Latest Armed Forces heroes to be honoured in Sunderland's Veterans' Walk

The latest batch of stones honouring Armed Forces heroes past and present are to be installed at a ceremony.

Dedications for the latest names on Sunderland's Veterans' Walk will take place next to Sunderland's War Memorial at Mowbray Park on Saturday, September 9, from 10am.

The 25lb (11kg) granite flagstones each have the name of a former or serving member of HM Armed Forces.The first stones were laid in the walkway in November 2016, and there are now around 1,200 ‘Tributes to Proud Service' installed in the pathway, which runs for about 150ft.

Some 60 stones have been added in the past year alone, with names submitted from across Sunderland, the North East, and the UK, as well as as Australia, Canada and Germany.

New names added to the walk include an anonymous tribute to Second World War RAF pilot Cyril Barton, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross when he steered his Halifax bomber away from houses as it crash-landed in Ryhope, Sunderland, in March 1944.

The walk project is run by the family of Private Nathan Cuthbertson who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008.

Nathan's father Tom is a former paratrooper and the project is also supported by Wearside businessman Rob Deverson.

The walk recognises veterans who are still with us as well as those who may have passed.

Mr Cuthbertson and Mr Deverson will be joined by the families who have purchased stones on Saturday.

Mr Deverson said: "Seven years on from the beginning this work, we continue to receive tributes to those who serve and those who have served, including this anonymous tribute to the heroic actions of Halifax bomber pilot Cyril Barton when he crash-landed in Ryhope in 1944 and steered his plane away from houses.

"In the last 18 months we have also been assisting and engraving stones that are being taken to the Falklands to be laid in memory of the service personnel who died in the 1982 war.

"We thank everyone for their continued and indeed growing interest in this work. Families have been invited to our September dedication on Saturday, the public are all very welcome and we are expecting a good turnout."

A reception is being held after the event at the Gunners Club in Mary Street.Military standard bearers and the Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Dorothy Trueman will be in attendance to help lead the dedication.

Councillor Trueman said: "It’s an honour to be helping with the dedication as we all know the National Veterans’ Walk is a very special tribute to service personnel and is open to all.

"It’s a tribute that our city can be very proud of, and we thank Tom, Rob and others for their work on the walk. At this new dedication we can reflect on both the new and all the names.

"Tom and Rob have a very simple motto – They All Stand Equal – and this unique walk goes beyond honouring those who have perished in conflicts.

It offers all who serving or who have served the chance to create a permanent reminder of that proud service."

I know we all understand how important it is to share feelings of pride and tributes for our forces personnel."

For more information, visit https://www.nationalveteranswalk.co.uk/