AT THIS time of year we all take a moment to stop and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Remembrance events across the nation give us a chance to honour the fallen heroes whose lives were given throughout the ages and across the globe.

At a museum in Dorchester the effort to remember our servicemen and women does not come just once a year, instead there is a constant quest to keep their memories alive.

The Keep Military Museum celebrates the rich history of local soldiers from the Dorset and Devon regiments and has hundreds of fascinating stories to tell.

Curator Captain Colin Parr said interest in those stories was beginning to increase as we move towards the 100 year anniversary since the start of the First World War in 1914.

He said that may also be a reason why more and more people turned out to show their support for remembrance events this year.

Capt Parr said: “This year particularly it’s getting bigger because of the knowledge that the centenary of the Great War is less than a year away now.”

The soldiers of Dorset had a major role to play in the First World War.

Men from the Dorset Regiment and Dorset Yeomanry fought in the Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, as well as Flanders in Belgium and France.

On the evening of May 1, 1915 soldiers from the Dorset Regiment had the terrible experience of being the first regiment to be subjected to a gas attack by the German forces at Ypres.

By the following morning 130 soldiers had died.

Soldiers from the Devon Regiment, who are also commemorated at the museum, also had a heavy involvement in one of the conflict’s bloodiest and most famous battles at the Sommes.

Capt Parr said the sheer scale of the loss sustained on both sides is evident on a trip across the Channel.

He said: “We can all go to France and the cemeteries there, and I defy anybody to go and not feel emotional.”

Capt Parr said some of the conflicts fought by Dorset soldiers in the Middle East were also pretty brutal, with many lives being lost at Gallipoli while lots of men also perished in Mesopotamia.

Tales of heroism from local soldiers in these and other conflicts feature in the museum and Capt Parr said he hoped that the remembrance events of recent days may have prompted some people to want to come and find out more about the stories behind the sacrifice.

He said this was a way people could commemorate those who gave their lives so bra-vely all year round.

Capt Parr said: “Generally speaking, once a year on November 11 or as near to that day as possible for a few minutes we stand still and listen and just remember all those who right up to last week have given their lives for this country and its aims and ideals.

“But for those people and what they did we may well have been living a different lifestyle.

“I suppose when all is said and done it’s commemoration which is important and if anybody hears or reads any of the stories they could just stop and think for a couple of minutes.”