A museum is appealing for information about a World War One German pistol handed in during a Wiltshire firearms amnesty.

The 1911 Luger pistol, given to Wiltshire Police, is believed to have been taken as a souvenir during the 1917 tank advance at Cambrai in France.

Police have donated the weapon to the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, where curator David Willey said: "We'd love to trace the family that it belonged to so we can perhaps find the records of the man who brought it home."

The 1908-model Pistole Parabellum, commonly known as a Luger, has a leather holster with the inscription: 'Souvenir of the Big Advance at Cambrai November 1917. To Alice from HUD, Jany 21 - 18'.

Mr Willey said: "The Battle of Cambrai on 20 November was a hugely important moment in the history of the Royal Tank Regiment and is still celebrated today.

"It was the first ever large-scale and effective use of tanks in warfare, with almost 400 fighting tanks that advanced without any prior bombardment so the enemy had no warning."

After advancing for about six miles, the British were halted and later the Germans launched a counter-attack.

"This gun was probably captured by a British soldier during that incredible advance," Mr Willey said.

"To be able to identify the soldier would be wonderful, and means we have another story to tell to our visitors," Mr Willey said.

“Often these relics became family heirlooms and we’d love to trace the family that it belonged to so we can perhaps find the records of the man who brought it home as a souvenir.

“We are incredibly grateful to Wiltshire police for recognising its historic importance and for donating it to us.”

The Pistole Parabellum - or Parabellum-Pistole, commonly known as just ‘Luger’, was based on a design first patented by Georg Luger in 1898 and was produced until 1948.

In 1908, the German army adopted the 1908 model which included a four inch barrel and was the Germans’ principal gun for the war, during which more than two million were produced and used.