Tag Archives: Sunderland

Diary entries which mention places and events in and around the Sunderland area. See also Sunderland map.

16 June 1915; Wednesday

At work as usual. Busy all day. Finished in decent time. Went over to the Tyne with Hoggetts & saw the damage done by the air raid1. Train to South Shields, walked to Tyne2 Dock, car3 to Jarrow, and train from Hebburn back again.

Visited the Tyne. Reggie Bailes4 left the Office.


  1. Air raid: See yesterday’s entry

  2. The shorthand clearly has “town” and “town dock”, but “Tyne” and “Tyne Dock” must be right. 

  3. “Car” means “tram-car”, as usual. 

  4. “Reggie Bailes”: evidently another work colleague who may have joined the war effort. As of 12 June 2015, Lives of the First World War lists only four people with that name. One of these served with the 6th Durham Light Infantry but without any further clues – and, sadly, there are none – it would be pure speculation to suppose that this was the same Reggie Bailes. 

24 May 1915; Monday

At Durham1. Left by the 9.13 train with Charlie and Willie. Had a near shave to catch it. Grand day. At the cathedral service. Charlie left by the 2.4 train. We left about 4.30 and walked home. Arrived between 7.30 and 8 o’clock. Had tea at a café and a wash and brush up in Corporation lavatory. Stayed in at night and read.


  1. Durham: a historic city in North East England, about 14 miles south-west of Sunderland. Durham is well known for its Norman cathedral, mentioned by ALL in this diary entry, and 11th century castle, both designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. 

8 May 1915; Saturday

At work as usual1. Finished in decent time. Met Charlie in the station. At work at night. Went to Roker.

Heavy loss of life in Lusitania2 disaster. Got news at night of loss of “Maori”3 off the Belgian Coast.


  1. Saturday morning working was of course normal – as it remained until the 1960s. 

  2. Lusitania: See notes on 7 May

  3. Maori”: RN destroyer, built 1909, sunk by a mine on 7 May 1915 off Zeebrugge. 

17 April 1915; Saturday

At work as usual. Finished very late. Called for papers at dinner time. Went with Willie Whittaker to Shiney Row, car from New Herrington to Houghton, walked from Houghton to home. We were stopped by a picket at Grindon1 who were stopping motorcars. A picket also at East Herrington. We saw an aircraft of some sort over Newcastle way. A raid of [sic] Shields during the night but nothing done.


  1. Grindon and East Herrington are just outside what would have been the built-­up area of Sunderland in 1915; on the main roads to Chester-­le-­Street and Durham respectively. It would be interesting to know if there were pickets that day on the other main roads out of Sunderland -­ and if so, why.