A new exhibition has opened at a city museum giving visitors an insight into the harrowing lives of soldiers during the First World War.
Construction work began on the Moffat Trench at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen last year.
Chief executive Brian Snelling and curator Ruth Duncan came up with the idea after spotting a replica trench when touring the Staffordshire Regimental Museum in Litchfield four years ago.
It was designed to be as realistic as possible and staff enlisted the help of tree surgeons to help build it on the site.
Mr Snelling said: “It is great to open the trench to the public – we are very happy with how it went.
“A lot of hard work has gone into the project and so far visitors have been reacting very positively.
“Having the trench outside, rather than within the museum itself, really does add an extra dimension to imagining how soldiers must have experienced trench warfare.”
Mr Snelling said one visitor who had recently gone to see a replica trench inside the Imperial War Museum in London said the outdoor setting in Aberdeen made for a much more “authentic” experience.
The new trench was named after a Gordon Highlanders officer, Colonel Frank Moffat, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions while working with the 8th/10th Battalion on August 30, 1917, during the Battle of Ypres.
Colonel Moffat survived the war and his daughter, Dr Margaret Moffat, was a volunteer in the museum for many years.
The trench exhibit will also be used to help educate school pupils.
The new Patrols and Parades – National Service Gordons 1948-1963 exhibition was also launched in the Viewfield Road building yesterday.
Further information on both exhibits is available at www.gordonhighlanders.com.
