ONE week after thousands of people turned out for Remembrance Sunday services, curators at an Oxfordshire museum will help to ensure soldiers of the First World War will not be forgotten.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, based in the grounds of the Oxfordshire Museum in Park Street, Woodstock, is hosting a new exhibition, Oxfordshire Remembers 1914-18 (Part II).

The new displays commemorate the county's contribution in the final years of the Great War, and the exhibition will run from November 21 to December 3.

During the second half of the First World War, men and women of all classes and social backgrounds from across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire contributed in many different ways to the war effort.

This second of two exhibitions, covering the years 1917-1919, tells some of their personal stories, through a range of artefacts, images and films.

Last year it was the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, and this year the anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele was commemorated.

Museum director, Ursula Corcoran, said: "As we come to the end of commemorating the First World War we want residents to take the opportunity to find out more about Oxfordshire's contribution during the conflict.

"We are not just talking about the soldiers who lost their lives in the conflict but also the impact it had on families and loved ones back home."

The exhibition will take visitors through a number of themes, focusing in particular, at school children across the county and beyond.

The displays highlight the achievements and individuals who fought with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, but also draws upon the stories of the men of the British Indian Army – fighting alongside the 43rd Regiment in Iraq – and of the parts played by women and children on the Home Front.

Soldiers the museum is focusing on include Captain Noel Chavasse, who died in the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the First World War's bloodiest episodes.

Captain Chavasse was in the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment) and is one of only three people to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice.

Cpt Chavasse died on August 4, 1917, from wounds sustained during the incident for which he won his second VC – Britain's highest honour for bravery in the face of the enemy.

He is buried at Brandhoek New Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium.

On the 100th anniversary of his death, St Peter's College in Oxford urged people to see a collection of the Chavasse family's medals.

The college unveiled a plaque in New Inn Hall Street on August 9 last year on the centenary of Cpt Chavasse's first Victoria Cross, awarded for his actions during the Battle of Guillemont in France, when he attended the wounded all day under heavy fire.

The exhibition will focus on a number of themes, including the global nature of the conflict.

Soldiers from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry were stationed in Italy, Iraq, Greece, India, Ireland and Russia.

Those who died continue to be commemorated in those places.

Conscription is another key theme, as in early 1916 the Military Service Act was passed to say many men aged 18 to 41 had to go to war whether they wanted to or not.

More than 16,000 men became conscientious objectors, refusing to join the Army.

They risked going to prison and bringing shame on their families.

The exhibition will also focus on the role of women in the First World War.

More than ever before, women were called upon to take on new jobs.

With men away fighting, women could become police officers, firefighters and farmers.

Thousands made weapons in the greatly expanded munitions factories or worked with the army as nurses or motor drivers.

Women also formed committees of volunteers to support the work effort by fundraising and producing necessities – clothing for soldiers and items for local hospitals and refugees.

British children were also expected to help the war effort.

They collected berries to turn into jam for serving soldiers, conkers to support the manufacture of explosives and newspapers to be recycled.

Children were also involved in fundraising activities such as selling flags and trinkets to raise money for refugees and soldiers at the front.

Some helped to gather in the harvest, their schooling suffering as a result.

Scouts and Guides were much in demand to support the war effort.

Scout bands played at recruitment marches and military funerals and they distributed leaflets, tended allotments, guarded telegraph lines and even hunted for escaped Prisoners of War.

Displays also focus on The Armistice, signed on November 11, 1918, to bring war to an end.

Some families were able to go the Western Front after the war to visit the graves of loved ones, though for many it was not possible.

Soldiers banded together at annual reunions, glad of the company of others who really understood their experiences.

Today the Royal British Legion and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission play a vital role in remembering those who died.

In Oxford and at towns and villages across the county people paid their respects to the fallen in the two world wars and in other more recent conflicts.

The theme of remembrance will continue at the long-running museum exhibition.

For more information visit sofo.org.uk