A SPECIAL exhibition has been created to celebrate the life and times of a First World War officer.

Spence: The Art of War tells the remarkable story of Colonel Gilbert Ormerod Spence, Commander of the 5th Durham Light Infantry (DLI), through a nationally significant collection of his wartime watercolours painted at the frontline.

Documenting his time in active service from 1915 to 1918, the rare collection of first-hand paintings capture the Colonel’s journey as he led the 5th DLI through some of the bloodiest battles including Passchendaele and the Somme.

About 50 of Col Spence’s watercolours are on display at Preston Park Museum, near Eaglescliffe, Stockton, until October 30, highlighting the ‘human side of war’. Paintings of barren landscapes and blitzed towns are hung alongside soldiers at rest and the people encountered on the DLI’s journey through northern France and Belgium.

A diary from a soldier in the 5th DLI is also on display, along with an original German Pickelhelm and a Lee Enfield rifle. Visitors also have the opportunity to try on a replica soldier’s uniform.

Born in Stockton-on-Tees in 1879, the Colonel took command of the DLI in 1910. He was wounded in 1918 but survived the war, only to be killed in a car accident in 1925 at the age of 47.

Collections officer Christine Hutchinson said: “Visitors to the exhibition can expect to experience what life was like as a soldier in the First World War through the stark, the real and the sometimes haunting scenes the Colonel painted.

“Through the exhibition we have brought to life the sights, sounds and even the smells of war, immersing visitors in life on the battleground.”

The development of the exhibition was supported by a Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grant and funding from the Art Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The funding has also enabled the museum’s collections team and volunteers to piece together the movements of the 5th DLI.

The locations of many of the scenes painted by Col Spence were found through cross referencing his watercolours with the battalion history by Major A. L. Raimes, another soldier in his battalion.

During his lifetime Col Spence amassed an assortment of items from arms to decorative snuff boxes, many of which are on permanent display at the museum.

Members of the public are also being encouraged to share their own family heritage linked to the First World War.

Admission to the exhibition is free with the entry charge to Preston Park Museum.