Colin and Ray, Thanks for the concern.

I have been a bit ill and only started to come out of whatever in the last 6 weeks.

This illness problem started as far as I can think back in early December 2024. Which I put down to very bad flue type thing. It lasted for about 2 months so not flue but ?

The result was I became very weak. I then kept getting a sort of kick back of whatever and at was it Easter? I had a very stressful period and miss read a post of Norman and sort of lost it.

My saying sorry appeared to be disregarded and others jumped on the bandwagon.

As a result I decided to drop out from postings.

However whatever had been wrong with me health wise kept flaring up. The main problem being is that I lost my balance and if I bent over to say do shoe laces, head butt the wall type of thing. This together feeling groggy most of the time washed me out.
It only cleared in the last 6 weeks.

I have a suspicion that the COVID and flue jabs had some bearing on it. However a possible 2nd Heart attack in March and change in medication may have something to do with it.

I would say that I had a sort of severe sinus infection and treated it as such and it’s appeared to work” I think”.

A waste of time going to the doctors, try getting an appointment!

I have kept looking at the board and enjoy Peter Cooks photos plus other interesting postings by others.

Regarding the what was a water works and storage. AJG’s post thread, at the top of Mill Lane, the photo of it with Hebburn Tech and the Fire station.

If you look closely you should see that the lodge or works building is gone, I remember the foundation of that and it appears that the grass embankment to the SW corner is being removed.

I have no recollection of that being done. One of our Family relations move into one of the houses built on that site but that was after we had left Hebburn.

While I was ill we went about 4 times up to Powburn and Seahouses trying to recover ( Ann not good at all) I visited the Northumberland Fusiliers museum in Alnwick Castle and was able to get a bit of my Great Uncle John’s WW1 records. Regretfully it’s only his service numbers but added to info. That I already had from Grandfather C. was able to tie things together.

In 1911 he was at Buddon Camp in Scotland with the Royal Field Artillery and part of the DLI. I have a photo of him with his tent mates who I would think were all from Hebburn and probably the Quay area. That sort of fits!

They no doubt used the Ellison St Drill Hall as well as the Fenham Barracks in Newcastle.

The Ellison St. Drill Hall was used by the Royal Engineers up to 1908 and then by the Royal Artillery.

Note there was another Drill Hall plus ranges for the Newcastle Rifles where Reyrolle’s bottom works were and where Norman Dunn lives. That disappeared around 1900 ish.

How did uncle John end up in the N’land Fusiliers, found out a possible reason.

I suspect that all those on the Plaque in St. Andrews were in N’land Fusiliers which was in the Northern Division of the WW1 Army together with the Durham Light Infantry and some of the Yorkshire regiment’s.

I have a postcard sent to G/F from John thanking him for the smokes and it’s sent through field Post Office 149.

149 is a Brigade in the 1/5 and they were or became machine gunners and Trench Mortar unit. That seems to coincide with John being In the Artillery in 1911 and survived WW1. He was 6’ 3” at least, not a good height to go over the top in the trenches.

Knowing that he was in 149 I am able to kind of follow where he was during WW1 on maps of Trenches and they tie up with other postcards that he sent to G/ F.

I have to write all this up and check and recheck it as WW1 service records lost in WW2.

Regards to all Allan C.