A slab of Bradford stone stands in a corner of a French field tonight, in memory of men from the district who lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme.

The Bradford Pals Memorial, also dedicated to those Bradford men who served in the First World War with other battalions and regiments, including the Territorials, is the result of a two-year fundraising campaign set up by the Telegraph & Argus and Bradford Council, with support from the Bradford World War One Group.

Members of the group, accompanied by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Geoff Reid and the Lady Mayoress, Chris Reid, have travelled to the site on the Serre Road where the memorial stands.

Today Councillor Reid and the mayor of Hebuterne, Jean-Luc Tabary, unveiled the memorial, in the grounds of a French chapel overlooking fields where so many Bradford men lost their lives on the Western Front.

Prior to the unveiling, taking place on the weekend marking the centenary of the end of the Battle of the Somme, more than 100 people packed into the little chapel for a moving service of remembrance.

Martin Fearnley, Bradford's Royal British Legion standard bearer, led a procession of standard bearers from provinces around Serre into the chapel, where French dignitaries paid tribute to the Bradford men who died on the Somme, a year after many French lives were lost.

Tricia Platts, president of Bradford WW1 Group, said the memorial was a "lasting reminder of the sacrifice of many young Bradfordians".

She added: "We are honoured to lay wreaths with the Lord Mayor of Bradford and the mayors of Hebuterne and Serre-les-Puisieux, in shared remembrance of French and British troops who fought and died here."

Councillor Reid, who laid a wreath on behalf of Bradford, said: "I dedicate this memorial as an invitation to honour the men who died a century ago and learn from their experiences."

Following this afternoon's ceremony, guests from both parties attended a reception at nearby Serre-les-Puisieux where Councillor Reid presented Monsieur Tabary with a gift of a sculpture of a boar's head, the Bradford coat of arms symbol.

Mnsr Tabary told the T&A: "It is very important for Hebuterne and Bradford to commemorate the men who died in Serre, one of the worst places of fighting in the war. It is a pleasure for us to see our Bradford guests here and we hope to continue this special relationship between your city and our small town."

The memorial stone overlooks the site of trenches, surrounding the heavily fortified village of Serre, from where the Bradford Pals advanced from trenches on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916.

The stone, donated by Frank Marshall from his Fagley quarry and transported by Bradford company Peckover Transport Services Limited, is a "piece of home" for the Pals and other local men lying buried in France. The inscription, a replica of the one in Bradford's Memorial Gardens, ends with the words: ‘And lo a mighty army came out of the North.’