Welcome to the DLI Friends

The first items of the Durham Light Infantry Collection were donated in 1924.
The collection now contains over 15,000 objects, 4,000 medals & over 34,000 photographs.
The DLI Friends group was first launched as a registered charity in 1976 to:
“purchase important Regimental relics and research material which may disappear overseas or otherwise be lost to the County, and to help in the preservation and display of the many items in the collection.”
Since those early days the DLI Friends have become much more ambitious and now also help support the education of school pupils  about the County’s military links and service.
Join our community of enthusiasts, scholars, and supporters. With your help the Friends will help to safeguard the heritage of the Durham soldier and the values for which he fought and died.
KEEP the memories alive
Help the Collection thrive
The DLI Friends is a charity run for, and by, people who support and work with, the DLI Collection. With the recent opening of “The Story”,  the new home of the DLI Collection and other County archives, there has never been a more exciting time to become involved as a DLI Friend

Latest News

DLI Friends AGM 2025

The meeting will take place on Saturday 12th April at 11:00 am  at  Plawsworth Hall, Plawsworth Chester-le-Street,  Co. Durham,  DH2 3LD.
The AGM is open to all current DLI Friends. Please make every effort to attend.

The Fighting Bradfords

The medals awarded to Colonel Sir Thomas Bradford – the eldest of four North East brothers who all fought with valour in the First World War – are now back in his home county, thanks to the vigilance of  The DLI Friends member Sid Patterson. 
Sid is a keen collector of medals and has a vast knowledge of the Durham Light Infantry.  He recently spotted the medals for sale on a London Auction site (they have been sold several times over the years) and it was flagged up to the Trustees of the Regimental and Chattels Charity of The Former Durham Light Infantry.
The Trustees  bought the medals at the auction and have presented them to Durham County Councils culture and heritage venue, The Story, for safe keeping.
The Story is home to the DLI Collection and Archive, and the acquisition means the medals have been united with other gallantry awards, objects and archives relating to the Bradford brothers. This includes the Victoria Cross presented to Brigadier General Roland Boys Bradford VC and the Death Penny of Second Lieutenant James Barker Bradford MC, both of which are on display in The Story’s free exhibition space.
These items are a record of the Bradford brothers’ heroic actions during the First World War, but they are also a poignant reminder of a family’s tragic loss. Thomas was the only brother to survive the conflict. Both Roland and James, who also served in the DLI, and their other brother, Lieutenant Commander George Nicholson Bradford VC, who served in the Royal Navy, were killed in action.
Raised in Witton Park, near Bishop Auckland, the ‘Fighting Bradfords’ are believed to be the most decorated family of the First World War, with two Victoria Crosses, one Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses and three Mentions in Despatches between them.
All items relating to the Bradford brothers under The Story’s care are available to view in the venue’s Collections Search room by appointment.
Well spotted Sid!
We had a fantastic Durham Light Infantry Friends last week. The next will take place Thursday 27 March 10:00-14:00, drop in and have a chat with this extremely knowledgeable, passionate and friendly group 😊. You may want to find out more about your local regiment, or your family who were in the DLI.
We now have a list, complete with links, of historic footage of the DLI that’s located at various sources online. 
Either use the information drop down in the menu bar and select DLI online video or follow this link:
DLI online video
Sid Patterson from The DLI Friends recently discovered and successfully bid, on behalf of the DLI Friends for the document below.  
The document is signed by Lieutenant Malby Brabazon  on 26th  February 1777 in Strabane, Ireland for the supply of 10 men for the use of his Majestys 68th Regiment of Foot.
 
The Receipt was accepted into the DLI Collection on 6th February 2025 where it joined other early 68th Regiment documents which include:-
A copy of a list of officers of the 68th Regiment of Foot, Jersey, Channel Islands, 1755 – 1758
A statement of the parade state of the 68th Regiment of Foot, commanded by Colonel John Lambton, as it embarked at Cowes, Isle of Wight, 23 July 1758 and Several officer commissions for 1760.
The Durham Light Infantry Friends are volunteering at The Story every month. Drop in on the last Thursday of the Month between 10:00-14:00 and have a chat with this extremely knowledgeable, passionate and friendly group.😊 The DLI Friends is a charity run for, and by people who support and work with the DLI Collection.

The Morant sword

Three generations of the Morant family had served in the 68th Regiment and the succeeding Durham Light Infantry Regiment, so there was much of DLI interest. HHS Morant had, among other army appointments, commanded the 10th Battalion DLI in WW1.  Though many items were purchased for the DLI Collection not all were won. HHS Morant’s sword, for example, went at that time to a sword collector in the USA. 
On the 31st October 2024 the DLI Friends group met to present the DLI Collection with that sword. It had appeared again and Sid Patterson of the DLI Friends purchased it at auction on behalf of the group.  In doing so the DLI Friends were fulfilling the original purpose for which the group was founded – to acquire items for the DLI Collection. 
See pictures of the sword & further details here

See our online events calendar here 

Our new facebook page is now live, follow it here 

You can also help raise funds for the DLI Friends when shopping online by using easy fund raising and it won’t cost you a penny.

Find out how by clicking the following link: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/dli-friends/