James Francies Durham, or 'Jimmy Durham', was born in the
T
Sudan
about 1885.
His father was killed at the
T
Battle of Ginnis
, December 1885 and he was with
his mother on a boat on the River Nile, attempting to return to their home in
Berber, about 500 miles to the south.
The boat was attacked by the
T
Mounted Infantry
of the
T
2nd Battalion The Durham Light Infantry
in January
1886 and Jimmy was left on board with a wounded man, while the other occupants
fled to avoid capture.
The soldiers picked the child up and looked after him,
giving him the name James Francies Durham, after the men who cared for
him.
The original intention was to place Jimmy in a mission school in Cairo, but the
sergeants who were looking after him were upset at the idea, and promised to
continue to care for him.
Jimmy went with the
T
2nd Battalion
to
T
India and Burma
and, when he reached the age of 14,
he enlisted into The Durham Light Infantry as a bandsman.
He moved to
Aldershot in 1902 and
T
Ireland
in 1905.
He married, in 1908,
T
Jane Green
of Bishop Auckland, whose brother was a
Quartermaster Sergeant with The Durham Light Infantry.
Jimmy died, of pneumonia, on 8 August 1910, while stationed at Fermoy,
T
Ireland
.
Shortly afterwards, his daughter,
T
Frances
, was born.
She lived in Bishop Auckland
until her death in 1998.
To find out about Jimmy's fascinating life story, click on the links to the
left.
This project has been compiled by Durham County Record Office and the
T
DLI Museum
, with funding
assistance from
NEMLAC
.
Our thanks
also go to the
Darlington and
Durham County Racial Equality Council
and to Yve Ngoo of the
BBC Roots
Project
.
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If you wish to use them for any other purpose you should contact the
T
Cou
nty Archivist
.