FAMILIES of fallen North-East servicemen have launched a £50,000 campaign to create a permanent memorial to their loved ones.

Brothers in Arms aims to erect a memorial to the men and women killed in action or on active service since 2003.

Families want to build a wall of remembrance, or buy an addition to the war memorial in Durham City or Sunderland, in time for Remembrance Day next year.

Campaign founder Andrew Harrison, a former soldier who has served in Northern Ireland and the Balkans, said: “The campaigns that are going on now have produced differing opinions.

“But it is important that people realise there are young people serving their country, sometimes paying the ultimate price.

“So many servicemen and women from the North-East have been killed, but there is no real memorial for them.

“We have brought the families together and we hope to be the vehicle to enable that to happen.”

Janice Murray, whose son Michael Tench was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, in January 2007, said: “There is nothing to recognise these young lads’ efforts. Michael was only 18.”

Ms Murray, from Sunderland, added: “The Remembrance Day after Michael was killed, I found out what it all meant. Cenotaphs are for a different generation. This generation should not be forgotten.”

The cause is also supported by the families of Para Nathan Cuthbertson, Submariner Anthony Huntrod and Marine Tony Evans.

Brothers in Arms’ first major fundraising event will be a sports day at Durham City FC’s Arnott Stadium, on Monday, May 25.

There will be football matches between womens’, mens’ and military sides, and several families, whose relatives have been killed, will be represented.

That evening, a dinner, auction, presentation and entertainment from a live band and a comedian will be held in Ramside Hall Hotel, near Durham City.

Tickets for the sports day are £10.50. There is no entry charge for under-12s who are accompanied by an adult.

Gates open at 11am and the football kicks off at noon.

Tickets for the dinner, which starts at 7.30pm, are £45. For more information, to book or to make a donation to Brothers in Arms, call Mr Harrison on 0191-581-8222 or visit brothers-in-arms.org.uk