Livingstone Road Drill Hall and Garrison Field, Sunderland
7th Durham Light Infantry drill hall and parade ground
Type: Drill Hall
Drill Hall and Parade Ground which was the Headquarters for the 7th (Territorial Force) Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI).
The Drill Hall was paid for by public subscription and work started in 1879 and was completed in 1880 and was built for the 3rd Durham Rifle Volunteers (Sunderland), the 7th DLI’s predecessor.
With war brewing in 1914, the 7th DLI were at their annual camp in Conway, Wales. The 7th Battalion marched to the Drill Hall after detraining late on Monday 3 August 1914. The official mobilization order was sent to Colonel Vaux for the battalion to parade on the Garrison Field on the Tuesday 4 August, the day that war was declared.
Sources used:
Sunderland Echo August 1914
Evening Chronicle August 1914
‘The Fighting Pioneers’ – Clive Dunn
O.S. 2nd Edition Map
Civil Parish: Sunderland
Contributed by Simon W, United Kingdom