Do you know who these soldiers are?

Before the First World War, they were part-time volunteers in the military who had no idea of what was awaiting them.

But these recently unearthed photographs capture some of the heroic people who faced ferocious fighting on the Western Front.

Click on the image to the right for more photos

A massive new collection of pictures and documents have been donated to Shropshire Regimental Museum at Shrewsbury Castle relating to the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery, which was made up of volunteers.

Now museum bosses are looking for people to come forward to help identify some of the soldiers in the pictures.

Among the pictures that have been handed over is a photograph of nine of the men in military uniform, as well as another of some of the soldiers on horseback.

Others show the soldiers posing on Salisbury Plain two years before the war, while the collection also includes one of the call-up letters received by a member of the battery.

Peter Duckers, curator of the museum, said the donation of about 100 items had been made about two weeks ago by local descendants of soldiers involved in the unit and was a 'major find'.

"It is the biggest single collection of photographs of the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery we have been given and it adds hugely to what we have on them," he said.

Mr Duckers said the items had been donated to the museum by a family from Wellington who had two relatives in the unit.

"They felt it would all be better off in the local regimental museum rather than in a cardboard box in their attic," he said.

"The RHA served on the Western Front and saw some pretty severe fighting.

"They suffered a fair number of casualties in action, particularly in 1917 and 1918.

"This donation doubles what we have got on the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery in the First World War. It is a major find and very important."

He said the collection of photographs and documents from the period has been put into the museum's archives, with plans for some of the items to be copied and put out on display to visitors.

But Mr Duckers said there is a limit of information about the soldiers who feature in the pictures.

He added that members of the public who may have had relations in the RHA could be able to help out.

"The problem is that the vast majority don't have names on. That is the overall problem you get with these things," he said.

If anyone recognises any of the people in these photographs that would be very helpful.

"It is always nice to put a name to the picture. There are very good clear shots."

"In the main Shropshire TA battery there were about 150 officers and men. It was a TA unit before the war so they were all local men and part-timers who were then called up to war.

"One of the documents we have got is a chap's call-up letter. It is dated August 5 1914 – the day after we declared war, so they were very fast and efficient."

He said the collection also appears to show that a father and son from Wellington – James and Fred Cox – both served in the unit at the same time.

Mr Duckers said that while the RHA saw some fierce fighting in the last two years of the war, it had a slow start to the campaign.

"To their great disappointment they were put on British coastal defence duty in Norfolk. They were a very highly regarded battery and were bursting to get out there," he said.

"But they didn't get overseas until the beginning of 1917. They suffered significant casualties in their two years of active service."

Anyone who may have more information about the photographs can call the museum on (01743) 358516.