Just astonishing: Sunderland people raised all this money for the soldiers of 1944

Salute the people of wartime Sunderland - because they did something incredible 80 years ago in June 1944.

They had little money, they were on rations and hundreds of them had been bombed out of their own homes.

But somehow, they raised an astonishing £1.2million in just one week in June.

It happened during a campaign to raise money for the war effort, called Salute The Soldier Week.

And it coincided with the week when news of the success of the Normandy landings reached home.

It was described in the Echo as Sunderland’s ‘opportunity of showing its appreciation of the men who took part in the invasion of the Continent.”

The aim of Salute The Soldier Week was to raise the funds needed to keep the ten battalions of the Durham Light Infantry running.

The county in England which came up with the most money would receive a flag which would fly above their town.

Although the big businesses would play their part, experts reckoned that the men and women of Wearside would have to raise £600,000 between them in a week to stand any chance of winning.

In return for their fundraising, Sunderland was planning to hold all sorts of events to show the ‘efficiency of the British Army’.

It included;

A salute followed by a performance by the band of the DLI.

An evening speaker to give a talk on each night of the fundraising week.

A DLI stall to be set up, packed with historical records of the DLI.

A display of PT training on the Saturday night, on the Mowbray Park tennis court. Three thousand people watched it.

Parades to be held every night.

There were emotive adverts in the Sunderland Echo with messages to the readers, such as the one which said: “We Owe It To Him!”. It had a picture of Britain’s heroic fighters next to it.

On the first day of fundraising, £470,000 was raised.

Captain George Black led a concert called Stars in Battledress at Black’s Regal Cinema and the special guests were wounded soldiers, and prisoners of war who had been repatriated.

By midweek, the total was £719,835.

A day later, the total was £800,784 and hopes were fading that Sunderland would make it. Civic dignitaries told the people of the town that if they wanted to save their own lives, they needed to save money.

It worked. Sunderland rallied and the total by the Saturday night was £1,251,473, 11 shillings and sixpence.

Southwick Social Centre raised £1,054. Residents of Rose Street set themselves a target of raising £200 and raised £230.

Three carnival dances and four concerts were held and the performers gave their time free of charge.

Coun Myers Wayman, chairman of the Sunderland National Savings Committee, said it had been a tremendous effort.