Research advice

Find out what primary and secondary source historical materials are available which are related to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Regiment. Find out where to start if you want to access it.

The DLI Collection is made up of uniform, relics, equipment, weapons, medals and archives. Many of these items can be accessed by appointment with our curator who can facilitate your visit and area of study.

Most of our reference library can be accessed without an appointment, however we would suggest you contact us before your visit to ensure we have the items you require.

Our reference collection includes;

General divisional histories
Regimental and battalion histories
World War 1 divisional histories
World War 2 divisional histories
Uniforms, medals and equipment
Campaigns other than World War 1 and 2
Biographies, memoirs and poems

Availability of the DLI collection:

Objects (available from the research and study area, Sevenhills, Spennymoor, appointments are preferable)
Medals (available on demand in the Barker Reading Room, Palace Green Library)
Archives (enquire first at Durham County Record Office, County Hall)

What will I find in the Research and Study at Sevenhills in Spennymoor?

Reference books including:

Biographies, memoirs and poems
General divisional histories
Regimental and battalion histories
World War 1 divisional histories
World War 2 divisional histories

Reference sources for researching:

Individual soldiers
Uniforms and equipment
Campaigns other than World War 1 and 2
Items in the medal and object collections

What will I find in the archives at Durham County Record Office (DCRO) in County Hall?

Durham County Record Office preserves the original archives of the Durham Light Infantry regiment and makes them available for research in the public search room.

You will find records about the history of the regiment and its battalions spanning 210 years, and personal records of over a thousand of the officers and men who served in the DLI.

The DLI archive collection is extensive and is widely used by family historians and military historians. It includes photographs, official war diaries, personal diaries and letters, journals, scrapbooks, commemorative booklets, maps and much more. You can use the archive to research:

a person
an event
a military campaign or action
a particular battalion or unit
a location associated with the regiment, in this country or overseas.

Please be aware that the archive does not contain information for every man who served in the regiment.

We have a detailed online catalogue of the collection which currently includes 34,549 photographs from the DLI archive. Go to Durham County Record Office: search the catalogue and search for keywords durham light infantry records.

Complementing the archive collection you will find most of the DLI histories in the Record Office reference library, also free online access to the military records on the Ancestry website.

The Record Office is open Monday to Wednesday and you need to make an appointment before you visit.

It is free to look at the archives in person but we make a charge for any copies or searches you require. We also provide a professional research service for military enquiries, using an expert with extensive knowledge of the DLI collection.

What will I find on the Durham at War website?

The Durham at War website tells the story of County Durham and its people in World War 1. The website contains stories about:

Durham people who served in any branch of the armed forces
civilians
those who died in the war
those who survived the war
County Durham places, events and organisations connected with the war

The number of stories on the website is constantly growing as members of the public and volunteers contribute more information, and this will continue to the end of 2018.

Each story is pinned to a location on the interactive mapping and you have the option to view a historic map of the same area 100 years ago.

Durham at War has hundreds of stories about men who served in the Durham Light Infantry in 1914-1919 and often these are linked to the diaries, memoirs, photographs, books and newspaper reports that help to tell that story.

Search for durham light infantry to find DLI stories.