The Second Battle of Ypres - Statistics

D/DLI 2/35/9(1) Postcard of a view of the ruined Cloth Hall and Market Place, taken at Ypres, Belgium, 1914 - 1918

At full strength, a battalion consisted of about 1000 men, including 30 officers.  The figures below show the number of men and officers who were killed in action over the course of the Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April to 25 May 1915 for each of the Durham Light Infantry’s territorial battalions.  The figures also include those who died of wounds up to the end of May, about six weeks after the battalions left the UK. 

Battalion                 Soldiers             Officers

5^th                             89                           2

6^th                             64                           4

7^th                           111                           6

8^th                           127                           5

9^th                             35                           1

A significant number of men were also wounded and would have been out of the front line in the immediate aftermath of the battle but there are no definitive figures for this.

The book written by Ward (2) gives a total figure of soldiers who died for each battalion throughout the entire war.  The table below shows these figures and the proportion that occurred during the Second Battle of Ypres.

Battalion                 Total                      Proportion (rounded up/down)

5^th                            831                                      11%

6^th                            830                                        8%

7^th                            600                                      20%

8^th                            816                                      16%

9^th                            682                                        5%

Sources 

1) Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919, The Durham Light Infantry – originally compiled by The War Office, 1921 

2) Faithful, The Story of The Durham Light Infantry – SGP Ward, 1968