Notes: 1. “Fine War record”.
The Sunderland Orphan Asylum has a war record of which it has every reason to be proud.
Of the lads trained at the school over 120 have joined either the Navy or the Army. They include a sub-lieutenant and a first-class petty officer in the Navy, while in the Army the school is represented by four second-lieutenants, one quartermaster-sergeant, one sergeant-major, nine sergeants, and ten corporals. One lad gunner, James Trott has been awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery, eighteen have given their lives for King and Country, and thirty-two have been wounded or invalided from the front. Seven of those from the mercantile marine have been in torpedoed vessels, one lad was drowned, but all the rest joined other vessels at the first opportunity.”History of Sunderland” page 180.
2. The Orphan Asylum was opened 17th October 1861. It provided a home for 50 orphans of sea-faring men from all over the U.K.
3. The orphanage was set up to provide an education for male orphans of seafarers. The boys were taught seamanship and wore a naval style sailor suit as a uniform. Principals formed the governing body for the Asylum. They were prominent figures in the local community and included John Candlish. Masters included John Clark and George King.
4. The building is Grade II listed, as are the gates, piers and railings. The initial building was funded by selling access rights to railway companies.
5. The building closed in the 1990s. It has been renovated as part of a £4.5million project, which has also built a separate 38-apartment housing scheme.
6. Heritage Lottery Funding, totalling £1.5million, helped fund the refurbishment and create five units for community groups and businesses. Part of the Victorian building will be used by the East Community Association, which was once based in the former institution.
7. A neighbouring three-storey building known as Seafarer’s Way will house people with memory loss, Alzheimer’s and dementia.
8. It was re-opened in 2015.
