Who were the Durham Pals?
As soon as the First World War began in August 1914, thousands of Durham men heard Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers – ‘Your County Needs You’ – and left their civilian jobs to join a New Army. These volunteers were then formed into Service Battalions like the ‘Durham Pals’ (18th Battalion DLI), ‘Durham Bantams’ (19th Battalion DLI) and the ‘Wearsiders’ (20th Battalion DLI).
