DLI Reunion

We have had a request from Robert Timmerman to put out the word about a reunion next year of a platoon from the Durban Light Infantry who were involved in a contact 35 years ago. He wrote:

Hi, this is a very different request for assistance on the site. Please bear with me as the widespread diaspora of Durbanites has left us with a dilemma.

Us being Durban Light Infantry, with a need to locate members of Platoon 1 who were on Beacon 25 North of Eenhana on 25 may 1984 with Lt. Deon van den Bergh and Sergeant Mark Whitson (later Lt. Col and Officer Commanding D/L/I.) when we were in contact with a band of SWAPO operatives for a period of about an hour.

Next year is the 35th anniversary of the event and we are attempting to trace as many members of the platoon as possible to attend the gathering at the Drill Hall in Greyville Racecourse.

If you could post this – the contact email is beacon25reunion@gmail.com.

The DLI’s story is a fascinating one and I’m the proud possessor of a two-volume history of the regiment containing what is believed to be one of the most accurate accounts of the surrender at Tobruk and detail about the regiment’s most illustrious part-time soldier, Brigadier-General James Scott Wylie. I’d be very happy to hear details of the regiment’s more recent history including this incident. Perhaps we could work towards having a DLI page on this site and contributions will be most welcome.