AN unlikely bond is set to be formed between an Oxfordshire town and Scotland’s most famous army regiment.

The Scots Guards could be the first given the freedom of Wantage, which would mark a historical link dating back to the Crimean War.

Town councillors have voted unanimously to honour soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, and to remember the life of the first Lord Wantage.

Mayor Jim Sibbald, a former major in the Royal Artillery, said: “We often forget the old heroes and now we have got another generation of heroes out in Afghanistan upholding the heritage of the regiment’s past.

“We know the Scots Guards were a huge influence on Lord Wantage, shaping him in his dealings for the betterment of the town and the nation.”

Mr Sibbald said the move would celebrate Robert Lindsay, who won a Victoria Cross fighting with the Scots Guards in 1854 and became the first Lord Wantage.

The Scots Guards Council will now decide whether to accept the offer when it next meets in December.

If it does, the regiment will have the right to march through Wantage with swords drawn, bayonets fixed, drums beating, bands playing and the regimental colours flying.

It would be the first time freedom of the town has been bestowed on anyone after a law change earlier this year.

The Scots Guards originate from the raising of a force to fight in Ireland and acted as bodyguards to Charles I. The regiment has bases at Catterick and in London.

Last week, Lance Sergeant Dale McCallum, 31, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards, became the third member of the regiment to be killed in Afghanistan this year.

Lockinge Estate owner Thomas Loyd, a descendant of Lord Wantage’s wife Harriet Jones-Loyd, said: “Through this scheme, Wantage will have a connection with the military at this very important time to show its support for our armed forces.”

Meanwhile, Peter Fowler, who runs the Pitstop Brewery in Grove, has pledged to create a special Russian stout, named Sevastopol after the Crimean siege Lindsay was part of, if the Scots Guards accept the town’s gesture.

Robert Lindsay became one of the first recipients of the Victoria Cross for two different acts of valour, at the Battle of Alma and the Battle of Inkerman.

He moved to Lockinge after the war, when the estate was given to him as a wedding present on his marriage.

He was the town’s MP, and helped found the British Red Cross. He also gave the statue of King Alfred – born in Wantage – to the town.