Chopwell, drill hall

The plans for this building, dated 1912, were drawn up by architect George Richardson Smith of South Shields. 9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry were a unit of the Territorial Force with their HQ at the Drill Hall, Burt Terrace, Gateshead. F Company were based at the Drill Hall, Chopwell. The unit proceeded to France on the 17th of April 1915 landing at Boulogne to joined 151st Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division. They saw action in the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, on the Somme in 1916 and at Arras and Passchendaele in 1917. On the 12th of February 1918 the 9th DLI converted to a Pioneer Battalion and transferred to 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. They returned to the Somme fighting at Bapaume in March and took part in the Second Battles of Arras, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy.