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JAMES FRANCIS DURHAM DLI |
 James Francis Durham 2nd Battalion DLI 1909 |
James Francis Durham was the first African to join the British Army as a fully enlisted solider. Follow his amazing story which took him from the banks of the Nile to the banks of the Wear. |
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Young Mustapha seemed destined to be a solider from the moment he was found on the banks of Nile by Captain Beauvoir de Lisle.
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The child was handed over to Sergeant Stuart, who named him Jimmy Dervish. The boy's real name was Mustapha. In June 1886, some native women were asked Jimmy's age. By examining his teeth, the women pronounced his age to be 18 months. It was calculated that his birthday would be about 1st January 1885. The sergeants, however, objected and promised to subscribe one rupee a month towards the child's upkeep. |
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Boy Soldier In 1898, he accompanied the DLI to their new station at Mandalay. It was in Burma that James Francis Durham made his mark on British military history by applying to enlist as a boy soldier. Jimmy's application, strongly backed by the sergeants, went all the way to Queen Victoria. The official decision was favourable, and in July 1899, James Francis Durham was formally enrolled as Boy Solider No. 6758, aged 14 years old. Although the British Army had employed Black drummers and musicians since the 18th century, and colonial regiments were often black, no African had been allowed to join the regular Army on the same terms as white recruits. |
 Jimmy (centre) aged 12, with the Band of the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry, India 1897. |
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Among family and friends After Burma the regiment spent a period in Wellington, India, where Jimmy turned out to be a good athlete. He returned to England in 1902. Having known only warm climates, Jimmy found himself in the cold and wet of Northern England, though he was warmly welcomed by and an extended family of former and serving sergeants. Jimmy spent this period living in and around Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Tyneside. Jimmy was partially brought up with the family of Sergeant Robson, whose daughter, Stella, he regarded as a sister. See letter at left |
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In 1908, Stella asked Jimmy to be godfather to her baby. He was over the moon. Later the same year, Jimmy married Jane Green, the sister of the quartermaster sergeant at Bishop Auckland. The DLI were on the move again. Their next stop was Cork where Jimmy divided his time between the regimental band, playing clarinet and violin, and running the Army Temperance Association. The Temperance Association was unusually popular at Cork's Victoria Barracks and its large membership won the DLI an award. Jimy who was a teetotallerl, held his meetings in rooms above a pub, opposite the barracks. However, his comrades' interest grew when they realized that attending the temperance lectures was an easier way of getting into the pub!
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 Jimmy. A model soldier stationed at Victoria Barracks, Cork in Oct 1909 Jimmy: The accidental tourist Jimmy was by all accounts a popular figure in Cork and an avid tourist, he wrote to Stella in 1908: See left |
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The Irish climate finally undermined Jimmy's health and on the 8 August 1910, aged only 27, he died from pneumonia. Jimmy was buried with full military honours in the local cemetery. The floral tributes and large gathering of mourners bear witness to his popularity. Three weeks later his wife, Jane gave birth to their daughter Frances. She lived in Bishop Auckland until her death in 1998. An exhibition featuring James Francis Durham is on display at County Hall, Durham. |
 Frances Jubb: Jimmy's only daughter, pictured here in the early 1980's. |
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