Information about Durham Light Infantry (DLI) archives in Durham County Record Office.
The DLI regimental archive, part of the DLI collection, is located in County Hall, Durham. It is an extensive regimental archive, very popular with family historians and military researchers.
The archives complement the objects collection and the medal collection of the Durham Light Infantry regiment.
About the collection
The Durham Light Infantry archive collection was transferred to Durham County Record Office from the former DLI Museum in 1998. This allowed Record Office staff to catalogue the archives and make them more accessible, both in our Search Room and online.
Now our online catalogue contains detailed descriptions of the records, and images of over 34,000 photographs in the collection.
We hold the collection on loan from the Trustees of the former DLI Regiment. People donate additional archive material to the collection on a regular basis. We also accept Durham Light Infantry records on long-term loan. Contact us for advice on how to preserve records for future generations.
For more information about Durham Light Infantry photographs and oral history recordings see:
Cataloguing
To reflect the diversity and popularity of the collection, we have catalogued the Durham Light Infantry records in as much detail as possible.
Every item in a scrapbook or photograph album is described and has a reference number. Where individuals are identified in photographs, all those names have been added to the catalogue.
Searching the catalogue
You can search our online catalogue for specific words or phrases or browse entire Durham Light Infantry catalogues.
See Catalogue Search Help for examples of suggested Durham Light Infantry search terms.
To browse all catalogues in this collection, go to Search the Catalogue and select ‘Durham Light Infantry Records’ from the Catalogue Title drop-down list.
The online catalogue includes watermarked low-resolution images of the photographs in this collection.
Durham Light Infantry Records on The Learning Zone
See photographs and documents from the Durham Light Infantry collection in the Learning Zone section of our website. Online learning units have been developed by our archive education service that focus on DLI records.
The Story of Jimmy Durham features a Sudanese boy adopted by and recruited into the 2nd Battalion DLI. Find out more about the 2nd Battalion in India, England and Ireland from 1885 to 1910.
Ordering copies
For more information on ordering services, see The Story website.
