ALTHOUGH I have read that museum work scores very low on the 'stress scale' compared to other jobs, it has never been my experience that this is the case.

There is so much work going on in museums behind the scenes that most visitors never imagine is taking place.

This is particularly so when a big exhibition is being prepared. The process is like designing a large three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with all of the pieces being prepared by different people, in different places: showcases, models, computer intercatives, theatrical set-pieces and all the rest of it. The pieces are brought together towards the end of the process, the hope is that they will slot together into a perfectly crafted whole with an ambience of style, fun and authority. Like many essentially creative processes - it is 10per cent inspiration and 90per cent perspiration with a lot of looming deadlines flying past until a final crisis is reached followed by an opening which cannot be postponed and many late nights making the impossible happen. Ultimately and ironically the proof of a job well done is that it all looks like an effortless and happy accident that takes on a character and identity of its own.

The first part of this process is now underway with the Fusiliers' Museum and Design Committee working with Museum specialists, Headland Design developing the exhibition contents.

A set of visuals were prepared as part of the bid that went forward to the Heritage Lottery Fund and these are now being moved on from sketch ideas to a detailed plan of where each exhibit goes and of the range of media that will be used to tell the stories of nearly 400 years of history and an on-going present day Fusilier story.

Research will need to take place, pulling together old film footage, sound recordings, photographs and copies of paintings from places like the North West Sound archive, the Imperial Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

On a local level, material will be used from the Bury Museum and Archive and from the Bury Times' own Archive.

The Fusiliers will also need to dig deep into their own archives and records to pull stories together which support and explain some of the artifacts in the museum.

The hunt is on for all sorts of material so readers of the Bury Times, please contact the museum if you think you have something interesting to contribute!

The outline plans include two main display galleries and a display corridor. Each of the two galleries will have within them, a temporary exhibition space, which will have facilities for mounting good quality changing exhibitions at low cost. While the display corridor will focus on the many other regiments and services that the Fusiliers have a special relationship with, the two main galleries will be concerned with the Lancashire Fusiliers up until 1968, when they amalgamated with three other Fusilier Regiments -and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers from 1968 until now.

There are plans to include an introduction to the concept of 'regiment' what it means to soldiers and their communities - the loyalties and traditions that it perpetuates and the special characteristics of a Fusiliers.

There will be a quick reference guide to how the Army works, the origins and responsibilities of different ranks and an insight into the training and the tactics that have predominated at different times - including the crucial role of soldiers in peace keeping activities today. There will be quick-reference computer access to the archive, particularly to photographic material, and a dedicated medal area showing off the 'stars' of the collection and including a reference collection of every individual set of medals in the museum with the stories of who they belonged to.

People, places and perspectives:

Three key words have been chosen to guide the thinking and planning as work develops, these are people, places and perspectives.

Many people today find human stories to be the most fascinating part of history.

The Fusiliers' Museum will relate human experiences around warfare, peacekeeping and life at home. The collection and archive lend themselves particularly well to illustrating the stories of real people from the past and up to 20 lives will be documented.

Places are important in military history too -battles have been waged over territory, provoked by invasion and engaged in all over the world. Most battles are referred to by a local name - like Gallipoli - and to those without background knowledge the understanding of where these places are can, at best, be vague. It is hard to understand the significance of a battle without this geographical background or some understanding of the political issues which prompted it. So a globe exhibit and easy-read maps will be included to show where places are and link places where wars have been fought between different enemies at different times.

There will also be a 'timeline' running through the graphics showing what was going on in the world at different time and the events that have led to war.Perspectives refers to the many items in the collection of foreign origin, some of which have been taken as trophies, others have been gifts, some have been bought or traded as souvenirs. These sorts of object are typical in regimental collections and often beg more questions than their labels answer.

They will be examined from a number of different perspectives - not only in terms of what they say about the regiment and the reasons for their being in the collection, but also in terms of what they meant or were used for by the people who made or first owned them.