| Remembering the Bradford Pals | |
|  | | Ernest Wilson, apprentice woolsorter |
| | In the middle of World War 1, on July 1st 1916, 2000 young men from Bradford left their trenches in Northern France to advance across no man's land. It was the first hour of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. |
| | | SEE ALSO | | Sense of Place Remembrance
| | WEB LINKS | | | | POPPIES | | Scarlet poppies grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth.
The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields.
The poppy quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in the First World War and later conflicts. | | | PRINT THIS PAGE | | | View a printable version of this page. | |  |
| | In 1974 a BBC North crew accompanied some of the surviving Bradford Pals on what was to be their last trip back to the Somme. Ernest Wilson was a apprentice woolsorter:
Naturally, you know I was keen, and I went to Belle Vue barracks, and I went home and I told my mother, 'I've joined the army' and she said, 'Yes, you have. I'm there in the morning and I'll fetch you out,' so, of course, when I went, they told me, 'You are too young. Grow a bit.' Anyway, I was still an apprentice woolsorter so they sent me with some samples down to Bradford to different firms. As I'm coming back I call in the recruiting office. I was only a lad, like. Anyway I go on the scale and I weigh 108 lbs and the doctor says, 'Oh, this fellow will swell out,' so they passed me and I got a shilling. I went across to the Theatre De Luxe and had a right good time. I went back to work and I told the boss, I'm in the army,' and he said, 'Thank God, we haven't got a navy.' 
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