THE Bradford Roll of Honour 1914-1918 Memorial Book records more than 36,600 names of citizens of the district who served in the First World War.
Bradford Council commissioned the Memorial Book more than a century ago as a tribute to those who served, and whose contribution they wished to immortalise for future generations.
Now, thanks to a National Lottery grant, it has been fully transcribed into a searchable format by local historian Ray Greenhough and from next month it will be available to view on Bradford World War 1 Group’s website.
The launch of the original Memorial Book followed a Bradford Council meeting in July 1916 which passed a resolution that the Town Clerk be instructed to “compile for deposit as a permanent record in the City Free Library a list of all Bradford men who have served with HM Navy or Army in the European War and a roll of honour containing the names of Bradford men killed on active service in the War”.
In 1919 a sub committee was set up to carry out the Council resolution of 1916. The minutes from the meeting state: “Roll of Honour: The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Finance and Libraries Committee were appointed a Sub Committee to see to the carrying into effect of the Councils resolution of 25th July 1916, that the Roll of Honour be compiled”...”to contain a list of Bradford Men who served in the forces during the War”.
The Memorial Book was handed to the Libraries Committee on December 1, 1921 with the caveat that “if there are any names omitted it is not the fault of the compilers, who made exhaustive inquiries for information before closing the list.”
Ray Greenough started the huge job of transcribing the document more than two years ago.
Says Ray: “The Local Archives microfiche copy of the Memorial Book had several records illegible through constant usage and I wanted to create a copy with no damaged records, so that all the records would be available for viewing by fellow researchers.
“Unfortunately, Covid came along and severely restricted access to the original Memorial Book, which is held at City Hall. Lynn Geldard, Civic Housekeeper at City Hall, was kind enough to offer her assistance and ensure that between national and local lockdowns I was able to continue viewing the original Memorial Book, from which I did my transcription.”
Early next month all the data will be uploaded onto Bradford World War 1 Group’s website - www.ww1bradford.org - which already provides a wealth of information about local men and women who served in the conflict, and in recent years has been accessed by researchers in 180 countries worldwide.
Says Ray: “The website’s main focus has been to share remembrance with all communities in Bradford today. Men and women from Bradford served alongside participants from all nations.The Commemorative Panels section on the website is richly illustrated with pictures and stories of service in Europe, Gallipoli, East Africa, Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) and Salonika (northern Greece and Macedonia).
“Stories from The Home Front include some of the women who donned uniforms, local resistance to war and local remembrance of the missing and dead.
“Also remembered are the living. As men and women returned to civilian life there was little sense of “normality” and sadly there was no new brave world awaiting them. As the British government struggled to recover the costs of a global war, the expectations of a war-weary people could not be easily met. In 1925, the Telegraph & Argus reported poignantly that around Bradford Cenotaph: ‘Weeping mothers, their hands clasped in those of fatherless little children, laid flowers in this sacred place in memory of loved husbands, and aged couples sorrowfully mounted the steps, their hearts aching with poignant yet proud remembrance of their heroic sons’.”
The search menu of the Bradford WW1 Group website has more transcriptions provided by Ray - including 400 military burials in Bradford and more than 8,000 names on Rolls of Honour and Memorials found across the district.
In 2017 Ray produced a booklet paying tribute to 65 former pupils of Bradford’s Marshfield School who died in the First World War and whose names are on the school war memorial. He has visited war cemeteries in France and Belgium, laying poppy crosses at the graves of Marshfield boys.
The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Martin Love, met Ray at a recent reception at City Hall to thank him for “his amazing achievement in transcribing the Bradford Roll of Honour”. In appreciation, he presented Ray with gifts of a tie and lapel badge bearing the Bradford emblem.
* For more about Bradford World War 1 Group, and to access the Roll of Honour, go to ww1bradford.org
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