Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum construction starts

Work has started on a new £3.7m museum to honour soldiers from Oxfordshire-based regiments.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust is funding the construction of the building in the grounds of Oxfordshire Museum, in Woodstock.

It will include artefacts from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is expected to open by November 2013.

Interactive exhibitions

Museum director, Ursula Corcoran, said the museum would look at "all military history in Oxfordshire and where Oxfordshire has had an impact across the world".

She added this would include stories from the Homefront, World War I and current conflicts such as Afghanistan.

The trust now wants to raise £500,000 to fund interactive exhibitions within the museum.

Ms Corcoran, said the aim was to "present the collection in the most up-to-date and modern way" to avoid people being "faced with rows and rows of uniforms and medals".

Oxfordshire County Council granted planning permission for the museum in September 2010 after a ten-year campaign by the trust.