A new display, just opened at Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle, tells the revealing First World War (1914-18) story of Shrewsbury’s Emmie Chester from contents of her precious suitcase.

In the summer of 1917, twenty-four-year-old Emmie Chester left her quiet, comfortable family life in Belle Vue Shrewsbury to embark on a journey to Rouen, France, as a member of the newly established Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Over two years, amidst and in the aftermath of the First World War, Emmie worked behind the front lines for the British Army, experienced romantic love, forged life-long friendships and had to choose between returning to care for her family or pursuing a new adventure in the form of a promotion in Geneva.

Remarkably, Emmie had preserved her story in a suitcase full of mementoes relating to her service life and earlier this year Emmie’s great niece Susan Davies donated contents to the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum. To showcase Emmie’s story, museum team members Denby Humphries and Dr Robert MacKinnon have installed a new permanent exhibit for visitors to Shrewsbury Castle, using documents, photographs, medals and souvenirs from her suitcase.

For Denby: ‘with the new display, we are endeavouring to bring previously unreported accounts and experiences of women like Emmie to the forefront to deliver a more comprehensive understanding of all individuals affected by and participating in conflict’. For Robert: ‘the display is the beginning of a journey towards better representation of local female mobilisation in war and conflict within the museum space, women’s stories of military service are underrepresented in the collection due to historic curatorial choices and attitudes, favouring a male narrative’.