Sir, Following your article “Records of war dead go online” (Herald, July 23), this information has been online for many years and includes both First and Second World Wars and is available free of charge on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s website at: www.cwgc.org As this is the 40th year of the new Oxfordshire, perhaps it is important to those who have moved into the county since 1974 — or were born after that date — to know that until the unceremonious relocation of North Berkshire to Oxfordshire, Didcot, Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon and Wallingford, and indeed all up to Wytham and the Hinkseys, were part of the Royal County.

As such, the county regiments in 1914 were the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Berkshire Yeomanry (with its distinctive cap badge of the Uffington White Horse). These regimental titles often appear on village and town memorials to the fallen throughout the county.

The Royal Berkshires became in 1958 the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire & Wiltshire) and, in turn, the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment in 1994, and after a short spell as Light Infantry, became a forming regiment of the 1st Battalion The Rifles in 2007; the Berkshire Yeomanry is now 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals with its headquarters at Windsor.

Other volunteer units in 1914 within the county included Berkshire Battery, Royal Horse Artillery and a Royal Garrison Artillery unit.

It is important that the soldiers of these illustrious county regiments and units are given their correct place in our county history as former soldiers of the new Oxfordshire.

Keith Woods

Main Street

Chilton