A NEW memorial to the Bradford Pals is to be placed at the heart of the French World War One battlefields.

The Honour the Pals Appeal has seen hundreds of Bradfordians donate money to fund a fitting memorial to the Pals and other servicemen from the district who fought and died in the First World War.

It will be unveiled this summer to mark the centenary year of the Battle of the Somme, as a lasting reminder of the sacrifice of the many young Bradfordians who lost their lives in the bloody battle.

Now the Bradford World War One group, which has been heavily involved in the appeal, has helped to secure a suitable location for the memorial itself.

The stone will be placed in the grounds of the French memorial chapel on the Serre Road between Hébuterne and Serre in northern France, where so many of the Bradford Pals fought and died in the frontline trenches.

It also lies amid many of the other sites where visitors come to pay their respects to the fallen, such as the military cemeteries and the nearby Sheffield Memorial Park, which contains a variety of memorials to other Pals battalions.

Tricia Platts, secretary of the Bradford World War One group, said it was an ideal location.

She said: "It is entirely open for visitors, and coaches and cars can park nearby. There are three British cemeteries, there are French cemeteries and there is the Sheffield park with other memorials.

"It is steeped in local history, really."

The Bradford World War One group placed its own plaque to the Pals in Hébuterne about 15 years ago.

A delegation from the group visit the village every June as the French remember their fallen, to lay a wreath on behalf of the Lord Mayor of Bradford. The group's visits have helped to create a lasting bond between Bradford and Hébuterne, which helped to pave the way for the mayors of both Serre and Hébuterne to agree on the place for Bradford's memorial.

The Honour the Pals memorial itself will be a replica of the existing Pals memorial at the cenotaph in Bradford city centre.

It is now in the early stages of production.

The appeal has so far seen members of the public donate more than £2,700 to help pay for, transport and maintain the new memorial.

Donations are still being accepted. Visit telegraphandargus.co.uk/news/honourthepals or send cheques, made payable to the Honour the Pals Appeal, to Honour the Pals Appeal, Telegraph & Argus, Hall Ings, Bradford, BD1 1JR.