One in 20 in Sunderland are military veterans

For the first time, census respondents in 2021 were asked whether they had previously served in the military and the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 10,819 people in Sunderland said they were a veteran at the time of the census – five per cent of residents.

Of them, 8,080 had served in the regular armed forces and 2,237 as reserves.

In England and Wales, 1.9 million people (3.8%) said they had previously served in the regular armed forces, reserve forces, or both, at the time of the census.

Around 37,000 (2%) of them were living in communal establishments – which can include student halls of residence, an armed forces base, hospital or care home – while the vast majority lived in households.

In Sunderland, 138 veterans (​1%) were in communal establishments last year, and 10,682 (99%) were in households.

Across the North East as a whole, five per cent of people who responded to the census were ex-forces.

National statistician Sir Ian Diamond said: “For the first time our data is able to show the scale of our armed forces community, which is vital information to help direct support and services where they are needed most.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly a large proportion of our veterans live or are located near military establishments, suggesting they tend to stay in the same areas after they have left service.”