ONE of the British Army’s most senior members attended the 19240 Shrouds of the Somme exhibition in Northernhay Gardens, Exeter on Saturday, along with the thousands of visitors queuing patiently to see the project.

The 19240 Shrouds of the Somme project aims to commemorate every single one of the 19,240 allied soldiers who died on the first day of conflict of the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago.

Artist Rob Heard spent three years creating the exhibition, which saw him hand stitch every single shroud in order to represent and remember every soldier who fell.

After he had made every 12-inch figurine, he would symbolically read out their name from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s records.

The exhibition was opened at 7.30am on Friday, 100 years to the day since the order was given to ‘go over the top’. As part of the weeklong exhibition, all the names of those who were lost will be read out by volunteers.

On Saturday, ACGS Major General Nick Welch visited the installation himself and read from the lists of records of the fallen soldiers.

Exeter’s Armed Forces Day on Saturday saw thousands of people attend the 19240 Shrouds of the Somme Project, many queuing to enter.

Visitor numbers to the exhibition are growing rapidly with some coming from as far away as Australia to see the project.