SILENCE can be extraordinarily powerful. In our frenetic lives there is something immensely moving about the peace that comes when we fall quiet. And scenes across Oxfordshire yesterday showed just how strong the call to remember the fallen is. It has been almost 70 years since the end of the Second World War. But that’s not the end of the story. Oxfordshire has always had a very special relationship with the Armed Forces. From the recently uncovered story of Ralph Charles Wingrove, who served as a pilot during the Second World War but died on a training flight in 1945, aged just 24, to the latest soldiers to be repatriated – Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter, 29, and Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar, 28, both of 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles – killed less than two weeks ago in Afghanistan. Indeed, the issues facing our Armed Forces are as important now as ever.

Every time another serviceman or woman is killed, Oxfordshire folk turn out in their hundreds, in Brize Norton, Carterton and Headington, to pay their respects. Since last Remembrance Sunday the closure of Bicester’s 23 Pioneer Regiment has been announced.

Meanwhile, a long-fought battle for better military housing looks to have been won after plans for new accommodation at RAF Benson, RAF Brize Norton and Dalton Barracks were unveiled. Yesterday was the formal day to recognise the sacrifice our military heroes make. But in Oxfordshire their bravery and courage – as well as the daily trials they face – is remembered day in and day out. Let’s make sure it stays that way.