location 1915 Trg camp for South Staffs 3rd/7th Battalion

[amg]

I believe that new recruits to the South Staffs battalions in mid/late 1915 - "New Army" recruits - went to "Sunderland" for their training. I can find no further description or enhancement of the term "Sunderland" in this context on any site. According to the registration certificate of his daughter in mid October 1915 my grandfather was initially in the 3rd South Staffs Regiment after enlisting, but on being dispatched to Gallipoli in late 1915 was definitely assigned to the 7th South Staffs battalion. I have been trying to find out where the Sunderland Training camp was. I am now wondering if the reference to Sunderland might meant "near Sunderland" and know that the North Staffs had a training camp at Seaham. In the early days the North Staffs and South Staffs regiments, while in training, seemed to move in tandem, and the North Staffs are recorded as having been in training in the early days at Seaham. In a marvellous little memoir of a lady called Mrs Dooks she recalls watching South Staffs soldiers marching and training in Seaham, where she lived and I wondered if it was therefore safe to assume that I can read Seaham for Sunderland when looking at the records of the South Staffs 3rd regiment/battalion?. Can anyone shed some light on this Sunderland/Seaham possible link please, or else throw light on just where the Sunderland training camp for the South Staffs recruits, in late 1915, would have been? Many thanks.

[303man]

Whitburn Ranges possible place they trained, there are vestiges of old practice trenches there. not far North of Sunderland