NO monument, tribute or fundraising effort can ever repay what we owe the Durham Pals, but it was very important that a century old wrong was put right.

Memorial benches to honour the heroism and sacrifice of County Durham soldiers killed and injured during the Battle of the Somme are being unveiled – one in France and one beside the River Wear – thanks to the generosity of people from across the county.

The Northern Echo was delighted to play its part in supporting the Durham Remembers fundraising campaign to honour the 18th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry – better known as the Durham Pals – who met their fate on the Somme battlefield.

The battalion was formed during the opening days of the war, as young volunteers from County Durham’s farms and pit villages, steel towns and market towns selflessly answered their country’s call to arms.

Many Pals battalions from across England came to fight on the Somme and until this week all but Durham’s had some form of memorial at the site in Northern France.

Yesterday’s ceremony at Thiepval finally laid that matter to rest.

The other bench is due to be unveiled tomorrow at a site in the centre of Durham close to where many of the Pals began their training.

It is hoped that a suitable site for a permanent and lasting traditional memorial will also be found and arrangements can be made for this to be put in place to mark the end of the centenary year.

We understand and respect those people who felt that keeping open the DLI museum would have been tribute enough to the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice. In March, when the museum closed its doors for the final time campaigners feared that the heroic efforts of North-East soldiers would soon be forgotten.

This week’s ceremonies will go some way to ensuring that will never happen.