Wearside Battalion by John Sheen
IN August 1915, a report in The Northern Echo listed what it called the “special inducements” for men to join a new battalion of the Durham Light Infantry: “Friends who enlist will be kept together. Non-commissioned officers will be chosen from the men, and thirdly, the camp will be in the beautiful Wensleydale district.”
The idea that a training camp in the grounds of Wensleydale’s Bolton Hall might tempt men to the hell of the Flanders trenches seems a little bizarre, to say the least. Nonetheless, a battalion was raised, largely of Wearsiders, whose area had been targeted by the War Office for this latest North- East recruiting drive.
The 20th (Service) Battalion of the DLI fought on the Somme, at Ypres and in many other cockpits of the First World War. They were briefly in Italy before being rushed back to France to help stem the German’s Spring Offensive of 1918 – which nearly came off.
John Sheen, an ex-Army man himself, from Durham City, tells the battalion’s story with all the thoroughness and expertise from this specialist publisher of military books. Winner of gallantry awards are briefly profiled and there are alphabetical lists of officers and men, the latter with their hometown – not all on Wearside, for there were significant contingents from Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Shildon. Sheen has also assembled an impressive selection of photographs, including “the battalion’s first home” – that tented camp in Wensleydale.
