12th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, War Diary September 1939
The War Diary for the 9th Battalion, The Durham LIght Infantry records as follows:-
1st September 1939
The telegraphed codeword "Clive" was received and acknowledged. As a result of this, the Battalion was embodied with a strength, including the duplicate unit, of 50 Officers and 1234 Other Ranks.
3rd September 1939
At 11:00 War was declared.
An Air-Raid Warning "Yellow" was received while the troops were at Church Service - the warning was passed to the military congregation and "the sermon was abruptly concluded", whereupon the troops returned to Barracks. The "All-Clear" was sounded at 12:00.
4th September 1939
At 09:00 the 9th and 12th Battalions were separated and the Battalion HQ in Burt Terrace was closed and was moved to the Victoria Schools in Teams, Gateshead.