A NEW war memorial will celebrate the lives of the fallen servicemen of the Sherburn area, and it will commemorate their deaths.

The monument and plaque honouring residents of Sherburn Village, Sherburn Hill, Pittington, Littletown and Shadforth killed in service during the two world wars, will be accompanied by two books detailing their lives.

Kevin Stock, who is involved in the memorial project, said: "We want to record the lives of these men from both world wars, and portray them as living people, rather than just dead servicemen.

"The majority were in the forces for a very short time, yet, all too often, it's only their deaths we remember.

"The monument will commemorate the ultimate sacrifice they gave, but the accompanying books are something we are very excited about.

"Every person who is on the memorial is also in the books, and we have gone to great lengths to find out as much about their lives and untimely deaths as possible."

Two books, each featuring servicemen from one of the world wars, will be completed by next spring.

The monument and the books will honour several servicemen not named on the village's church or school memorials.

Mr Stock and John Burrell started working on the project two years ago, and have recently been working on it almost every day.

The monument will cost £6,000, and has been made possible by a grant from the Flourishing Communities Fund, plus donations from businesses, community groups and residents in the area.

It will be sited close to the village green and will be dedicated during this year's Remembrance Day ceremony.

Mr Stock said: "We've had a very positive response from residents. The overall look is unobtrusive and will blend in well with the current regeneration the village front street is going through."