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Sunderland

Sunderland stands at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea coast, 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne, and was historically part of County Durham.

It was a major shipbuilding port, and coal was shipped from the Wear from the seventeenth century.

Samson Besford

A self-styled strongman, Samson’s hobby was collecting and lifting mangles.

Harry Hornsby (1909–1992)

Henry Charles Deamster Hornsby was a wireless engineer and amateur radio enthusiast, who served with the Royal Air Force in the Middle East.

William Lyons (1926-)

Willy Lyons worked as a milk roundsman and subsequently as the driver of the funeral hearse. He was a sportsman who earned money as both a professional footballer and a professional sprinter.