Plaque marks Oxfam pioneer

From the archive, first published Thursday 21st Nov 2002.

Honour unveiled at charity's first shop The work of one of Oxfam's founder members has been commemorated by the unveiling of a plaque at the charity's oldest shop.

The Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board has installed its latest memorial at Oxfam's shop in Broad Street, Oxford, in memory of Cecil Jackson-Cole, who died in 1979.

Mr Jackson-Cole, a businessman and philanthropist, was one of the founders in 1942 of the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, which later became Oxfam.

The charity, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, was set up to help people in Greece who were living under Nazi occupation.

Mr Jackson-Cole was heavily involved in the opening of the Broad Street shop, and was a driving force behind the charity, which is now one of the biggest aid agencies in the world.

The Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Hugo Brunner, who heads the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board, Mr Jackson-Cole's widow, Theo, who now lives on the south coast and Oxfam's director, Barbara Stocking, were at the event. Joe Mitty, 83, who ran the shop from November 1949 until July 1982, was also at the ceremony, with shop staff and volunteers past and present.

Mr Mitty, of Norreys Road, Cumnor, said: "The plaque is wonderful. It is recognition for the work that Oxfam has done over the years."

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