WITH a little help from the Border Telegraph and his great-grandfather's diary historian Murray Dickson has turned Galashiels back a century.

The Old Gala Club president spent around five months piecing together life in the town throughout 1916.

And this week his exhibition, Galashiels Home Front, opened at Old Gala House.

While war raged on across Europe the threat of Zeppelin bombings and the dreaded news of further local casualties in the trenches made for a difficult year in all of the Borders towns.

Throughout 1916 conscriptions were introduced, breaching strict black-outs became legally punishable and week after week the death toll of local young men in uniform continued to rise.

But life did go on... as the new Galashiels Home Front exhibition clearly demonstrates.

Designs for the new Playhouse (now the Pavilion Cinema) building were unveiled and the town's recently-opened municipal swimming pool was all the rage with youngsters.

The local courts were as busy as ever with curious cases, and local traders were up in arms about forced early closures due to the blackouts.

Galashiels Home Front is a delightful delve into the contrasting humour and horror that was part of everyday life during 1916.

Murray told us: "I felt it would be a good time to show how much things have changed in a century.

"The Old Gala Club were given the bound old copies of the Border Telegraph last year and that is what started the project.

"Along with my great-grandfather's personal diary and items we already had, I was able to build up a pretty accurate picture of Galashiels in 1916."

Murray's great-grandfather, John Dickson, owned the newsagent's shop in Cornmill Square throughout World War I.

But more importantly he kept a day-to-day diary of life in the town full of observations and colour.

From his insertion for this day in 1916 (March 23) we learn that Galashiels was gripped by a heavy snow storm.

'Snow starts to fall at 6.30am... heavy snow. Still snowing at 10am with around four inches on the road.'

But there was much more than the weather to occupy the minds of the Braw Lads and Braw Lasses in 1916.

The Kings Own Scottish Borderers had just suffered terrible losses at Gallipoli and many families were in mourning.

Many more were waiting anxiously on word of sons, brothers and fathers who were fighting the Germans across France and Belgium.

Murray has meticulously compiled a month-by-month account of 1916 with printed exerts from both the local paper and the diary as well as photographs and memorabilia.

And a poem from schoolboy Ben pretty well sums life up at the time...

I'm laughin, aye, I'm laughin', for

Richt weel I ken we'll win,

'cause daddy's taen his belt wi' him.

He'll mak' the Germans rin.

While war in Europe gripped everyone's attention there were also troubles to the west as the uprising in Dublin led to the death of one Galashiels man.

Joiner John Ballantyne, who had lived in the Irish capital for 50 years since moving from the Borders, was shot on his doorstep as war raged during the days and weeks following the infamous Easter Uprising.

Murray's labour of love is a timely reminder of an age of change on many fronts.

Adverts for petrol-driven vacuum cleaners and bullet-proof vests adorn the walls.

There's an appeal from POW William Bunyan for a football to be sent to his Gustrow Camp in Germany.

And there are photos of a plane crash on land next to the Public Park.

Murray added: "I didn't expect to take nearly so long doing the research but so much was happening.

"In the end it took around five months to bring the exhibition together - I thin it was worth it."

The Galashiels Home Front exhibition, which opened this week, will remain at Old Gala House throughout April, May and June.