The 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in County Durham by the Vane-Tempest family during an invasion crisis in 1860. It became a permanent part of the Volunteer Force and later the Territorial Force, and fought as field artillery on the Western Front in World War I. Before World War II it became an anti-aircraft unit that served in the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and in the Far East where it converted to medium artillery in the Burma Campaign. Postwar, it continued to serve in the air defence role in the Territorial Army until 1955. Origin The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. One such unit was the Seaham Artillery Volunteers formed at Seaham in County Durham on 14 March 1860, which became the 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps' (AVC). From 1863 the 1st, 3rd (South Shields) and 4th (Hartlepool) Durham AVCs were attached to it; the 1st and 3rd were attached to other units in 1873 and the 4th became independent in 1886. The town of Seaham had been largely built by Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, who owned Seaham Colliery and constructed Seaham Harbour. In 1860, his widow, Frances Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry, equipped a company raised for the 2nd Durham AVC from the colliery. Two further companies were raised by the Mann brothers, local timber merchants, and a fourth from the bottlemakers of John Candlish's Londonderry Bottle Works. The unit continued to rely on the colliery and the Vane-Tempest family. The 3rd Marquess's second son, Earl Vane (later 5th Marquess), a former Lieutenant in the 1st Life Guards, was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant on 26 March 1864. There was controversy in 1867 when his younger brother, Lord Ernest McD. Vane-Tempest, was allowed to serve in the unit, despite having been cashiered from the Regular Army. On 24 June1869, when the number of companies and officers was increased, Lord Ernest was appointed as second Lt-Col and Earl Vane's sons, Charles, Viscount Seaham and the Hon. Henry Vane Tempest – aged 17 and 15 respectively – as Major and 1st Lieutenant. (Another of Earl Vane's brothers, Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest, commanded the 3rd (Sunderland) Durham Rifle Volunteer Corps.)