A GROUP of campaigners who fought against the closure of a dedicated regimental museum are hoping the collection will be stored under one roof in the county’s new history centre.
The Faithful Durhams was set up when their original group, Save the DLI Museum, failed to prevent the closure of the military museum in Durham in 2016.
They have since fought to have the collections from the Durham Light Infantry Museum housed in a single venue.
Secretary of the campaign group Diane Inglis said: “There have been some very bad feelings from the public about this decision and we have campaigned on the streets, via social media and other means to get our message out to the public that we are still fighting on.
“Our campaign is to have the collection stored and exhibited back together as a whole collection.”
The Durham Light Infantry, which was the county’s own infantry regiment, was made up of 43 battalions – 22 of which served in war zones during The Great War.
The 4th Battalion DLI camp was based at Deerbolt, in Startforth, on the site of the young offenders’ institution.
However, following the start of the First World War, the reserve battalion was moved to the north-east coasts.
The site then became the base for the 17th Battalion DLI.
When they weren’t training, the off-duty soldiers were regular visitors to the town.
Barnard Castle West county councillor Richard Bell campaigned against the closure of the museum in 2016.
He said: “It was definitely a loss when the old DLI museum closed which held everything from medals to field guns. It would be great if the proposed Mount Oswald history centre would house the DLI collection back under one roof.”
Uniforms, equipment, weapons and photographs, which brought to life the history of the regiment, were all housed in the DLI Museum.
Since the closure, the collection has been split between a number of different venues in Spennymoor, Shildon, Sunderland and Durham.
Durham County Council has recently announced plans to open a new history centre in what was Mount Oswald manor house in Durham.
At the same time, Aykley Heads will be redeveloped and County Hall, which houses the Durham County Record Office archives, will be relocated.
County officials have suggested that the history centre could offer a long-term home to other collections such as those which were once displayed in the DLI Museum.
Durham County Council has carried out a public consultation about the history centre and officials are currently considering the views of the public.
The Faithful Durhams believe that the collection is not only important to them but to the county and country as a whole.
Ms Inglis said: “There are very few members of County Durham families who have not got a connection with the DLI, whether it be a parent, grandparent, uncle or brother.
“The original museum, still stands unused, the ashes of fallen soldiers still scattered around the building, memorial benches still there and nothing has been done.
“These lads sacrificed a lot for us. Now it is our turn to fight for them.”
