FAMILY AND FRIENDS of military servicemen and women who gave their lives for their country are being urged to make sure their ultimate sacrifice is remembered.
The deadline is approaching to have the names of loved ones who died in service inscribed on the Brother in Arms memorial wall in time for this year’s Remembrance commemorations in November.
The wall next to the war memorial in Burdon Road was built with funds raised by the Brothers in Arms organisation as a tribute to the community’s fallen heroes. Each year, there is a roll-call for more names to be added.
People should submit their applications by 31 August at the very latest, allowing time for the application to be considered and if successful the work to begin.
The wall is a permanent, architectural tribute from the community to servicemen and women who have died in conflict, training, special operations and non-conflict operations since the Second World War.
Since the formal dedication of the Memorial Wall on Armistice Day 2011, there has been an annual ‘roll call’ asking for people to put forward new names to be inscribed on the wall in time for Remembrance Day.
The wall includes the names of service personnel from Sunderland who have died in recent conflicts such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Northern Ireland.
Deputy Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Harry Trueman is the city’s Armed Forces Champion and part of Sunderland’s Armed Forces Network, which brings partners and veterans’ groups together to represent the interests of former and current servicemen, servicewomen and their families.
Councillor Trueman said: “We urge all families with loved ones who died while on military service to consider applying to have their names inscribed on the wall, which is a permanent reminder to us all of the ultimate sacrifice they made on behalf of their country.
“Our city is extremely proud of all the servicemen and women who gave their lives in the line of duty, and the Memorial Wall is a fitting place for their names to be listed as we prepare to remember them during the Remembrance commemorations later this year.”
People within the city who would like to see their loved one’s names appear alongside their fallen comrades on the Memorial Wall, should contactMandy Howard or Rachel Dale in the Mayor’s Office or email mayor@sunderland.gov.uk for more information.