GRENADIER Guards old and young gathered for a special concert to raise money for injured soldiers this week.

The Grenadier Guard Band, fresh from Buckingham Palace, performed at a picnic in the sun at the Oxford University Press cricket ground.

More than 100 people gathered to listen to music from films such as James Bond and The Dambusters and patriotic tunes.

Among the listeners was 23-year-old Hannah Pearce from Kidlington with her son Jacy, aged 29 months.

She said: “I came along today because my fiancée is a Grenadier Guard. He’s currently stationed in Aldershot but he’s due to go back to Afghanistan in March.”

Her fiancée Darren Poyser, 26, from Blackbird Leys, injured his shoulder on his last tour.

Miss Pearce said: “Last time it was terrible. We really don’t want him to go again.

“But the men here have told me they’ll look after us all. They said once you’re a Grenadier, you’re always a Grenadier.”

The band are all serving soldiers and have completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, the batallion have lost 10 men and more than 35 have been seriously injured.

Colonel Edmund Hudson, president of the Oxfordshire Branch of the Grenadier Guards Association, said: “This band is the top military band in the land.

“So for them to come to Oxford is a real privilege. It’s a way for us to raise money for Help For Heroes and regimental funds.”

He added: “We had some pretty heavy casualties recently and although the Government and the Army do support them, we can help more with some ready cash.”

The branch provides accommodation for relatives visiting their loved ones in hospital and gives out help packs for injured soldiers.

Col Hudson served with the guards for 34 years, seeing action in the Persian Gulf and Northern Ireland.

He said: “We’re a very tight group of people. But we’re growing older and it’s nice to get together like this.”

The band also performed the Beating Retreat, a military ceremony dating back to the sixteenth century.

Oxfordshire branch chairman Don Thompson served with the Grenadiers in the 1950s and was in London for the Coronation.

He said: “We now have about 80 members in Oxfordshire and this is a very special occasion for us. I think the last one here was back in the 1980s.”

Band director of music Captain Michael Smith said: “We give about four fundraising concerts a year like this one.

“The whole MOD is very geared towards supporting the troops, especially the ones who come back with horrific injuries.

“But the old soldiers are always there to support too. It’s a family thing, you’re in for life.”

To find out more about the Grenadier Guards Association visit grenadierguardsoxon.co.uk