OXFORDSHIRE is about to inherit a grave and sombre duty.

The first repatriation of a fallen soldier could fly into RAF Brize Norton on Thursday, after the closure of RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

So it is fitting and proper that a new £2.8m building from which families will watch their loved ones’ last journeys to home soil at the air base.

We can only pray that the new suite never needs to be used.