Last week I visited the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust (SOFO) an organisation that houses the archives and military memorabilia of three Oxfordshire regiments - the Oxfordshire OTC, Oxfordshire Yeomanry and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (43rd and 52nd). The Trust is manned by a group of enthusiastic and knowlegdable volunteers and is temporarily housed on the Ministry of Defence base at Caversfield in Bicester whilst they work towards a more permanent home in Woodstock.

They have some fantastic material both in the small museum upstairs and in the boxes of archives they know so well. I saw Peninsula War prints, North-West Frontier photographs, World War One medals, uniforms, weapons, badges, diaries and other first-hand accounts all being preserved and catalogued by men with an encyclopaedic knowledge of their topic. Apparently, not only does Oxfordshire (and Buckinghamshire) have a rich tradition of land warfare and a lot of aerodromes (material on these is also being preserved) but a small naval presence as well. Needless to say SOFO have catalogued it.

So if you are interested in military actions which the county's regiments took part in (including the siege of Quebec), trying to trace your ancestor's service in various wars or just interested in a fantastic collection of medals, badges and prints then you must contact them and arrange a visit.