It is 40 years since volunteers from Oxfordshire launched a rescue mission to help earthquake victims in Italy.

Members of Kidlington Round Table drove a lorry full of clothing and blankets to Contursi Terme, a village near Naples, then flew back eight months later to help rebuild the shattered region.

Now four decades later, a message has arrived from the Italians thanking the Tablers for what they did.

The story began in December 1980 when Colin and Pam Webb, in Kidlington, received a plea from a friend, Gabriella di Martino, Professor of English at Naples University, to help earthquake victims.

Earthquake mission – left to right, John Wathen, Peter Hall, David Lang and Philip Hine

Earthquake mission – left to right, John Wathen, Peter Hall, David Lang and Philip Hine

They passed the message to Round Table members David Lang and Philip Hine, who launched an appeal.

Within days, the St John Ambulance hall in the village was full of clothing and bedding.

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Some of the supplies were flown to Italy, but the rest were driven in a lorry by Round Table members Norman Davies, Stuart Swift and Jim Beckett.

At Le Havre in France, they were arrested because their paperwork indicated they were carrying ‘millions of blankets’.

Arriving in the stricken area, where tremors were still being felt, they found desperate families living in tents in severe winter weather.

In August 1981, another Round Table team - David Lang, John Wathen and Philip Hine, from Kidlington, and Peter Hall, from Oxford – flew to the region to give further help.

They spent a week with fellow Tablers from around the country rebuilding homes which had been destroyed or made unsafe and strengthening walls which were on the point of collapse.

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They also met people who had lost loved ones in the disaster.

Mr Hine, an accountant, told the Oxford Mail at the time: “They had made some progress, but it was very slow.

“Conditions are pretty rough with houses and other buildings in ruins and people living in caravans.

“Food is now getting through and a few shops have reopened, but some say it could take up to 20 years to rebuild the area.”

Mr Hall, a chartered surveyor, said: “I found the situation shocking.

“You gave the locals a big morale boost and some help, but it was just a drop in the ocean.”

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Mr Wathen added: “When it happened, a lot of relief poured in.

“Now it’s just like yesterday’s news – everyone has forgotten about it.”

The Oxford and Kidlington group was part of an international working party set up by the United Nations to help the area recover from the terrible devastation.

In a note of thanks to the Kidlington community marking the 40th anniversary, Ms di Martino wrote: “We will never forget their generosity.”