The moving of the VC Stone from the former DLI Museum to Palace Green, to be sited in front of Bishop John Cossin’s House to this, a World Heritage site, is quite an occasion. It has been a long journey from the late 1990’s when it was decided to commission this fine stone memorial. The Dinner Club which was formed in 1988 by Chairman WO11 Albert Shippen and WO11 George Fraser, together with the President Lt Col Fred Phillips, our original officials all from the D Coy Light Infantry Volunteers which later became 5 LI.
The idea of a stone memorial to commemorate the memory of the eleven soldiers who earned the VC in the Durham Light Infantry’s history, originated with Albert Shippen. The three officials are no longer with us but we remember them also, and their contribution to the cause.
The Stone was originally sited at the former DLI Museum in 2001, when the Museum was renovated. The Dinner Club organised a big parade with music by the Band and Bugles of the Durham Army Cadet Force, the ‘Borneo Band’ as it was known then, named after the last DLI Battle Honour, so that the stone could be properly dedicated by the DLI Association Chaplain, Rev Brian Rawson in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Durham Sir Paul Nicholson, Captain Richard Annand VC, Brigadier Bob Macgregor-Oakford MC CBE, many councillors and officials of Durham County Council and former Servicemen, and especially the former DLI In-patients from the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Dr Keith Bartlett of Durham University offered a new the site for the VC Stone in 2016 and it has taken up to the present time to achieve the 2018 re-location. The Dinner Club enlisted the help of Durham County Council for the move as custodians of the Memorial, and with Durham University’s permission we are proud to have the VC Stone sited on Palace Green where so many of our ceremonies and parades have taken place in the past.
