A look at life on front line across centuries

At York Castle Museum, visitors can meet Great War veteran, Frank Wood, hear his story and join him on a mission in the Middle East. The soldier, played by actor Chris Cade, will be at the museum at regular intervals throughout next week.

Visitors can also take a close look at real medals and the people behind them and sample trench cake, a morale boosting fruit cake, made using war-time recipes.

At the Yorkshire Museum, visitors can handle real Roman artefacts from the collections, listen to a talk from one of the curators and join in with a range of activities.

On Wednesday next week, there are also drop-in sessions to allow visitors to create their own Roman Catapult, based on a nearly life-size replica.

All activities are included in the admission, which is free to York Card holders, with all children under 16 also getting free entry with a paying adult.

The assistant curator of history learning, Lisa Coombs, said: “It is great that we are able to offer visitors the opportunity to learn about local people who fought in the First World War; Frank Wood’s story is fascinating and our medal collection and the stories behind them are remarkable.

“Recreating authentic trench cake in the Castle Kitchen is something a bit different for visitors to experience and we think they will really enjoy it.”

The assistant curator of science and archaeology learning, Emma Williams, said: “We have put together some great activities for families to enjoy this half-term.”