Join us on Saturday 9 May for a free open day commemorating the time when Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was a temporary barracks and training centre in World War Two.

The trainee soldiers slept on the floors of the Flaxmill Maltings as rats run around them – they referred to it as the Rat Hotel. You can learn about what this life would have been like at this free drop-in event, with lots to do and see for all the family.

You can even go on a tour of the vicinity of the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings to discover some of the impact of WW2 on the locality. Tours are free and will run twice during the day at 11.30am and 2pm and last one hour. Places are limited on these tours so please email shrewsburyflaxmillmaltings@english-heritage.org.uk to guarantee a place.

During the day you can also:

• Experience re-enactment volunteers with show and tell equipment and soldiers’ kit
• Train and drill with the Home Guard
• Experience a working authentic air raid siren
• Learn about the soldiers who trained at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings by exploring the military records captured by some of the volunteers
• Take part in training with grenade beanbags
• Splat the Rats to help keep the rat population down