THE life of a soldier in the former Durham Light Infantry is depicted in a fascinating new book published by the Durham Record Office

Image of the Soldier is a photographic history of the regiment, with pictures dating back 150 years to the Crimean War, right through to its final parade on December 12, 1968.

It shows the infantrymen in the trenches of Sebastopol and the jungle-covered mountains of Borneo, and provides a glimpse into the world of their families - the women and children who followed the Durhams and their men around the world.

As well as showing the soldiers on parade, in the trenches and in their barrack rooms, the pictures capture the men playing football, in prison camps and even relaxing with a beer.

The first entry in the book is one of the earliest photographs taken of the 68th Light Infantry - forerunner of the Durham Light Infantry - taken during the Crimean War.

It includes Sgt Henry Sladden, who had earlier been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. At the time, this was the only gallantry award available to non-commissioned ranks.

Sgt Sladden survived when so many of his comrades died in the Crimea - more from the bitter winter cold and from disease than from enemy bullets.

He did not suffer a day's illness during the long years of the war and continued to serve after the campaign, ending his days terrorising young recruits at the regimental depot, in Sunderland.

A remarkable story about the regiment is that of a little Sudanese boy found by the River Nile after the Battle of Ginnis on January 1, 1886.

The 2nd Battalion sergeants adopted the boy, who became known as Jimmy Durham. He enlisted with the battalion in 1899, aged about 14 and became a bandsman.

Pte James Francis Durham died from pneumonia in August, 1910, while stationed at Fermoy, near Cork.

Closer to home, a picture taken on June 15, 1913 shows the streets of Barnard Castle lined with people for the military funeral of Pte Smith, of the 3rd Battalion - no first name is given- who had drowned in a swimming accident in the River Tees.

The First World War decimated the regiment.

In August 1914, the DLI had just nine battalions. By November 1918 this had grown to 43, of which 22 saw action overseas.

DLI battalions fought on the Western Front in Belgium and France, in the German attacks of 1918 and in the final advances that led to victory.

On the River Aisne, in September 1914, the 2nd Battalion lost more men in one day's fighting than the entire regiment had lost in the Boer War.

By the end of the war, the DLI had lost 13,000 men - killed outright or dead from wounds or disease - and thousands more were wounded or gassed. Many others were taken prisoner and spent years in camps.

After the First World War, the DLI was deployed in Turkey, India, China, Egypt and Sudan.

A picture taken at Southampton in November, 1937, shows a group of 2nd Battalion veterans who had been away on continuous overseas service since 1919.

During the Second World War, only eight DLI battalions saw overseas action.

The 2nd Battalion regulars were the first in action on the River Dyle, in Belgium, in May, 1940, when Lt Richard Annand won the first Army Victoria Cross of the Second World War.

By the end of the war, 3,000 Durham men had been killed and thousands of others wounded or taken prisoner.

As the British Empire waned during the 1950s, the regulars of the 1st Battalion served in trouble spots in Suez, Aden and Cyprus.

The 2nd Battalion was disbanded for the final time in 1955.

In 1963, the 1st Battalion was posted with their families to Hong Kong and was ordered into battle in Borneo in 1966 to repel invading forces from Indonesia.

In December 1968, the new 4th Battalion The Light Infantry paraded before Princess Alexandra, the last Colonel in Chief of the Durham Light Infantry, before laying-up the old colours of the 1st Battalion DLI in Durham Cathedral.

This new battalion was itself disbanded and its soldiers absorbed by the remaining three light infantry battalions.

After 200 years of history, the Durham Light Infantry was no more.

* Image of the Soldier, ISBN 1-897585-82-9, is available from County Durham Books, priced £12.95.