WATCH: Fort Nelson to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele

The Royal Armouries Museum will mark 100 years since the start of the Battle of Passchendaele with themed gun firings on Saturday and Sunday.

The battle started on July 31, 1917 and raged for more than three months before British and Canadian forces finally took control of the village of Passchendaele in the West Flanders region of Belgium.

The battle is officially known as the third major Battle of Ypres but for the soldiers who fought there, it was referred to as the ‘Battle of Mud’ and is remembered for the scale of causalities - a third of a million British and Allied soldiers where either wounded or killed.

A museum spokesman said: 'To commemorate the battle, uniformed detachments from Ubique Right of the Line will fire the 18-pounder on the parade at 11:30 am, 2 pm and 3 pm each day. This is in addition to the usual 1 pm daily firing of the 25-pounder Howitzer.

'There will be an opportunity for visitors to inspect the guns following the firings and the uniformed detachments will be available to answer questions about the guns.'

Visitors can get up close with history in our free First World War themed insight sessions.

Insight 1: Explore Artillery from the First World War

Explore the galleries with one of the museum guides and learn about the history of artillery used in the First World War.

Daily 12:30 pm, free to participate.

Insight 2: First World War Handling Session

Take a trip to the Voice of the Guns gallery where visitors will learn about life as a First World War Soldier. Visitors will have the opportunity to examine First World War items including grenades, caltrops and the Lee Enfield gun.

Daily 3:30 pm, free to participate.

Museum admission and parking at Fort Nelson are free.

For more details go to www.royalarmouries.org.