A service was held today to commemorate the sacrifice made by 'The Bradford Pals' on the first of July 1916 at the battle of the Somme. More than seventeen hundred men from the Bradford area were killed in the first hour of the battle, a battle which dragged on until November of that year without making any significant progress. The 'Pals' were soldiers that had volunteered together, trained together and had then been formed into battalions of soldiers from the same locality.The picture was taken at this mornings service near the Bradford Pals Memorial Stone.
So many, mostly young men. I remember meeting a nice elderly lady some years back, her fiancé had been a member of my former outfit and he died on the Western front, she never did get married.
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