie, Tom Wilson and their families and we hope the stories we tell are a fitting memorial to men who made the ultimate sacrifice through their service.

"In addition to Next of Kin, Hawick Museum will present other personal collections which each give a unique perspective of the war but are all strongly linked to Hawick and the Scottish Borders. “

The material on loan from National Museums Scotland looks in detail at eight individual stories which both typify and illustrate the wider themes and impact of the War on servicemen and women and their families back home in Scotland.

Objects include postcards and letters, photographs, medals and memorial plaques.

Stuart Allan of National Museums Scotland said: “The First World War separated millions of people worldwide from their families and homes.

"The impact of the conflict was felt by families and communities in every part of Scotland as individuals served in the war in different ways. For those who experienced the conflict, keeping objects was a way of remembering this extraordinary period in their lives, or coping with the absence and loss of their loved ones. We look forward to touring the exhibition and bringing these stories from the National collection to people across the country and we particularly look forward to the stories which our partners will tell alongside ours.”

As the exhibition tours, the host venues will develop additional content using their own objects and stories related to their respective local areas.

The results of these additional contributions will be captured and preserved in the exhibition displays and a digital app interactive. Learning activities exploring the exhibition themes will take place at each venue.

School and community groups will be able to interact with a bespoke handling collection made up of original and replica objects. There will also be an associated training programme to develop new skills among the participating organisations.

Next of Kin will continue at Hawick Museum until Sunday, December 20.