Orkney life during the war to end all wars will be highlighted at a new exhibition in Kirkwall next weekend.
The Next of Kin event, created by National Museums Scotland, presents a picture of Scotland during WW1, through a series of treasured objects from official and private sources, which have been passed down to close relatives from one generation to another.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government, the exhibition was first shown at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle, and the Orkney Museum is the last of eight touring venues round Scotland.
All the host venues have added material from their own collections to relate local stories reflecting the themes of war, and two, in particular, will resonate with Orkney people.
The first tells of a long-lost gold ring, given as an engagement present to Stanley Cubiss, who served aboard the destroyer HMS Opal and saw action at the Battle of Jutland.
Mr Cubiss died when the Opal and another destroyer, HMS Narborough, steamed into cliffs in South Ronaldsay during a night time blizzard.
His ring – inscribed “To Stanley from Flo – 6 March 1916” – was found by a diver in 2007 and subsequently donated to the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum by his nephew.
The second story involves the Clouston family who lived at a farm, close to the Caldale air station near Kirkwall.
The family welcomed men who were serving at Caldale into their home, treating them to farm produce such as cheese, home-baked bannocks, cakes and jam.
Two autograph albums filled with messages and drawings from the grateful servicemen were kept by the family as treasured possessions, as was an embroidered tablecloth with the men’s signatures picked out in white thread.
Orkney Museum exhibitions officer Tom Muir said: “These are poignant stories of servicemen serving far from home.”
