This is a list of battalions of the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

, which existed as a regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1881 to 1968.

Original composition

When the

68th Regiment of Foot The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1758. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 106th Bombay Light Infantry to form the Durham Light Infantry in 1881, the 68 ...

and the 106th Regiment of Foot became the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) in 1881 under the Cardwell-

Childers reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, seven pre-existing

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

battalions of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

were integrated into the structure of the DLI. These latter battalions had existed intermittently for some time, but had been made permanent in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

the late 1850s. The militia, in two battalions, were more appealing to the working classes as the equipment was government funded, while the volunteers were organised as "rifle volunteer corps", independent of the British Army, financially self-supporting and composed primarily of the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

, they underwent a number of reorganisations before reaching the form in which they were incorporated into the county regiment. In December 1887 the Durham Rifle Volunteer Battalions were renamed as Volunteer Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry retaining their Administrative battalion numbers. The 3rd Corps sub-title was granted in 1867, with the slight change officially registered in 1887.

Reorganisation

The

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(renamed the Territorial Army in 1920) was formed in 1908, from the volunteer infantry battalions of the county regiments, and other volunteer arms. The

battalions transferred to the "Reserve" or the "Special Reserve". The 3rd and 4th battalions exchanged numbers that year, and were recast as the 3rd (Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) battalions in a draft finding role. The reason for this apparently pointless exchange of numbers was that in the event of a mobilisation the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

intended to use the 3rd battalion of a regiment to provide reinforcements for the regular battalions, while if a regiment had a 4th battalion it would be mobilised as a whole unit. The older unit (1st Durham Fusiliers, then the 3rd battalion) wished to remain as a fighting unit, and so exchanged numbers.Order of Service (4th) All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single numerical sequence.

First World War

Durham Light Infantry brass shoulder title

The Durham Light Infantry would send 22 battalions overseas and lose 12006 other ranks during the course of the war. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions of progressively lower fitness men. Many new battalions, technically of the Regular Army, were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in August 1914, referred to as the New Army or

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

. The 18th and 20th Service battalions, were referred to as "Pals" because they were predominantly composed of work colleagues, the 19th battalion was originally a Bantam battalion. The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names, such as the Darlington Civilian Rifle Club, formed on 12 September 1914 which had amembership of 260 by December that year. Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.

Inter-War

By late 1920, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded, with many of their Colours laid up in Durham Cathedral. Territorial Force battalions were reformed in 1921, renamed the Territorial Army later in the year.

Second World War

Durham Light Infantry printed shoulder title

The regiment's expansion during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was modest compared to 1914–18. Existing territorial battalions formed duplicates as in WWI (using whole rather than fractional numbers), while

National Defence Companies The National Defence Companies of the Territorial Army were a voluntary military reserve force of the British Army, for the purpose of home defence in the event of war. Enlistment was limited to former members of the British Armed Forces betwe ...

were used to create a new "Home Defence" battalion. Hostilities-only battalions were raised after the evacuation of Dunkirk. In addition to this, 26 battalions of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge, and also by 1944 one Heavy Anti Aircraft (HAA) battery, and four rocket batteries (

Z Battery A Z Battery was a short range anti-aircraft weapon system, launching diameter rockets from ground-based single and multiple launchers, for the air defence of Great Britain in the Second World War. The rocket motors were later adapted with a ...

).Whittaker pp. 104-105 Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of these men, the batteries required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular battery. A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories.Whittaker pps. 105, 121-122

Post-Second World War

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced with all regiments being reduced to one battalion. The D.L.I. was one of only seven regiments to re-raise its second battalion in the early 1950s.Ward p. 559The others were the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

and

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

. After a long period of suspended animation the Militia battalions were finally disbanded in 1953.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *Chappel M 1986 ''British Battle Insignia (1). 1914-18'' Osprey Publishing * * Dunn, Clive, (2015) ''The Fighting Pioneers: the Story of the 7th Durham ..pLight Infantry'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, . * *Hart, P 2010 ''The 16th Battalion Durham Light Infantry in Italy 1943-1945'' Pen & Sword * * *Lewis P J 2010 ''8th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry 1939-1945'' Naval and Military Press * *Order of Service 4th 1956 ''The Laying Up of the Colours of the 4th (Militia) Battalion The Durham Light Infantry'' Teesdale Mercury *Order of Service 1st 1968 ''The Laying Up of the Colours of the 1st Battalion The Durham Light Infantry by the Light Infantry'' G Bails & Sons *Order of Service 9th 1949 ''The Laying up of the Colours and the Dedication and Unveiling of the Book of Remembrance and Memorial to all Ranks of the 9th Bn The Durham Light Infantry (T.A.)'' Gale & Polden *Rissik D 1952 (2010) ''The D.L.I. at War. The History of the Durham Light Infantry 1939-1945.'' Naval and Military Press *Sadler J 2010 ''Dunkirk to Belsen. The Soldiers Own Dramatic Stories'' JR Books *Vane W L 1914 (2010) ''The Durham Light Infantry. The United Red and White Rose'' Naval and Military Press *Ward, S G P 1962 ''Faithful. The Story of the Durham Light Infantry'' Naval and Military Press * * Westlake, Ray (2010) ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, . * {{cite book, last = Whittacker, first = L B, year = 1990, title = Stand Down. Orders of battle for the units of the Home Guard of the United Kingdom, November 1944, publisher = Ray Westlake Military Books, location = Newport, isbn = 1871167140
The Long Long Trail
Accessed 28 January 2015 Durham Light Infantry Military units and formations in County Durham

Battalions A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...