The 1st Durham Rifle Volunteers, later the 5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (5th DLI), was a part-time unit of the British Army from 1860 to the 1950s. Beginning from small independent corps of the Volunteer Force recruited in County Durham and Teesside, it became part of the Territorial Force and served as infantry in some of the bloodiest actions of the First World War. Later it was converted to anti-aircraft units that served during the Second World War both in Home Defence and in North-West Europe. Its successor units continued in the air defence role in the postwar Territorial Army until 1975.
Volunteer Force An invasion scare in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain eager to supplement the Regular British Army in case of need.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–168.Westlake. The Stockton Volunteers, soon afterwards numbered as the 1st (Stockton) Durham RVC was formed with two companies on 2 February 1860 at Stockton-on-Tees. At first it formed part of the 2nd Administrative Battalion, but on 1 February 1862 it moved to a new 4th Administrative Battalion, Durham RVCs, which had its headquarters (HQ) at Stockton and including the following units:Westlake, pp. 74–78.Becket, Appendix VII.Frederick, pp. 144–145.Army List, various dates. 1st (Stockton) Durham RVC 15th (Darlington) Durham RVC, formed 6 October 1860 16th (Castle Eden) Durham RVC, formed 14 December 1860 19th (Hartlepool) Durham RVC, formed 26 January 1861, disbanded November 1872 7th (Teesdale Volunteers) Yorkshire North Riding RVC, formed at Startforth 29 February 1860, joined the 4th Admin Battalion of Durham RVCs in December 1863, but converted in January 1864 into 21st Durham RVC in 2nd Admin Battalion.Westlake, p. 256. 21st (Middlesbrough) Yorkshire North Riding RVC, formed as two companies on 13 October 1877 and joined the 4th Admin Battalion of Durham RVCs.Westlake, p. 258.
The Stockton Volunteers had a band that competed in regional brass band competitions from 1867 to 1898.1st Durham Rifle Volunteers (Stockton) at Brass Band Results.
Under the scheme of 'localisation' introduced by the Cardwell Reforms in 1873, the Durham RVCs, together with the Durham Militia and the two Regular battalions (68th Light Infantry and 106th Light Infantry) that later formed the Durham Light Infantry (DLI), constituted Brigade No 3, based at Sunderland in the Durham sub-district of Northern District. While the sub-districts were referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system, though they carried out joint manoeuvres.Training Depots, 1873–1881 at Regiments.org. The Teesside industrialist Samuel Sadler was appointed Commanding Officer (CO) of the battalion with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 16 August 1876.
When the Rifle Volunteer units were consolidated on 16 March 1880, the 4th Durham Admin Battalion became the new 1st Durham (1st Durham and North Riding of York) RVC, with the following composition: A, B, & C Companies (former 1st Durham RVC) D & E Companies (former 15th Durham RVC) F Company (former 16th Durham RVC) G & H Companies (former 21st North Riding RVC)
After the Childers Reforms the RVCs became Volunteer Battalions of their affiliated Regular Army regiment on 1 July 1881, and the 1st Durham RVC formally changed its title to 1st Volunteer Battalion, Durham Light Infantry on 1 December 1887. It already wore the same red coat with white facings as the DLI. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–186.Dunlop, pp. 60–61. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the DLI and the Northumberland Fusiliers formed the Tyne and Tees Brigade until a separate Durham Light Infantry Brigade was formed in 1902.
In 1900 the battalion raised further companies: I Company at Stockton K Company at Darlington L Company at Middlesbrough M (Cyclist) Company at Stockton
The 1st VB contributed detachments to three successive service companies who served alongside the Regular DLI in the Second Boer War, which gained the battalion its first battle honour: South Africa 1900–1902.Dunn, pp. 12–13.Leslie.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st VB became 5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. Unlike the rest of the DLI battalions of the TF, which continued as the Durham Light Infantry Brigade, the 5th Bn in south Durham joined the York and Durham Brigade in the TF's Northumbrian Division.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 993–1000.James, p. 100–1.50 Division at Long, Long Trail.Wyrall, pp. 1–4.
First World War Mobilisation In late July 1914 the units of the Northumbrian Division were at their annual training camp in North Wales. On 3 August they were ordered to return to their respective headquarters, where at 17.00 next day they received orders to mobilise. The 5th DLI mobilised at the Drill Hall, Stockton, under the command of Lt-Col G.O. Spence and went to its war station at the Hartlepools on the coast, where there were numerous alerts. On 5 September the York & Durham Bde went into camp at Ravensworth, near Gateshead, and in October the Northumbrian Division became part of Central Force in Home Defence, manning the Tyne Defences.DLI at Long, Long Trail.
On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. The large majority of the Northumbrian Division accepted. On 15 August the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 49–54.63 Division at Long, Long Trail.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Wyrall, pp. 4–5.
1/5th Battalion Ypres The Northumbrian Division trained hard while manning the Tyne Defences, and was ordered to proceed to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front early in 1915. The 1/5th DLI landed at Boulogne on 18 April and the division completed its concentration in the area of Steenvoorde on 23 April. It went straight into action the next day in the Battle of St Julien (part of the Second Battle of Ypres). The York and Durham Brigade went by bus to Poperinghe, where they debussed and marched to camp at Vlamertinge. They were turned out at 01.00 on 24 April and marched to take over trenches astride Yser Canal, where they came under shellfire at first light. While other battalions made counter-attacks in support of the Canadian Division, 1/5th DLI moved to support trenches. A fresh counter-attack was ordered for 25 April, with 1/5th DLI and 1/5th Green Howards attacking beside 10th Brigade. The battalion reached its allotted position at 05.00, but found its flanks 'in the air' and returned to its former position; it had not been informed of a change to Zero hour. While 10th Bde made a gallant attack, 1/5th DLI remained in trenches along the St Jean–St Julien road under shellfire, sending forward patrols, but out of touch with Brigade HQ. Other battalions of the division were heavily engaged, but 1/5th DLI remained in position until the night of 26/27 April, when it moved up into the front line to relieve another unit. They were themselves relieved two nights later. The Ypres Salient was now a dangerous position, and on 2 and 3 May the division was involved in a general withdrawal to a more defensible line.Wyrall, pp. 5, 9, 13–15, 20–48.
Apart from providing working parties, the infantry of the Northumbrian Division was barely engaged in the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge (8–13 May). On 14 May the division officially became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and the York and Durham Brigade became 150th (York and Durham) Brigade. For the next 10 days the situation was quiet but on 24 May the Germans launched another serious attack accompanied with gas (the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge). The 50th Division had been split up to reinforce other formations and the 1/5th DLI was with 2nd Cavalry Brigade on the north-east side of Sanctuary Wood, where some companies were gassed, suffering many casualties.Wyrall, pp. 49, 57–70.
Over the following month the division was concentrated and took over its own section of the line south of Sanctuary Wood, 1/5th DLI relieving the Liverpool Scottish at Mount Sorrel on 6 June. 150th Brigade supported an attack at Bellwaarde on 16 June with rifle fire, but the spell in the line was relatively quiet. By the end of July the division had moved to the Armentières sector. The division stayed in this quiet sector until mid-November, when it moved to Merris.Wyrall, pp. 71–77, 83–86, 89–92, 100.
In December 1915 the division returned to the Ypres Salient, in the Hill 60–Mount Sorrel sector, in appalling conditions. In January 1916 the battalion machine-gun sections were withdrawn to form brigade machine gun companies of the Machine Gun Corps, but Lewis guns began to be issued to the infantry battalions. There was almost constant low-level fighting: on 14 February the enemy began a heavy bombardment of 150th Bde's trenches opposite Hill 60 and its rear areas, where 1/5th DLI was in brigade reserve, followed by blowing of mines. On 2 March an attack to recover The Bluff near Hill 60 was supported by intense fire from 50th Division's line. 150th Brigade was relieved at the end of March 1916 and the division moved to the Wytschaete sector. Here there were regular casualties from enemy shellfire and gas attacks, while the division carried out a number of raids on enemy lines. The division was withdrawn from the Wytschaete Sector in August 1916.Wyrall, pp. 100–109, 114–118, 120–134.
Somme