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6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
The 6th Btn, Durham Light Infantry went to France with the BEF in 1940. It later saw action at Gazala, Gabr el Fakri, Mersa Matruh, El Alamein, Mareth; Landing in Sicily, Solarino, Primosole Bridge, Sicily, and took part in the June 1944 assault landings in Normandy and saw action in the advance towards Germany, Villers Bocage, Tilly-sur-Seulles, St Pierre la Vielle, Gheel.
Jan 1940 On the Range
10th Oct 1939 Reliefs
22nd Oct 1939 Accomodation
31st Oct 1939 Reinforcements
17th Feb 1940 Exercise
21st May 1940 Stuka attack
30th May 1940 Perimeter Defence
31st May 1940 Evacuation
27th June 1942 Advance
28th June 1942 Battle of Mersa Matruh
Jun 1943 Reports
25th of June 1943 Signals
25th of June 1943 Instructions
25th of June 1943 Frequencies
25th of June 1943 Detachment Duty Card
25th of June 1943 Instructions
25th of June 1943 Ammunition
25th of June 1943 Signals
25th of June 1943 Orders 
28th of June 1943 Orders
28th of June 1943 Traffic Control
26th of June 1943 Orders
16th July 1943 In Action
16th July 1943 Hard Fighting
17th Jul 1943 Attack Made
17th Jul 1943 Heavy Fighting
1st Jun 1944 Briefing
3rd Jun 1944 On the Move
4th Jun 1944 Delays
5th Jun 1944 On the Move
6th Jun 1944 Almost to Plan
6th Jun 1944 Landing
6th Jun 1944 Advance
6th Jun 1944 Advance
6th Jun 1944 Difficult Conditions
6th Jun 1944 Rough Seas
6th Jun 1944 Advance
7th Jun 1944 In Action
7th Jun 1944 Area Secured
7th Jun 1944 Advance
7th Jun 1944 Objectives
7th Jun 1944 Objectives Taken
7th Jun 1944 Small Enemy Parties Engaged
8th Jun 1944 In Action
8th Jun 1944 Consolidation
9th Jun 1944 Exchange of Fire
9th Jun 1944 Counter Attack
9th Jun 1944 Recce
10th Jun 1944 Quiet
10th Jun 1944 In Action
11th Jun 1944 Prisoners
12th Jun 1944 Quiet
13th Jun 1944 In Action
13th Jun 1944 On the Move
13th Jun 1944 Attack Made
14th Jun 1944 Attack Made
14th Jun 1944 In Action
14th Jun 1944 Shelling
14th Jun 1944 Hard Fighting
14th June 1944 In Action
15th Jun 1944 Holding the Line
15th Jun 1944 In Support
16th Jun 1944 Active Patrolling
16th Jun 1944 Reliefs
17th Jun 1944 Attack Made
18th Jun 1944 In Action
18th Jun 1944 Advance
24th Aug 1944 Baths
25th Aug 1944 Awaiting Orders
26th Aug 1944 Under Fire
27th Aug 1944 Church Parade
28th Aug 1944 Conference
29th Aug 1944 On the Move
30th Aug 1944 On the Move
31st Aug 1944 Advance
1st Sep 1944 Prisoners
2nd Sep 1944 Mopping Up
3rd Sep 1944 Slow Progress
4th Sep 1944 Advance
5th Sep 1944 Civilian Assitance
6th Sep 1944 On the Move
7th Sep 1944 Patrols
8th Sep 1944 Orders
2nd Oct 1944 Air Raids
4th Oct 1944 Orders
5th Oct 1944 Objectives Taken
7th Oct 1944 Orders Cancelled
8th Oct 1944 Moves
11th Oct 1944 Orders
13th Oct 1944 Reliefs Completed
15th Oct 1944 Very Wet
16th Oct 1944 Orders
If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.
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Those known to have served with 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Alker Hodgson Wilson. Pte.
- Allison Lance. Pte.
- Boyle Charles Arnold. Pte.
- Brown Andrew. Sergeant
- Firth Edward Maurice. Cpl. (d.13th June 1944)
- George Matthew Douglas. Pte. (d.17th Jul 1943)
- German Thomas. Sgt.
- Gildea Bernard Joseph. (d.21st March 1943)
- Hoyles Thomas Paul.
- Jones John. Pte. (d.2nd Nov 1942)
- Leighfield Kenneth Alexander. Cpl.
- Lomax John Herbert. Cpl
- Newell Leslie Charles. Pte. (d.4th Sep 1944)
- Nicol Malcolm. Pte. (d.21st May 1940)
- Nicol Malcolm. Pte. (d.21st May 1940)
- O'Hara John James. Pte.
- Parker David Edward. Pte
- Paxton Harry Taylor Cooper. L/Cpl.
- Perree John Francis. Pte
- Redfearn Ernest William. Pte.
- Thompson Jack. Pte.
- Wheeler Thomas John. Pte. (d.20th Aug 1944)
- Wills Robert George. L/Sgt.
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
Records of 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry from other sources.
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Want to know more about 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry? There are:1410 items tagged 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Pte. Ernest William Redfearn 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Ernest Redfearn was posted missing on the 28th of June 1942 and was reported to be in Italian hands by the 9th September. They were shipped from Benghazi to Brindisi. He was held at Campo PG70 but the initial report stated that he was at Campo PG75.
They were moved to Germany in cattle trucks and were in a marshalling yard at Verona during an American air raid.
He was at Stalag IVG, working in a quarry at a place called Rocknitz where he said there were about thirty prisoners. He seems to have spent most of the time there operating pneumatic drills in preparation for blasting. They did succeed in jamming the crusher on one occasion. The quarry produced chippings for road and also stone setts.
The German in charge was called Walter Zimmerman whose wife was also on the scene. Some of the German civilian quarrymen would trade for items out of Red Cross Parcels and the prisoners were given decorated (dyed) eggs at Easter.
The only German who seems to have been seriously disliked was the local forester. He remarked that an American air raid on Leipzig on Easter Sunday 1944 was the first sign of things going wrong for the Germans.
I believe they were released from the camp in early May and ran into American forces.
He was at Halle on VE day.
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Pte. Hodgson Wilson "Bill " Alker 6th Btn. C Coy. Durham Light Infantry  Hodgson Alker was born in April 1919 at Willington, Co Durham. He enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry on the 15th of November 1939 and was posted to No 3 Infantry Holding Battalion
He arrived in France on 13th of March 1940 on the SS Ulster and was
posted to C Company, 6th Battalion, DLI on the 18th in Belgium, at Smeerchebbev Loersegem. He saw action in Northern France at Arras, Vimy Ridge and Beaurins in the Battle of Arras 1940. Made it back to
Dunkirk and was evacuated at 20:00 hrs on 1st of June 1940 on a Minesweeper from the Mole. He was then deployed on the south coast defences at Cullompton.
He embarked from Scotland on 23rd of May 1941 on the SS Duchess of Windsor, Canadian Pacific Line. On 27th of May all convoy escorts disappeared as they were hunting the Bismark. He disembarked in Egypt on 10th of July 1941 having sailed via South Africa, Aden and Port Suez. 6th DLI embarked for Cyprus on 27th of July 1941 on the Destroyer HMS Kimberley, Kokinni Trimithea.
They moved to Palestine 3rd of November 1941, on HMS Nizam, Napier and Jackel and entered Iraq on the 14th, being based at EskiKellek, Kirkuk and Habbaniya before leaving for Egypt on 13th of February 1942.
They were engaged in the North Africa Campaign at Gazala, Mersa Matruth, El Alamein, Mareth, Wadi Akarit, Enfidaville, Canal Zone. The Battalion then embarked for the Invasion of Sicily on 29th of June 1943 on the Winchester Castle and landed at 3:00 am 10th of July 1943 at Avola Floridia, moving through Solarino, Primosole Bridge, Catina, Alterella to Riposto. Bill embarked for the UK on 16th of October 1943 on the Sibajak and arrived 3rd of November 1943 to take his first leave for two and half years. The battalion were based at Shudy Camp near Thetford, while training for Normandy. The embarked for France on 3rd of June 1944 at Southampton on HMS Albrighton and landed in King Green Sector on Gold Beach, Normandy at 11:00 am on D Day near Ver sur Mer. They then saw action the the
Battle of Normandy at Conde s Seulles, Tilly Seulles, Villers Bocage, Auny, Mont Pincon, La Cannardiere, Conde s Noireau St Honorine la Chardonne until they were pulled out for rest on 18th of August 1944. At the end of the month they joined The Pursuit to Brussels through Nerrin, Gondecourt, Seclin, Vendeville, Tournai, Bizencourt, Ninove, Shepdaal to Brussels. They were in action in the The Battle for Gheel in September 1944 during the push into Holland, protecting the right flank at Eindhoven on the 16th, and on through Breugel, Lieshout, Beeken Donk, Uden,Grave, Nijmegen, Haalderen.
6th DLI returned to England in December 1944
The Battalion was disbanded and the men who had survived all of the campaigns from the beginning of the war were sent back to England to train others for active service. The remaining men were sent to join other regiments.
He was posted to Skipton Camp in Yorkshire and was training new recruits when he met his first wife Edith Child.
1946-12-16 The camp closed on 16th of December 1946 and Bill was released to the reserve the following day. He returned to coal mining in 1946/7 first in Lancashire then back in Willington Co Durham.
Hodgson never talked about war to his family and only in later life visited France with the Legion. He dies in 1992.
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Cpl. Kenneth Alexander Leighfield 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Ken Leighfield served with the 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and was wounded in June 1944.
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Cpl. Edward Maurice Firth 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry (d.13th June 1944) Maurice Firth was my grandmother's favourite brother.
He died at Normandy just 1 week after the landing and is buried at Bayeaux Cemetery, Normandy, France. The only other information we have is that he was run over by a tank. His sister was Esther Rushbrook, nee Firth.
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Pte. Matthew Douglas George 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry (d.17th Jul 1943) Matthew George was killed in Sicily on Saturday the 17th of July 1943 and is buried in Catania War Cemetery, Sicily.
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Pte. Malcolm Nicol 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry (d.21st May 1940) Malcolm Nicol is a relation of my father, who was part of the BEF. He died a few days before the Dunkirk evacuation.
Malcolm's father Andrew died in the First World War in 1918. He was originally in the DLI but was transferred to the Labour Corp.
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Pte. Malcolm Nicol 6th Btn. Durham Light Infantry (d.21st May 1940) Malcolm Nicol is distant relation who lived in Fulwell Sunderland He was born in 1918 and his father Andrew Nicol died in France in 1918 of pheunmonia. Isobel Nicol like others no doubt lost her husband and son in war.R.I.P
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Pte. Jack Thompson 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry Jack Thompson was in the 6th DLI Band and was in France in April and May 1940.
He got back home, he once mentioned Bray Dunes and a fishing trawler.
He had got back to the family home when a telegram was delivered "missing believed killed in action."
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Pte. John James "Irish" O'Hara 30th Btn. Royal Northumberland Fusiliers My father, John O'Hara, joined the 6th DLI in 1939 was transferred to 10th DLI. After Dunkirk he went to Iceland. After returning to the UK he was eventually transferred to the 30th Btn. RNF. He was in North Africa in 1943 then onto Italy then eventually to Malta where he stayed until the end of the war.
When in Italy he told me he was running ammo up to the casino and would spend a lot of time seeing the sights with the Yanks. In Malta his truck, which we have the photo of, had Donald duck painted on the doors. He left Malta in 1946 and returned to the UK.
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L/Cpl. Harry Taylor Cooper Paxton 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry My father, Lance Corporal Harry Paxton from Spennymoor, County Durham, was reported missing in action in the Western Desert just a few months after marrying my mother in January 1942. He was subsequently reported in 1943 as injured in action and detained in POW Camp 73, near Modena in Italy. When Italy surrendered, Harry and a great number of the prisoners decided to stay and wait for the Allies (according to the Italian guards). Unfortunately it was the Germans who arrived! The prisoners were marched to Stalag 357 in Torun, Poland. In August 1944 with the Russians advancing through Poland, the camp was moved to Oerbke, north of Hanover, Germany, where Harry stayed for the rest of the war. He died of a heart attack in 1968 at the cruelly young age of 47.
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