Today we feature the village of Bampton, which has been labelled by one serviceman’s father as “the most loyal in Oxfordshire”.

It seemed like a good time to look at how one small place can be affected by a conflict thousands of miles away.

Oxfordshire has a stronger connection to the armed forces than most other counties.

Bampton has a population of only 2,000, but at least 14 families have sons or daughters on active service, while others have seen action.

For the first time, the local British Legion had volunteers phoning up asking to collect for the Poppy Appeal, while five times the normal number of people turned up for the village’s Remembrance Sunday.

Meanwhile, every time a soldier’s body is repatriated, a contingent from the village heads to the layby on the A420 where well-wishers have gathered more than 100 times to mark the passing of their corteges to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

The way the community has pulled together has helped families get over their own losses.

The mother of Marine Jason Mackie, 21, who was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb, has told how “they have been here when I needed it”.

It is a sign community spirit is still alive and well in our county.