Bradford Lads in 10th (Service) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment

Comments containing the names of Bradford men who served with the 10th (Service) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment were kindly posted on this blog by Dave Stowe some time ago. I have edited the text and now made it available via the main BradfordWW1.co.uk website with permission from Dave.

If you have any Bradford connections in other regiments please let me know I would be happy to provide a link to the names or host the list with a link back to your site

A Tale of two dates

While researching the mobilisation of Bradford’s territorial forces I came across an instance where the date of a particular event published in several books did not match the date that I believe to be true according to newspaper reports at the time. This is a lesson for us all in checking and rechecking source information and not just reprinting previously published errors.

The event was the departure from the City of Bradford of the 6^th Battalion Prince of Wales’s Own West Yorkshire Regiment Territorials. At the outbreak of war they quickly started preparations for mobilisation at their Belle Vue Barracks, engaging recruits up to the full battalion strength and kitting them out. Within just a few days they were ready to depart.

Two modern local publications on the First World War contain two different dates for the event. The earlier of the two publications states

“At 7.30 am on Tuesday, 11 August the 6^th West Yorks marched down Manningham Lane to the Midland Railway Station at Foster Square”

                                                                       Raw, D (2005) Bradford Pals

This contradicts the date in a second more recent publication which states

“Having recruited to a high standard the extra men they needed and purchased the necessary horses and mules, they left Bradford for East Yorkshire on 10^th August”      

                                       Woods, M and Platts, T (eds) (2007) Bradford in the
                                                                                                    Great War

I checked the notes I had previously made at the local studies library of newspaper reports of the event and I believed the 10^th August to be the correct date. However, I considered it wise to consult a contemporary source to verify the facts. Published in 1920 the West Riding Territorial’s in the Great War was thought likely to be an accurate record of events, it states

“On August 11^th the Battalion went by rail to its war station at Selby”

                                    Magnus, N (1920) The West Riding Territorials in the
                                                                                                   Great War

Oh! Not what I expected to find. I then remembered that I had looked at a souvenir booklet of the Territorials mobilisation at West Yorkshire Archives I checked my photographs for the text which stated

“The 6^th Battalion, popularly designated the Bradford Rifles, left the city early on the morning of Monday, August 10^th”

                                 Yorkshire Observer (1914) The Mobilisation of the 

                                               Bradford Territorial’s: Pictorial Souvenir

Surely the souvenir brochure written just days after the event had the correct date! I finally managed to double check the edition of the Bradford Daily Telegraph for Monday 10^th August 1914 which reports that

 “When the bugle sounded for breakfast parade at the Belle Vue Barracks at five o’clock this morning the signal was more momentous than the men at first realised... And, at 6 this morning, the men were ready to leave Belle Vue... they marched to the Midland Station... it was not until nearly 9 o’clock that the first train left”

Although I haven’t yet checked the battalions war diary to see if their mobilisation from Bradford is recorded in it, I can breathe a sigh of relief confident that my original research notes were correct. It just goes to show that is always worth checking as many contemporary sources as you can to confirm details rather than relying on secondary sources.

p.s. will report back on my trip to London and other activities in next weeks blog

Recruitment – nicknames for the Pals Battalions

Having relocated the Recruitment text to the main BradfordWW1 site I wanted to make sure the discussion started on the blog wasn’t lost so here it is...

The Leeds City Battalion - later 15th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment(1st Leeds Pals), had been given the rather unfortunate nick-name the "Feather-Bed" and "Titty-Bottle Battalion" in its early formation. Some locals had believed that members were cossetted and had a comfortable time of things; billets, training, issue of uniforms, etc. Instances are to be found in The Yorkshire Evening Post and Laurie Milner provides a good account in "Leeds Pals". Is there anything to suggest that 1st and 2nd Bradfords received similar taunts or had an unofficial nick-name?

AnonymousFeb 2, 2012 10:43 AM

Yes after the First Bradford Pals had first formed they enjoyed a nice life compared to the long hours of daily toil they were used to, including a 2 hour lunch break in which they could wander around the city.


The 'Bradford Pals' by David Raw confirms this "Afterwards many of them reflected that this was the best time of their lives. Compared with the Leeds Pals who were sent off to camp in the wilds of Colsterdale near Masham as early as September the Bradford men knew they were having a 'cushy time' They were determined to enjoy it."


"The fulsome media coverage began to cause a backlash, particularly from relatives of men in the regulars and the Territorials who were failing to get the same attention."


The two Bradford Pals battalions met up with the Leeds Pals at Fovant and together with the Durham Pals formed the 93rd Brigade of the 31st (Pals) Division.


I highly recommend this book which follows the Bradford Pals from recruitment to January 1918 when the British Army was reorganised.

BradfordWW1 Feb 2, 2012 12:21 PM

Many Thanks. It is some time since I read David Raw's book and I will certainly consider your recommendation and buy it this time. I hope to be visiting Owl Trench and Serre in the near future and will pay my respects to the Bradford lads while I'm there.

AnonymousFeb 3, 2012 04:07 AM

Regarding nicknames apparently the 1st Bradford Pals were called "chocolate soldiers" after a handsome brass case containing chocolates and cigarettes was presented to each man by Francis Laidler the owner of the Alhambra Theatre.


Anyone know of nicknames for the other ‘Pals’ Battalions?

BradfordWW1 Feb 3, 2012 04:25 AM

Recruitment and more

I have just transferred the blogs about recruitment in Bradford to the main website and have added the latest update “Reserves for the Pals – Weeding out the unfit.”

I want the content of the BradfordWW1 site to cover the main issues faced by Bradford at the time of the First World War and to keep the blog for more informal discussion with you all about the issues.  Please join in the discussions!

I will continue to post updates on my visits to the archives on the blog as and when I have time. I have taken to live tweeting from the archives as so often by the time I have returned home and found time to get to the computer I have forgotten what it was that I had found so interesting/amusing at the archives so it is easier if I tweet about it while I am there.

So please follow my twitter feed where I also tweet notable dates from Bradford’s history or watch the home page where the twitter feed is available.