bantamspast blog

Happy FA Cup Centenary + 1!

2012-04-26T12:18:00.001+01:00

101 years ago to the day Jimmy Speirs headed Bradford City's winning goal in the 1911 FA Cup Final replay at Old Trafford. We remember all those who took part in the most glorious episode of our club's history, but in particular we honour Jimmy Speirs and Robert Torrance who subsequently died in the Great War just a handful of years later.

Return to France

2012-04-20T17:14:00.003+01:00

Following last year’s successful trip to France and Flanders to visit the graves of the nine Bradford City players killed in the Great War, we are returning to France again this year to follow in the footsteps of the Bradford Pals. We are leaving Bradford on 31 May returning on 3 June.

This year our itinerary is:

Thursday 31 May

Depart
Bradford Interchange 10.22
Arrive
Lille 17.26

Night in Lille

Friday 1 June

Lochnagar Crater

Thiepval/Mill Road Cemetery

Auchonvillers (lunch)

Newfoundland Park Memorial

Serre No.1 Cemetery/Euston Road Cemetery/Sheffield Memorial Park

Bus les Artois (where the two Pals shot for desertion drank the night they disappeared). The bar is being specially opened for us.

Night in Albert

Saturday 2 June

Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval
Harry Ruck, Bradford Northern RLFC

Vieille-Chapelle

Shiot at dawn Bradford Pals
Herbert Crimmins and Arthur Wild.

Lestrem/Le Paradis

The village of Lestrem where the Pals were executed is the final resting place of 97 British soldiers from 1940 who were massacred by the SS.

Night at Lille

Sunday 3 June

Depart
Lille 13.34
Arrive
Bradford Interchange 18.36

bantamspast news

2012-04-10T06:27:00.000+01:00

After City play Swindon Town on 5 May the bantamspast museum will close in its current guise. We are making way for the new free school being developed by Wayne Jacobs’ charity One in a Million. The space we occupy has been kindly made available rent free to us by One in a Million for the last two years and we wish to place on record our appreciation of their support.
A working party, consisting of John Ashton, John Dewhirst and David Pendleton from the museum and Dave Baldwin representing the football club, has been established and is examining options for relocating the museum. Although talks are at an early stage it is almost certain that we will survive in some format. With these new developments in mind, the collection of exhibits will be retained and objects loaned will remain in the safe keeping of bantamspast.
One in a Million have pledged to do their level best to retain the popular cafe area for supporters pre-match. The museum will continue in its online guise and around September we are delighted to be helping Paul Firth to publish his long awaited book on the career of City’s all time goal scoring legend Bobby Campbell. Hopefully, by the start of next season we may well be relocated in another area of the ground. One of the options is very exciting and could actually improve both the museum and the facilities offered to supporters prior to and after match. We are very keen that access to the museum remains open and free to all.
Finally, and most importantly, it is people like you, dear reader, who ultimately made the museum the huge success it has become. Whether you loaned an object, hammered a nail into a wall or simply enjoyed the nonsense we have put on for you, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Together we have given Bradford City something that is utterly unique. Not even the museums of Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid can compete with the love and soul that has made ours such a stand out museum. It’s a hackneyed phrase, but ‘for the people by the people’ is surely an apt way of describing bantamspast.

Hand Made in Bradford

2012-04-04T10:14:00.001+01:00

The newly opened 'Hand Made in Bradford' shop (formerly Virgin Records) has a display showing former City captain Zesh Rehman in the bantamspast museum. The display is upstairs, please support the shop itself as it is reliant on sales to remain open.

bantamspast - a kind of ending

2012-03-16T22:02:00.000Z

It is with huge regret that we have to announce the closure of the bantamspast museum in its current guise. After City play Swindon Town on 5 May the museum will close its doors for the final time. We are making way for the new free school being developed by Wayne Jacobs’ charity One in a Million, which is scheduled to open in September.

It has been quite a journey for bantamspast. The museum was first mooted in the wake of the highly successful 100 Years of Claret and Amber exhibition hosted by Bradford Industrial Museum in 2003. The football club was still recovering from a spell in administration in 2002 and were in no position to be able to organise a celebration of its centenary. Mark Neale proposed the idea that the supporters should organise something and from that acorn I contacted Mick Callaghan at Bradford Industrial Museum, who was also happily a season ticket holder in the Midland Road, and following an appeal in the Telegraph & Argus John Ashton joined our merry band. It is perhaps remarkable that the same people have remained a constant in the museum’s story to the very end.

The generosity of the City fans who loaned hundreds of items for 100 Years of Claret and Amber was matched by a desire to keep the exhibition together once it had completed its allocated run at the Industrial Museum. I approached Julian Rhodes about relocating the exhibition and he readily agreed; as space was the one thing that Bradford City had more than enough of. A second spell in administration in 2004 slowed the pace of development, but during the summer of 2005 a band of volunteers began converting the rear of the club shop into bantamspast.

Those first couple of years were the best the museum ever had. Our small band was packed with enthusiasm and we were fortunate enough to attract some fabulous pre-match speakers: the football ground historian Simon Inglis; The Guardian’s David Conn; and a highly amusing Dean Windass are just a few who spring to mind. Perhaps our most spectacular temporary exhibition was To the Palace for the Cup which told the stories of the FA Cup Finals staged at the Crystal Palace prior to the Great War. I also enjoyed putting together The Sports Grounds of Bradford, an exhibition that lives on as we have loaned the storyboards to Bradford Park Avenue AFC.

Eventually, we were forced to move into our current position above the shop when the club found a tenant for our original space. A summer of clearing and heaving saw the museum relocated just in time for the new season. There was amusement along the way, including the time I got stuck in the lift and had to be rescued by Allan Gilliver who said on opening the doors ‘if I had known it was you I wouldn’t have bothered’. All said with a smile and a few additional words I dare not repeat in a family publication such as The City Gent. We were also very fortunate to meet David Ward, currently the MP for Bradford East, who was at the time a local councillor working at Leeds Metropolitan University. He managed to talk the university into renting the entire floor and developing it as a community hub. The cafe reopened and slowly we began to enjoy a new lease of life. It was also fortunate for me, as in time I enrolled on a master’s degree course in social history at Leeds Met; something I had definitely not envisaged when plans were first mooted for the museum.

It’s fair to say that for a couple of seasons the energy levels naturally dropped among our small band of volunteers as life and new opportunities ate up our time. However, in 2011, with the addition of the long time friend of bantamspast, John Dewhirst, we marked the centenary of Bradford City’s famous FA Cup triumph. The exhibition had to be held at Bradford Industrial Museum, not only to harness their superior expertise, but also due to the fact that we could not afford the insurance on the FA Cup winners’ medals! The exhibition was an absolute triumph, as was the celebration dinner, so fabulously organised by John Dewhirst, at the Midland Hotel, held in the same room the players returned to exactly one hundred years to the day. We ventured into publishing with the release of my own Glorious 1911 book that charted the story of the FA Cup triumph. We even branched out into tourism when I led a party of City fans on a pilgrimage to the final resting places of the nine City players and two Avenue players killed in the Great War. It was a fitting end to the FA Cup centenary celebrations.

This season we were fortunate to attract top class speakers in the guise of professors Tony Collins and Matt Taylor from the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University, Leicester, for our inaugural Black History Month event. Joe Cooke was our guest of honour and he was the gentleman we all knew he was. My personal highlight of this season, and indeed the entire bantamspast project, was the release of the book Paraders, the 125 year history of Valley Parade. A labour of love if there ever was one, I was delighted when it became both the best selling, and most stolen, book in Waterstone’s over Christmas.

So what now for bantamspast? We will begin to return loaned object over the course of the summer. We are also investigating ways of reusing some of the storyboards and exhibits in other parts of Valley Parade. One in a Million have pledged to do their level best to retain the popular cafe area for supporters pre-match, so there may well be an opportunity to have a small display in that area as well. The museum will continue in its on-line guise and around September we are delighted to be helping Paul Firth to publish his long awaited book on the career of City’s all time goal scoring legend Bobby Campbell.

Over the years I have made some fabulous friends from my involvement in bantamspast. Indeed, I even gained a new love interest via the museum, sadly short-lived, but fun while it lasted! There are far too many people to thank in the eleven years the project has been running. I hesitate to begin naming names as I may forget someone in error. However, Mick Callaghan, John Dewhirst, Mark Neale, David Ward and Leeds Metropolitan University and One in a Million deserve special mention. Although I am often titled curator of the museum, mainly for clarity and point of contact, I cannot finish without saluting the immense contribution of John Ashton. Without John bantampast would have barely got off the ground. Over the last decade John has also become a close friend and that is something that will outlast bantamspast.

Finally, and most importantly, it is people like you, dear reader, who ultimately made the museum the huge success it became. Whether you loaned an object, hammered a nail into a wall or simply enjoyed the nonsense we have put on for you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Together we gave Bradford City something that was utterly unique. Not even the museums of Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid could compete with the love and soul that made bantamspast such a stand out museum. It’s a hackneyed phrase, but for the people by the people is surely an apt way of describing bantamspast.

David Pendleton

PS John Ashton here: I’d like to take the opportunity of backing up all of David’s comments above, especially those which refer to the formation of life-long friendships through our involvement in the bantamspast project. For my part, I often reflect on the personal significance of that first contact with Dave following his appeal in the T&A back in 2003. Over the ensuing years it led me into a new mini career in design and work with digital images. In addition to my City related work, I have also had the privilege of being involved in exhibitions about the Bulls, the Bradford Cricket League, the Bradford Magic Circle, Steampunk and many more. And it all emanated from that first phone call! Perhaps the proudest moments for me were the 1911 Centenary celebrations: the Pictureville event, Dave’s book, the exhibition and the dinner at the Midland Hotel. I was particularly pleased with the life-sized cut-out of the 1911 FA Cup winning team which I digitally repaired and coloured. To know that it now has a permanent home in the reception area of the 1911 Club is a real honour.
bantamspast is a unique project in that it has never been just about football. Perhaps more than other clubs, the story of Bradford City is inextricably linked with that of the community in which it dwells and bantamspast has always reflected this. Hopefully, it’s not the end - more a pause for breath and continuation in a different guise.

BBC Radio 4 - Major Historical Series on the History of British Sport

2012-01-24T20:38:00.001Z

David Pendleton, the author of Paraders and Glorious 1911, is researching a part time PhD into the sporting leisure of Bradford via De Montfort University's International Centre for Sports History and Culture. Next week the centre, in conjunction with the BBC, will be launching a major new 30 episode series on the history of British sport. The series will be narrated by Clare Balding and will be a flagship historical series for BBC Radio 4 in the London Olympic year.

The first episode will be broadcast at 1:45pm on Monday 30th January. An omnibus edition for each week will also be broadcast at 21:02 each Friday night.

Further information on the first episode and the series is attached below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b9h7c

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/sport-and-the-british.html

Paraders at Number One

2012-01-12T16:36:00.004Z

As the picture shows, Paraders, the 125 year history of Valley Parade, is number one best seller at the Bradford branch of Waterstone's (soon to be without their apostrophe, we hear).

Seasonal Best Wishes

2011-12-24T10:45:00.004Z

We would like to wish all our visitors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

During the festive period we will be selling copies of the new book Paraders, the 125 year history of Valley Parade, on matchdays in the bantamspast museum. Copies of our previous publication, Glorious 1911, will also be on sale. The books are also available from Waterstones in the city centre and online or by email. We hope to see many of you at the matches on Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.

Pre-Christmas Activities

2011-12-09T17:52:00.005Z

One in a Million (The Charity based at Valley Parade) and Friends of Bradford City (The fund raising group of supporters) are staging a Christmas event in the Museum/Cafe area (Above the club shop) prior to next Saturday's game against Plymouth. Shipley Salvation Army Band will be providing suitably festive music in the Museum prior to appearing on the pitch before kick off and at half time.
One in Million will be offering festive fayre in their cafe including mince pies and mulled wine, whilst Santa Claus will be dropping in.
bantamspast will have the newly launched book `Paraders` tracing the 125 year history of Valley Parade available for sale, and author David Pendleton will be available to sign copies.
Bantamstrek will be selling Santa Hats, the sales of which will benefit the Bradford Burns Unit,.
It is hoped some of the City players will be making an appearance.
Friends of Bradford City will be selling their new 2012 Calendar `Its a fan's life` featuring City players in fans roles, and will also have other seasonal gifts available.
In addition Friends of Bradford City will be giving details of the re-launched `Junior Bantams` young supporters club in association with One in Milllion and would give a warm welcome to young City supporters.
City Gent will have a seasonal twist in their new issue of the City Gent fanzine, and Friends of Bradford City will have sales locations in each stand, making it a very busy day for the various supporter groups.
Mark Neale, Chairman of Friends of Bradford City said "The home game nearest Christmas is traditionally a special day for the fans, and it's great that the various supporters organisations have joined together to have a special event in the Museum/Cafe area before what is a very important game for City".
"We are developing a great relationship with One in a Million who are now an important part of the Valley Parade scene, and bantamspast are also very pro-active in keeping alive the history of our great club".
"There will be something for every age group on Saturday, but we really hope young City fans can come and get our new Junior Bantams group of to a great start with an official launch taking place on 31st December".
Above: David Pendleton signs copies of his latest book, Paraders, at Thursday's launch, held at Waterstones in Bradford,

Paraders - Book Launch

2011-12-05T18:25:00.001Z

The official launch of a new book which celebrates the 125 year history of Bradford City AFC’s Valley Parade ground will take place at Waterstones at 6.30pm on Thursday 8 December. Entitled ‘Paraders, the 125 year history of Valley Parade’, it has been written by David Pendleton, curator of Bradford City’s bantamspast museum and author of the critically acclaimed book Glorious 1911.

Paraders tells the story of the Bantams’ home from its inception as a rugby ground in 1886 right through to the present day. From the fire disaster of 1985 to the FA Cup winners of 1911; the brief Premier League sojourn to all too many years in the basement division of English football. The full sweep of the history and development of Valley Parade is captured. Scores of previously unpublished images enhance the painstakingly researched text. Even the most dedicated Bradford City supporter will learn something new from this comprehensive history.

Paraders is much more than a history of a football ground. It touches on the social, industrial and demographic changes that have shaped the wider city of Bradford over the last 125 years. Priced at just £16 the book will appeal to even those who do not make the fortnightly pilgrimage to Valley Parade.

Paraders is on sale in the bantamspast museum on matchdays and at Waterstones in Bradford city centre. The author will be signing copies in the bantamspast museum prior to home matches during December.

Guest of Honour Joe

2011-10-24T10:38:00.002+01:00

Joe Cooke watching City's 2-1 victory over Northampton Town. He was our guest of honour at the museum's first Black History Month event. Thanks to Jess Jess Pétrie for the photo.

Older than the Bantams

2011-10-20T08:05:00.000+01:00

Celebrating 112 years of black footballers in Bradford
Saturday 22 October 2011, prior to the game against Northampton Town
1.15pm
bantamspast museum
Bradford City AFC
Valley Parade
Admission free

In 1899 a team of black players from South Africa played a Bradford & District team at Park Avenue, four years before the Bantams were formed.

Two years later, in 1901, the spectacular show Savage South Africa was staged at Valley Parade in a three week run that played to over twenty thousand people. The show, complete with 500 hundred actors and 120 horses, also featured, what the Bradford Daily Argus termed ‘real African darkies’. Today the show is often criticised as being a human zoo. However, for a working class family, living perhaps in a cramped terrace house, in days long before radio and television, the show must have simply appeared as fabulous entertainment.

In 1905, only four years after the staging of Savage South Africa, Bradford City signed their first black player, the mixed race winger Billy Clarke, from Aston Villa. He had already become the first ever black player to score a goal in the first division of English football whilst with Villa. At Valley Parade he would win a second division championship medal and score Bradford City’s first ever goal in top flight football in 1908. A hugely popular player with the Valley Parade crowds, it is interesting to note that, during his near 100 games for the Bantams, the newspapers barely mention his race. It seems that he was accepted into the Bradford City family almost without comment.

In the 1970s Bradford City welcomed the pioneering modern day black players Ces Podd and Joe Cooke to Valley Parade. The two men became immensely popular with the supporters and Ces is still the club’s record appearance holder, playing 565 games for the club between 1970 and 1984. Arguably, the presence of both men in Bradford City’s team helped to shape the culture of the club during an era that defined race relations in Britain. Being a racist and a Bradford City supporter was simply incompatible. Today, the club still enjoys a reputation for openness and tolerance. Ces and Joe’s role in establishing that culture will be one aspect of Bradford City’s celebration of Black History Month.

The bantamspast museum co-curator, David Pendleton, will give a presentation about the visit of the black South African team to Bradford in 1899; the arrival of the show Savage South Africa at Valley Parade in 1901; and Bradford City’s first black player, Billy Clarke, who joined the club in 1905.

Professor Matt Taylor, of De Montfort University, Leicester, will speak about the pioneering black footballers of the 1970s, including Bradford City’s own Ces Podd and Joe Cooke.

The director of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University, Leicester, Professor Tony Collins, will talk of the contribution of black sportsmen and women to the culture of the north of England.

We hope that our guests of honour will include, Joe Cooke and Des Hamilton, scorer of Bradford City’s opening goal during the Wembley 1996 play-off final when the Bantams secured promotion to the Championship.

The bantamspast museum event is part of Bradford City’s One Game, One Community day, which is dedicated to the Kick Racism out of Football initiative.

Programme Fair

2011-10-20T07:38:00.001+01:00

In a Bantam Frame of Mind

2011-10-04T07:31:00.002+01:00

A mini-photographic exhibition featuring life around Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground

A mini photographic exhibition will open in the bantamspast museum on Saturday 8 October. A series of twelve shots, taken by Bankfoot photographer Jess Petrie, captures a taste of life around Bradford City’s Valley Parade stadium. The photographs were taken as part the bantamsmemories project, which sought to gather the memories of the varied communities that have lived in the shadow of the football ground over the last fifty years.

The mini-exhibition runs parallel with the Bradford wide Ways of Looking photographic festival, which runs throughout October. The co-curator of the bantamspast museum, David Pendleton, said: "We are delighted to be able to display a small portion of Jess’ work. We hope to commission her once more in the near future to record the area around the ground on a match day. The importance of the football club, both socially and economically, to Manningham is perhaps taken for granted, but we feel it is important to recognise the shared links of two communities that come together for a few hours every time City play at home."

Jess Petrie gave her thoughts on the project: "I was honoured to be commissioned to document scenes of daily life from around the area. In true reportage style I set on my little journey ‘in the shadow of Valley Parade’.

I had a clear vision of the people and places I was to focus on; all the people that belong to the local religious establishments in the area, the worshippers, local business workers and the local people and communities.

The diversity and multiculturalism surrounding the area is so vast and it’s so nice to see communities of different cultures mixing, working and living together… it’s harmonious and how the rest of the world should be living.

It’s been refreshing and eye-opening to hear the stories that everyone has to tell about their life surrounding the stadium and the changes that the area has gone through over periods of time. The opportunities that have arose from the football club, the vibrancy and ‘team spirit’ that leaves an ambience in the air before each match, the beaming smiles on the faces of local business owners after each match, and the proud feeling inside everyone that is part of the community.

I have witnessed a lot of positive actions whilst taking part in this project. And my views of Bradford have been seen in an even newer and positive light since working on it.

The communities around Valley Parade are full of support and care for one another and have great dignity. Everyone has been so welcoming, kind, warm and open. I would like to thank all those who shared their stories with me, their time and their smiling faces, I will take a lot away with me from this pleasant experience."

Meet Wayne Jacobs and David Wetherall

2011-09-14T17:42:00.001+01:00

A Friends of Bradford City Event
Thursday October 22nd (8pm) FoBC Forum
A chance to meet and thank two of that rarity nowadays, the loyal club servant. Both Wayne and David never got the chance to say goodbye to the fans, and the fans would like to wish them well in their future careers. This evening is an opportunity to do so.
One in a Million will open their cafe for the evening.
Entry is free to members of FoBC and £1 to non-members.

bantamsmemories launch

2011-09-07T20:51:00.001+01:00

Over the past two years, the lottery funded bantamsmemories project has been recording the stories remembered by people from different generations and backgrounds who have lived in the area around Valley Parade. The product of much work carried out by many volunteers can now be seen on the bantamsmemories website.

A film and visual display have also been produced and these will be exhibited in the bantamspast museum soon. Watch this space!

The Season's First Pre-match Event

2011-09-07T20:42:00.000+01:00

The bantamspast museum hosts its first presentation of the season on Saturday. Prior to Bradford City's match against Bristol Rovers, the Bradford Bulls Foundation will be showing films and giving a presentation relating to their Heritage Lottery funded Past Times project which is aiming to capture the social history of Odsal Stadium for future generations.

The ground, which of course was Bradford City's home in the wake of the fire disaster, has a rich heritage and has hosted rugby, speedway, stock cars, equestrian, festivals of sport, girl guide jamborees, football, trotting, dog shows, the Harlem Globetrotters, cattle markets, tennis and many other events.

The event begins at 1.15pm in the bantamspast museum which is located above the Club Shop behind the Kop End of Valley Parade. As with all bantamspast events, admission is completely free.

bantamspast: A New Look

2011-08-18T18:01:00.004+01:00

The 1911 FA Cup Final ball has returned to the bantamspast museum following its long term loan to Bradford Industrial Museum where it was on display for their fabulous exhibition that marked City's 1911 FA Cup triumph. We also took the opportunity to create a new case that holds some of the most iconic items from the club's history. These include the match ball from City's miraculous Premier League survival when Liverpool were beaten 1-0 at a breathless Valley Parade. Also from that unforgettable match is Matt Clarke's shirt. Alongside those items are Stuart McCall's boots from the game at Wolves when City gained promotion to the Premier League and the shield the club received to mark that feat.

As fabulous as those items are, the most noticeable change are the two huge images of the FA Cup winners Jimmy Speirs and Bob Campbell which will greet visitors as they enter the museum. Over the coming weeks we will also be erecting similar profiles of the other cup heroes. More photographs will be added as work progresses.

Upcoming Events

2011-08-15T11:34:00.002+01:00

The bantamspast museum is pleased to announce the return of our popular pre-match events. Further details will appear nearer to the time but here are three for the earlier part of the season. As usual admission to the museum and events is completely free of charge.

10 September: The Bradford Bulls Foundation will be giving a presentation on the social history of Odsal Stadium and will present a 20 minute DVD which gives a flavour of the many sports Odsal Stadium has hosted since it was constructed in 1934: from speedway to rugby league; baseball to show jumping.

24 September: Bradford City's Valley Parade ground is 125 years old this year and the actual birthday falls on 25 September. As Bradford City play at home to AFC Wimbledon the day before, that seems like an ideal time to celebrate our beloved ground. The birthday party will take place in the bantamspast museum. Come enjoy a birthday cake, cards and balloons.

22 October: Bradford City's Billy Clarke was the first ever black footballer to score a goal in the first division of English football. He signed for City in 1905. Over 60 years later Ces Podd and Joe Cooke graced Valley Parade as pioneering modern day black players. We celebrate the contribution of black players to Bradford City with an event in the bantamspast museum prior to City's match against Northampton Town. Speakers include Professor Matt Taylor of De Montfort University and bantamspast's own David Pendleton. An international five-a-side match will take place on the pitch between two teams from Bradford's African refugee community. Joe Cooke will be one of our guests of honour.

France-Belgium 2011 - A Final Picture

2011-06-25T06:51:00.002+01:00

Our band of travellers at Jimmy Speirs' grave. An appropriate way to end the celebrations of Glorious 1911.

France-Belgium 2011 - James Comrie

2011-06-25T06:45:00.003+01:00

The huge Menin Gate at Ypres has become the site of one of the best known and poignant ceremonies that surrounds the modern memory of the First World War. Every night members of the Ypres fire brigade play the last post beneath the imposing gate on which are inscribed the names of 56,000 men who died in the defence of Ypres and have no known grave.

Among those names is James Comrie, signed when Bradford City gained promotion to the first division and he replaced Gerald Kirk in the team. When the war came James was living in Lincoln, but for reasons unknown he ended up serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed near Ypres, but has no known grave. As large crowds gathered to witness the last post ceremony, the traffic was stopped and the bugles sounded their lament, I looked for James' name, but found myself pondering the eleven men whose graves we had visited.

My eyes were then drawn to the endless lists of names on the Menin Gate. I read as many as I could, thinking of the places and lives they had left behind. This is no glorification of war, far from it, there was only sadness and a thankfulness that my generation had not been asked to face the horrors that these ordinary men had.

France-Belgium 2011 - Gerald Kirk

2011-06-25T06:40:00.002+01:00

The village of Poperinghe was for British troops a respite from the hell of Ypres. This was the railhead for the infamous Ypres Salient but also a place where bars and restaurants could be visited. For City's amateur centre half Gerald Kirk it was the place he came to die. Badly wounded during the defence of St Julian following the first ever gas attack in the history of warfare, when the German's released poison gas on French colonial troops who ran for their lives at the sight of the yellow gas clouds.

Gerald's company were thrown into a hasty counter attack designed to plug the gap in the line, it was successful but it cost Gerald Kirk his life. Badly wounded he was taken to Poperinghe, but the following day he succumbed and he lies in the Poperinghe Old British Cemetery.

France-Belgium 2011 - Robert Torrance

2011-06-25T06:26:00.002+01:00

As you walk down the gravel path to the Tyne Cot Cemetery halfway up the Passchendaele ridge, a soft woman's voice reads a name, regiment and age at the time of death. It's a beautiful litany of the 300,000 men who died in the infamous Battle of Passchdaele. Tyne Cot is the largest British and Commonwealth war cemetery in the world. Over twelve thousands graves and an additional 36,000 on its Memorial to the Missing. This truly is the Silent City.

Among the names on the Memorial to the Missing is that of Robert Torrance. Probably Bradford City's greatest defender. The auburn haired centre half was the man-of-the-match in the 1911 FA Cup Final replay. Seven years later he lost an arm during an artillery barrage near the Belgian town of Ypes. The field hospital he was taken to was then shelled and Robert was blasted into oblivion. His body was never found. Today he may still lie undiscovered under a Belgian field, or he may lie in a grave marked simply 'known unto God'.

France-Belgium 2011 - Jimmy Conlin

2011-06-21T20:07:00.002+01:00

The Nieupoort Memorial to the Missing was unlike any other we had seen thus far. It was situated in the centre of the town, at a main road intersection with trams and canals nearby.

City's first ever England international Jimmy Conlin is commemorated on the memorial. He was quite a character. The first City player to be sent off, only the second ever player in the world to be sold for over £1,000 and he was at the centre of a riot at Valley Parade against Manchester United in 1906.

Sadly, his brilliant career ended with suspension as drink got the better of him. Jimmy was killed in action at Neiupoort whilst serving with the Highland Light Infantry. He has no known grave and is thus commemorated by name on the memorial. The photograph shows bullet holes in the memorial from the Second World War.

France-Belgium 2011 - Ernest Goodwin

2011-06-21T19:59:00.003+01:00

Line after line of brilliant white headstones. Étaples British Cemetery, within sight of the sea, is a poignant place. Here wounded soldiers were brought from the front. If they survived they were placed on a boat for Britain and home. Sadly, over 12,000 got within sight and sound of the sea, and by association, home, before succumbing to their wounds.

Among the rows of headstones is City reserve Ernest Goodwin. He lived on South Parade right behind Valley Parade's main stand. Ernest was badly wounded by shrapnel attacking Thiepval during the Battle of the Somme. He made it to Étaples, but no further.