(68th Foot & 106th Foot)
Origins
68th of Foot raised in 1758, this became
the Durham Regiment in 1782.
The "Faithful Durhams" spent
their early years serving in the West Indies and it
was for this period they earned their nickname. In
1808 the 68th was picked out for training to become
a light infantry corps and were honoured thereafter
to wear the bugle-horn badge.
The 2nd Battalion started out as the
2nd Bombay European Light Infantry, part of the private
army of the East India Company, when the company ceased
to trade in 1858 and the British Goverment took full
control in India, its European Regiments were merged
into the British Army. It then became the 106th Light
Infantry and a battalion of the Durham Light Infantry
in 1881.
The DLI wore dark green facings and
its quick march was "The Light Barque",
its slow "The Old 68th". Other quick pace
music was " The Keel Row" and "Moneymusk"
part of the "Cavalry Trot Past".
The Durham's Colours are laid up in
Durham Cathedral and the parish church of Barnard
Castle, there is also a memorial garden in the Cathedral
Close. The
DLI Museum is housed in the County Offices building
and has large amounts of information plus an archive.
In 1968 the DLI became the 4th Battalion
The Light Infantry but being the least senoir regiment
it was a victim of defence cuts within a short period.
Colonel-In-Chief
Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra
of Kent
Badge
Within a Bugle Horn stringed the letters
"D.L.I."
Facing Colour: Dark
Green - Regimental Colours: Red and Dark Green
Nicknames
The Faithful Durhams:
from service against the Caribs at St Vincent in the
West Indies in 1772. Though dropped in 1780, the title
persisted as a nickname.
Customs
Inkerman Day (5th November)
was celebrated annually. The 68th was said to be the
only regiment to have fought in red since it alone
supposedly discarded its greatcoats in this winter
battle. The 2nd Battalion celebrated Hooge Day (9th
August) annually, in memory of a 1915 action outside
Ypres.
The Durham Light Infantry Association
Durham Light Infantry Charitable Fund
Contact: Rifles Office (Durham), Elvet Waterside,
Durham City, Co Durham DH1 3BW, Tel: 0191 3865496
