THE Northern Echo is supporting the campaign to erect a statue to honour the Durham Light Infantry in its home county.

It would be great, therefore, to hear stories of your ancestors’ sacrifices in the DLI. This, for example, has been sent in by David Williams of Crook, and it concerns his grandfather, Joseph Henderson.

The 1911 census records that Joseph, 26, was a hewer living at Beckside, Crook. As a miner, he could have stayed underground, but he enlisted in the 18th Battalion of the DLI at Bishop Auckland, and rose to the rank of Lance- Corporal.

He survived for some time in the appalling conditions of the Western Front until July 16, 1918, when his company fell back from the frontline to practise for a major assault.

They were at Wallon-Cappel, near the modern town of Hazebrouck, close to Lille in northern France. Ypres was nearby, over the Belgian border.

The idea was, supported by a heavy artillery barrage, that the DLI should advance east and clear the farmland around La Plate Becque – a beck – of enemy soldiers.

On July 18, the DLI returned to the frontline, ready to put the plan into action.

However, at the last moment, those in authority cancelled the barrage because they said that the Germans would only offer slight resistance.

At 6am on July 19, without any supporting firepower, the DLI went over the top into no man’s land.

Immediately, they experienced far more than slight resistance.

B Company faced fire machine- gun fire and grenades, and at 8.30am dug themselves into shellholes to wait for the cover of darkness in the hope it would assist their advance.

A Company was caught in open ground, sweeps of machine gun fire cutting the soldiers down. To make matters worse, on their right was a cornfield. The crop was headhigh and infested by Germans who used the cover of the corn to pick off their attackers.

The DLI suffered 70 casualties.

More than 30 enemy were killed.

Some Germans were captured.

They informed the British that, contrary to intelligence, they had been sent to the frontline two days earlier to replace a “dud division”.

These tough soldiers had been given explicit instructions not to lose La Becque Farm by the beck.

It was at La Becque Farm that L Cpl Henderson, 33, died. He is buried near Bailleul, and his name is on the South Church war memorial.

He left two daughters and a son.

His son, Joseph, was a glider pilot in the Second World War and took part in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem.

One daughter, Edith, was only small when she was run over and killed by a horse and cart in Crook, but the other daughter, Sarah, had eight sons.

  •  Donations for the appeal, made payable to the Regimental and Chattels Charity of the former DLI, should be sent to DLI Memorial Appeal, The Rifles Office, Elvet Waterside, Durham, DH1 3BW.