Durham Light Infantry

[bishop]

Hi,

my Grandfather was in the DLI and served with them according to his service record on 29/6/1915 to 13/8/1915, then sent home wounded, 20/12/1916 to 14/3/1917, again sent home wounded, ( gassed ). I would love to see any of the war diaries for these dates but have got a bit lost who has what, i'm also a newcomer to the forum and believe there are restrictions on what I can do. Are there any kind souls that want to help me out ?.

Dawn.

[Hett65]

Dawn

If you have his details post them on the forum, his record may be on Ancestry. Also if you know which battalions he served in give details, as without it you will not get any information from the war diaries. I hope you realise that his name will not be in the diaries if they still actually exist for the particular battalion he served in.

John

[bishop]

Dawn

If you have his details post them on the forum, his record may be on Ancestry. Also if you know which battalions he served in give details, as without it you will not get any information from the war diaries. I hope you realise that his name will not be in the diaries if they still actually exist for the particular battalion he served in.

John

Hi John,

Grandads name was Andrew Charles McIver, DLI Reg No 11555, he was injured while serving with the 2nd Battalion at Hooge 8/9 Aug 1915. According to his service record which I have from Ancestry.com he was then posted to the 3rd Battalion after recovering from his wounds until Dec 1916 when he was posted to the 19th Battalion where he served until Mar 1917, during which time I think he was gassed, ( Was not the 19th a Bantam regiment ?). He was then posted to the 10th Battalion for a few months before joining the Labour Corp. I seem to have loads of information but I still don't know what company or unit etc he was in, so although there is a wealth of information on the DLI Battalions I still can't be exactly sure where he was. I do have his Medal Index Card so I think a trip to Kew to look at the rolls is the only way to find out.

I am hoping that I have attached part of Grandads service record for you to view, but I did have trouble making it smaller and it may now not be legible.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply, regards, Dawn.

[WilliamRev]

The 19th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (35th Division) was indeed a Bantam Battalion until December 1916 when the standard was abandoned. Early in the war the Bantams were short but robust men (often coal miners), but later some very puny men had started being drafted in. So from Dec 1916 they started deliberately drafting in big men into the battalion. My maternal grandfather, Pte. L R Kendall, joined 19th DLI in spring 1917 - at 6 foot 1inch tall he was for a while the tallest man in his company.

William

[bishop]

Goodness, talk about stand out in a crowd, My Grandfather was 5ft 4", which I assumed was the reason him being in the 19th, but maybe not. Thanks for the info.

Dawn.

[WilliamRev]

Whoops, I pressed the wrong button and finished my post above too soon!

I meant to add:

so there is every sign that from Dec 1916 onwards they were deliberately sending large men to bantam battalions. So, Dawn, there is no need to question your Grandad being posted to 19th Durham Light Infantry in Dec 1916 whatever his stature.

William

[bishop]

Whoops, I pressed the wrong button and finished my post above too soon!

I meant to add:

so there is every sign that from Dec 1916 onwards they were deliberately sending large men to bantam battalions. So, Dawn, there is no need to question your Grandad being posted to 19th Durham Light Infantry in Dec 1916 whatever his stature.

William

Don't worry William, i'm not heightist if there is such a thing, and Grandad will always be a giant of a man to me.

Dawn.