New exhibition to mark 100th anniversary of the Armistice

A new exhibition has recently opened at Low Parks Museum to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, signed on 11th November 1918.

The exhibition uses unique photographs from the museum collection to highlight the contribution and sacrifices of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in the First World War.

A short film presentation on The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in the First World War compliments the exhibition. This 10 minute feature was specially produced to commemorate The Cameronians involvement in the War, and utilises historical material from the museum collection along with modern images and film footage of sites, cemeteries and memorials on the Western Front.

A fantastic collection of artwork and sculpture by local artist, Allison Smith, completes the exhibition. Allison, whose grandfather served with The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) during the First World War, collaborated with primary and secondary schools across South Lanarkshire to produce this moving and evocative display at Low Parks Museum.

The exhibition and artwork installations are open now until Sunday 18th November, so please don’t miss out on the chance to come and visit. Entry to both the museum and exhibition is free of charge.

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‘Next of Kin’ exhibition – downloadable app

As a proud partner of the National Museums Scotland touring exhibition ‘Next of Kin: Scottish Families and the Great War’, we are pleased to announce that NMS have launched two downloadable apps relating to the exhibition. With the launch of these two apps, First World War content contributed by all Next of Kin tour partners is now available to online audiences across the UK and abroad.

For more information on the apps and how to download them, please take a look at the Next of Kin blog on the NMS website:

Discover the Scottish story of the First World War through Next of Kin apps

You can also explore many of the stories featured in the Next of Kin exhibition through the Historypin website, here.

The Next of Kin exhibition is still on tour around Scotland; you can visit the exhibition at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery until Saturday 5th November. From 11th November you can visit the exhibition at Perth Museum and Art Gallery, and at the Black Watch Museum and Castle.

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Two Pals Remembered

Earlier this year, Low Parks Museum in Hamilton was host to the First World War partnership exhibition, Next of Kin, coordinated by National Museums Scotland. As part of this exhibition, a commemorative scarf was made by two volunteers from Hillhouse Parish Church. The hand-knitted scarf is a reference to the wartime effort by volunteers at home who would knit hats, scarfs, gloves and socks for the comfort of soldiers at the front.

Commemorative Scarf, created by volunteers for the ‘Next of Kin’ exhibition

The volunteers, Marion and Margaret, decided to create this scarf in the regimental colours of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), green, blue, and black, and used a thick, ribbed pleating to echo the pleats of a piper’s kilt. They also added the name ‘James Lusk’ to the scarf; Captain James Lusk featured in our display as part of the Next of Kin exhibition. James was a native of Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, and a manager in the famous iron and steel company David Colville & Sons. Tragically, James died on 28th December 1915, of serious wounds he had received on Christmas Day while handing out cigarettes to the men in his battalion.

Captain James Lusk is commemorated on the scarf

While visiting The Cameronians displays in Low Parks Museum, Margaret had seen the objects on display that tell the story of Alexander Harris and William Wilson, who were the the subject of a previous blog post. Touched by the story of the two young pals, Margaret and Marion decided to add their names to the scarf.

The names of Alexander Harris and William Wilson were added to the scarf, fixed to the same piece of Douglas tartan cloth

Margaret said that she had been struck by “how these young pals had enlisted together for Kitchener’s New Army, just like so many friends from every town, village and city throughout the country.  The story of two ordinary boys who would become soldiers,  signing up together with consecutive service numbers, just like so many others whose stories have been forgotten, and how they would have trained and fought together and for one of them to ultimately die and just how devastating this must have been to the other.”

You can see the scarf on display at Low Parks Museum, alongside a photograph of Alexander and William.

We would like to thank Margaret and Marion for all their hard work.

The Next of Kin exhibition is currently on tour, for venue details and dates please see the National Museums Scotland website for details – http://nms.ac.uk/national-international/sharing-collections/touring-and-lending/next-of-kin/touring-exhibition/

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Next of Kin: Scottish Families and the Great War – Now open at Low Parks Museum

We are very proud to host Next of Kin: Scottish Families and the Great War, now open at Low Parks Museum in Hamilton. Next of Kin was developed by National Museums Scotland in partnership with nine other museums and heritage organisations across Scotland, including South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, and was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government.

The exhibition reveals the personal stories of separation and loss experienced by Scottish families and by communities with loved ones who were fighting abroad in the First World War.

In addition to the material on loan from National Museums Scotland, we have used a selection of objects from the museum collection to tell the story of James and David Lusk, members of a local family affected by the War.

Captain James Lusk, France c.1915

At the outbreak of the First World War, James Lusk was an officer in the 6th Scottish Rifles, one of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) four Territorial Force battalions. In civilian life James was a director in the family business, David Colville & Sons iron and steel company. James’s battalion went to France on 21st March 1915.

From the beginning of the War, James wrote extensively to his brother David who was Presbyterian Minister at Oxford University. The letters describe life in the battalion while at their War Station in Falkirk, and active service conditions in France.

Sadly, as with so many family stories from the First World War, tragedy would soon strike. James was fatally wounded on Christmas Day 1915, and died three days later. Possibly inspired by the death of his brother, David Lusk would become a Chaplain to the Forces and serve with the British Army on the Western Front. The exhibition showcases some of the items kept by the Lusk family in memory of James, including his cap badge and identity disc.

The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) cap badge, worn by Captain James Lusk

The exhibition also features a selection of wartime newsreel clips of Scottish soldiers, and an audio presentation with spoken extracts from some of the written material that features in the exhibition. There are also two iPad interactives that contain material from partner venues where the exhibition has already been displayed.

The exhibition is open until March 29th and entry is free. Low Parks Museum is open 7 days a week – please do come and visit!

Remember, you can explore more of the museum collection, including more of the James Lusk collection, by using our Online Collections browser.

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