MUCH has been made of the fact that the Great War started 100 years ago.

Many people have started to research the names of those from their locality who died and served. Schoolchildren are being given priority with funding to do this, and it’s good that they learn this way.

But what about the stories of those who had to stay at home?

A lot of events have been planned for the first weekend in August. What happens after that?

The war lasted until 1919.

The people at home had to hold out for all those years – and the inexorability of those times should be thought about.

Maybe we should commemorate the Christmas Truce this year, and the naval vessels which were sunk in the months up to Christmas 1914; next year remember the Battle of Loos; in 2016 the Battles of Jutland and Somme, and so on.

The North East War Memorials Project started in 1988.

Our website — newmp.org.uk — was launched in 2008.

We now have information on more than 4,550 memorials from Northumberland, Newcastle and County Durham, and are still finding more.

Whatever people are doing, it would be good for us to know about it, so that we can place this information on our files.

Janet Brown, Chair, North East War Memorials Project.