A RECENT T&A feature on a French village where Bradford Pals were billeted prior to the Battle of the Somme has unearthed a tale of a ginger beer bottle which crossed the Channel.

Andy Tyne travelled to northern France last year with a group of Bradford City supporters who had raised funds for a memorial stone to Bradford soldiers who served in the First World War. The memorial was installed in Bus-les-Artois, where 8,000 soldiers from across the world, including Bradford men, rested before battle. For many, it was where they spent their last days before advancing to the front line on July 1, 1916.

Still visible in the village are carvings in the church walls of soldiers’ names and regiment numbers, and still standing is an old barn which was turned into a cinema for the lads. Residents are still finding exploded shells in gardens and fields.

In an outhouse are piles of items left behind by the soldiers, including shaving kits, combs, stretchers, helmets, petrol cans and binoculars. One villager compiled a scrapbook of photographs of soldiers going about their duties; sharpening bayonets, ‘de-lousing’ uniforms and hanging their socks on a wall.

The City supporters’ group, called ‘Bus to Bradford’, raised £3,000 for the memorial, made from Portland stone by Bradford funeral directors Joseph A Hey & Son Ltd. It was unveiled it at a ceremony last summer, attended by the Bus-les-Artois mayor and French Army veterans.

“The Pals referred to the village as ‘Bus’. It’s fascinating to see the barn where they slept and words they carved with the tips of their bayonets,” says Andy. “You can enjoy a pint in the same estaminet the Pals would have been familiar with.

“Locals are still finding things from that time. Philipe Rouvillian, a former Mayor of Bus-les-Artois, found a ginger beer bottle in his garden, it was made by Milnes and Son of Undercliffe, as inscribed on the glass. They operated from a site that became the Hare & Hounds pub in Undercliffe. The bottle will either have gone to France with a Bradford soldier or been sent out.

"Monsieur Roubillian digs his garden each spring and every year finds the odd detritus of war,on this occasion he linked the Bradford connection on the bottle with us, and donated it to us when we visited."

The group agreed the best place for the bottle would be Undercliffe Cemetery, where some Bradford Pals are buried and others are commemorated on family graves.

"The public are welcome to see the bottle, it's a fascinating conversation starter when we do tours and open days there," says Andy, who is proud of the special bond between Bradford and ‘Bus’, a place often visited on pilgrimages to WW1 battle sites. “The bond that developed over the years resulted in a generous contribution to the cost of the memorial stone by the mayor of Bus les Artois,” says Andy.