tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68938915941485049632024-03-06T01:52:53.940+00:00bantamspastA history of Bradford City Football ClubUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-28031505875242801162016-10-02T17:48:00.000+01:002016-10-02T18:18:23.419+01:00bantamspast History Revisited Series<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lxNTsikfQA/V_FAH91GIwI/AAAAAAAAG9M/M1hiLw5SWPk0t0-n2a0I8TkAWGRk3ajQwCLcB/s1600/four-books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lxNTsikfQA/V_FAH91GIwI/AAAAAAAAG9M/M1hiLw5SWPk0t0-n2a0I8TkAWGRk3ajQwCLcB/s400/four-books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">'A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects' by John Dewhirst is the first volume in the bantamspast 'History Revisited' series. This 344 page, all colour publication includes a wealth of memorabilia, relics and souvenirs covering the eleven decades of the club's existence. The author - who has written and contributed to numerous books about Bradford City - provides a detailed history about the Bantams provide a unique perspective. Hunter Davies acclaimed the book by saying that 'this is the best illustrated history of any club I have ever read'. Tweets: #bcafcobjects</span><br />
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'Reinventing Bradford City' by Jason McKeown is the second volume in the bantamspast 'History Revisited' series. It tells the story of the last thirty years since the re-opening of Valley Parade and the club's rollercoaster ride through the divisions via the Premier League and Wembley. Taking 12 of the biggest games from the past 30 years, author Jason McKeown - who manages the popular Width of a Post website - tells the story of a glorious and turbulent era for the club. Featuring interviews with the likes of Sturt McCall and Phil Parkinson, this is a definitive account of how Bradford City has continued to reinvent itself. Tweets: #reinventingbcafc</span><br />
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'Room at the Top' by John Dewhirst is the third volume in the bantamspast 'History Revisited' series. He narrates the origins of sport in Bradford and the emergence of football in the nineteenth century. Bradford is remembered as a centre of industrial revolution but it was also the home of a sporting revolution and by 1890 its leading football club was said to be the richest in England. 'Room at the Top' explains how Bradford became gripped by football, why it was rugby and not soccer, the origins of the different clubs and where they played. Dewhirst also gives the reasons for the blood feud between the Park Avenue and Valley Parade rivals. This is a definitive history and never before has there been such a detailed account of Bradford sport and of how it shaped a local identity. Tweets: #roomatthetop</span><br />
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'Life at the Top' also by John Dewhirst provides the sequel to 'Room at the Top' and explains how rugby came to be abandoned at Park Avenue and Valley Parade and the renewal of a rivalry in the Football League between Bradford City and Bradford Park Avenue. Never before has the rivalry been satisfactorily explained not the reasons why the two clubs changed codes twice in succeeding decades. Discover the real reasons for the secession from the Rugby Union, how soccer was introduced to Bradford and the controversy of merger discussions in 1907. Tweets: #lifeatthetop</span><br />
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Each book costs £20. A limited number of hard cover editions are available at £30 each. Further details from</span><a href="http://johndewhirst.wordpress.com/">johndewhirst.wordpress.com</a>.<br />
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Our books can be obtained direct: bantamspast PO Box 307 SHIPLEY BD18 9BT - cheques payable to bantamspast. Paypal on request - please email <a href="mailto:glorious1911@paraders.co.uk">glorious1911</a>.<br />
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They can be purchased online through <a href="http://www.bantamsbanter.co.uk/shop">Bantams Banter</a>.<br />
EBay: search #bcafcobjects #reinventingbcafc #roomatthetop #lifeatthetop <br />
WATERSTONES as well as AMAZON (through our distributor, Precious Books).<br />
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Also available in WATERSTONES, WOOL EXCHANGE; SALTS MILL BOOKSHOP and the BRADFORD PA CLUB SHOP (#roomatthetop and #lifeatthetop only!)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-56408294079900970332015-11-22T10:25:00.001+00:002015-11-22T10:34:47.750+00:00bantamspast Books: What's Coming Up<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.7px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #7c3b52;">Myths and reality:</span> A new series of books offering fresh perspectives on the history of Bradford football challenging the traditional version of events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">John Dewhirst (pub 2014, on sale in Waterstones)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Acclaimed by Hunter Davies as “the best illustrated history of any club I have ever read”, it provides an alternative history of the Bantams through surviving artefacts and memorabilia. Also includes comparative Park Avenue programmes and relics.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPTmPTgk_YM/VlGXuc_iiiI/AAAAAAAAF78/fY2Miad5jzs/s1600/BCFC_objects_cover_c_150914-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPTmPTgk_YM/VlGXuc_iiiI/AAAAAAAAF78/fY2Miad5jzs/s320/BCFC_objects_cover_c_150914-web.jpg" width="220" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Re-Inventing Bradford City AFC </span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jason McKeown (pub March, 2016)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">The last 30 years of Bradford City have featured a rollercoaster highs and lows. From promotions, relegations, the Premier League, almost going bankrupt, reaching a major cup final, and becoming the pioneers of affordable football.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Featuring interviews with players, managers, directors, journalists and fans, <span style="color: #7c3b52;">RE-INVENTING BRADFORD CITY</span> tells the inside story of how City emerged from tragedy in 1985 and evolved through modern times. How they have continued to reinvent themselves, in both good ways and bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Room At The Top: The origins of Bradford football & </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px;">the rivalry of Bradford FC and Manningham FC </span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">John Dewhirst (pub June, 2016)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">The story of all the pioneering clubs, the military heritage and the origins of claret and amber as well as the red, amber and black. The author’s research and analysis provides a new interpretation of the rugby schism of 1895 as well as the conversion to soccer at Valley Parade in 1903 and at Park Avenue in 1907. Above all it explains the antagonism between the two Bradford clubs which set the tone for the twentieth century relationship.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7flOHxx1ekGPNvW15bIWcO65hg_cbOxH7pd29wsa14nJwZCqUnKKcUmZOcAeVdmV7raW1x1Qwqw3ZSIAdQr1R48IhNFhQ_zdPF8mfyDZoYlT3icSsct3iOcAbU5cMOWXdKXQiEw7S88/s1600/roomtop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7flOHxx1ekGPNvW15bIWcO65hg_cbOxH7pd29wsa14nJwZCqUnKKcUmZOcAeVdmV7raW1x1Qwqw3ZSIAdQr1R48IhNFhQ_zdPF8mfyDZoYlT3icSsct3iOcAbU5cMOWXdKXQiEw7S88/s320/roomtop2.jpg" width="222" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">The final volume in the series, <span style="color: #7c3b52;">WOOL CITY RIVALS</span>, an illustrated history of the twentieth century Park Avenue / City rivalry will be published in 2017/18</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: black;">Further details from Amazon ; </span>widthofapost.com<span style="color: black;"> ; </span>johndewhirst.wordpress.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Join the mailing list and get subscriber details from <span style="color: #7c3b52;">glorious1911@paraders.co.uk</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #f0ac01;">history revisited </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">|</span><span style="color: black;"> </span>bantamspast publications</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-78243794712396683712015-05-11T11:30:00.002+01:002015-05-11T11:30:50.566+01:0011 May 1985Never Forgotten
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcWA_s4i-wIslULWH-nZZtISjLBoIBcAvb9zio-LDfaU5OMOMNlKhhmwhyphenhyphenGMyRuRJHsTBiKn6qdGJi0BkZ2OQcO7lSIhDr74YWe-doY_YmAf-NVULzz-Hs8xo9Lz8Oo4MrndFoaDm5Ww/s1600/plaquecathedralweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcWA_s4i-wIslULWH-nZZtISjLBoIBcAvb9zio-LDfaU5OMOMNlKhhmwhyphenhyphenGMyRuRJHsTBiKn6qdGJi0BkZ2OQcO7lSIhDr74YWe-doY_YmAf-NVULzz-Hs8xo9Lz8Oo4MrndFoaDm5Ww/s1600/plaquecathedralweb.jpg" /></a>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-62841962503201575282015-04-30T17:09:00.000+01:002015-04-30T17:09:02.350+01:00The Lost Sports Grounds of Bradford<h3>
A vintage bus tour<br />Saturday 30 May 2015<br />Noon-5pm<br />£10 per person</h3>
A tour of what is effectively the history of spectator sport in Bradford, in a vintage Bradford City Transport double decker bus and the chance to drink a real ale specially brewed for the occasion. As combinations go it’s not a bad one. To cap it all, the trip is also likely to raise several hundred pounds for the Burns Unit. The cost is £10 per person which includes the bus tour and a ‘cricket tea’ at Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club. Tickets are on sale at The Sparrow Bier Cafe on North Parade.<br />
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Without the support of our good friends at the North Parade duo of The Record Cafe and The Sparrow as well as the Dudley Hill based Salamander Brewery, the tour simply would not have gone ahead. Their support also means that a large proportion of the income from ticket sales will be donated to the burns unit. Their generosity also ensures that we will probably be able to produce a comprehensive guide to Bradford’s lost sports grounds. It will be free to ticket holders, but will also be available, in exchange for a donation to the Burns Unit, after the tour from both The Record Cafe and The Sparrow.<br />
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We are requesting that those on the trip gather at The Record Cafe, North Parade, at 11.30am for a noon departure. It is worth noting that The Record Cafe is open from 11am and boasts an excellent charcuterie and cheese menu for those who may require lunch. We are hiring a former Bradford City Transport double decker bus: a 1947 AEC Regent to be precise. We depart North Parade at noon to visit eight locations that have a particular resonance in Bradford’s sporting history. At each ground there will be a short description of the venue and its history. The stopping places are:<br />
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Quarry Gap: Pedestrians, knur and spell and an American Indian. Exploring the pre-history of Bradford sport.<br />
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Carlisle Road: Claret and amber and the road to Valley Parade.<br />
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Horton Road: W.G. Grace, Aboriginals and the early history of Bradford cricket.<br />
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Park Avenue: Barbarians in the Dolls House. Rugby’s great split, Yorkshire’s favourite cricket ground and strange tales of Bradford Park Avenue AFC.<br />
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Scholemoor: The case of the stolen stand. Rugby Union’s Bradford bolthole, Bobby Robson and a plastic pitch.<br />
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City Stadium: Room at the Top? Film cameras, a pack of greyhounds and a baseball match.<br />
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Greenfield: Gone to the dogs. A dog races a motorbike as John Poulson looks on.<br />
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Birch Lane: Northern Soul. Rugby League clings on against the odds while a referee flees down Manchester Road.<br />
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Highlights include a half hour stop to explore the overgrown terraces of Park Avenue and Bradford Northern’s former ground of Birch Lane that was adjacent to Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club. In the club house a ‘cricket tea’ will be laid on free for all ticket holders on the trip. You will also be able to take in part of the match between Bowling Old Lane and Windhill in the Bradford Cricket League. After tea the bus will return to the Sparrow on North Parade for around 5pm where the FA Cup Final (5.15pm kick off) will be screened.<br />
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Places are restricted to fifty in line with the capacity of the bus. There has already been a good deal of interest in the trip, so we are hopeful that it will quickly sell out. If that does happen, then not only will everyone have a good day out, a significant amount of money will also be donated to the pioneering Bradford Burns Unit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-42581413232164480282015-04-19T18:03:00.001+01:002015-04-19T18:04:56.291+01:00The Annual bantamspast Museum 1911 Dinner<h3>
26 April 2015<br />The Bradford Club<br />6.30pm for 7.00pm</h3>
<h4>
£20 two-course meal, a football ground archaeologist as guest speaker and exhibition billiards match featuring the 2011 English national champion.<br />All profits from the evening will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.</h4>
On Sunday 26 April, the 104th anniversary of the day that Bradford City became the first winners of the current FA Cup, the annual bantamspast dinner will take place at the historic Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard in the city centre. Diners are requested to meet in the club’s bar at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm sitting. A guest speaker will follow the two-course dinner. This year’s speaker is football ground archaeologist Jason Wood. He led an exploratory dig at Bradford Park Avenue in the autumn of 2013 and previously worked on the memorialisation of Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park ground. Jason will attempt to explain what inspired him to swap Roman archaeology for defunct football grounds. He will also show a short film shot at Bradford Park Avenue by Neville Gabie, the lead artist for the London 2012 Olympics.<br />
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The dinner also falls close to the 100th anniversary of the death of the first Bradford City player to lose his life in the First World War. Gerald Kirk died on 24 April 1915 at Poperinghe in Belgium. He was a centre half at Valley Parade, but was also a keen billiards player. Reports in the Bradford newspapers suggest that Gerald Kirk played at a high level against some of the best players of the era. To honour his memory an exhibition billiards match will take place in the Bradford Club’s stunning billiards room. It will feature Richard Lodge, the 2011 English national champion and Mark Hirst. The historic Hey’s billiard trophy will also be on display. The trophy is a solid silver depiction of a billiards match and was played for annually in aid of the Bradford Hospital and Convalescence Fund. The trophy is still in use to this day and is competed for by snooker teams from across Bradford.<br />
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Tickets for the dinner are available from The Record Café, North Parade and the Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard. The evening is strictly non-profit making and, once the modest expenses have been met, all proceeds will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-80885441872487865402015-02-13T16:49:00.000+00:002015-02-13T17:24:23.973+00:00A History of Bradford City AFC in Objectsby John Dewhirst<br />
Published by bantamspast, October 2014<br />
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A unique 344, all colour publication which features more than 1,000 items of City memorabilia and historic club artefacts. It includes a 67,000 word definitive history of the club including the story of organised supporter groups at Valley Parade to the present day. The book provides an alternative history of the club as recorded by surviving artefacts and memorabilia and has been well received by football supporters not only in Bradford but across the UK.<br />
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Feedback reviews can be read on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0956698441" target="_blank">Amazon</a> but also include the following comments:<br />
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Hunter Davies: 'Lucky old Bradford City - this is the best illustrated history of any club I have ever read. I am so envious of all John's football treasures and memorabilia, which will appeal to and interest and amuse and fascinate all real football fans, not just those of Bradford City'<br />
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Simon Parker, Telegraph & Argus: 'a unique way of following the clubís path to the present day. I can't recommend it highly enough'<br />
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David Conn, Guardian: 'A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects, a new book by lifelong supporter John Dewhirst, appears not much more promising than a compulsive collection of memorabilia but it is much more than the sum of its badges, pennants and other ephemera which the author admits his wife and three daughters would eagerly de-clutter tomorrow. Any risk of appearing parochial is avoided by the care with which the objects are set out, the clean design and Dewhirst's detailed explanations. It adds up to a labour of love, testament to a cherished institution and the 111 years in which it has played.'<br />
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Tom & Dom of BANTAMS BANTER: 'the greatest toilet reading book of all time'<br />
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City supporters have also acclaimed it as possibly the best book published ever about the Bantams and it will appeal to fans of all ages.<br />
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Available from Waterstones, Wool Exchange and the club shop as well as Amazon, price £30.<br />
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Further information email <a href="mailto:glorious1911@paraders.co.uk">here</a>.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-37156970116193025382015-02-09T20:19:00.001+00:002015-02-09T20:19:54.487+00:00bantamspast Annual 1911 Dinner<b>26 April 2015</b><br />
<b>The Bradford Club</b><br />
<b>6.30pm for 7.00pm</b><br />
<b>£20 two-course meal, a football ground archaeologist as guest speaker and exhibition billiards match featuring the 2011 English national champion.</b><br />
<br />
All profits from the evening will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.<br />
On Sunday 26 April, the 104th anniversary of the day that Bradford City became the first winners of the current FA Cup, the annual bantamspast dinner will take place at the historic Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard in the city centre. Diners are requested to meet in the club’s bar at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm sitting. A guest speaker will follow the two-course dinner. This year’s speaker is football ground archaeologist Jason Wood. He led an exploratory dig at Bradford Park Avenue in the autumn of 2013 and previously worked on the memorialisation of Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park ground. Jason will attempt to explain what inspired him to swap Roman archaeology for defunct football grounds. He will also show a short film shot at Bradford Park Avenue by Neville Gabie, the lead artist for the London 2012 Olympics.<br />
<br />
The dinner also falls close to the 100th anniversary of the death of the first Bradford City player to lose his life in the First World War. Gerald Kirk died on 24 April 1915 at Poperinghe in Belgium. He was a centre half at Valley Parade, but was also a keen billiards player. Reports in the Bradford newspapers suggest that Gerald Kirk played at a high level against some of the best players of the era. To honour his memory an exhibition billiards match will take place in the Bradford Club’s stunning billiards room. It will feature Richard Lodge, the 2011 English national champion and Dave Saxton, the organiser of the Bradford Billiards League. The historic Hey’s billiard trophy will also be on display. The trophy is a solid silver depiction of a billiards match and was played for annually in aid of the Bradford Hospital and Convalescence Fund. The trophy is still in use to this day and is competed for by snooker teams from across Bradford.<br />
<br />
Tickets for the dinner are available from The Record Café, North Parade and the Bradford Club at Piece Hall Yard. The evening is strictly non-profit making and, once the modest expenses have been met, all proceeds will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. If the event is a success we would expect that amount to be several hundred pounds.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-24804950102256123882014-11-16T17:03:00.000+00:002014-11-16T17:03:21.647+00:00Bradford Pals badges<div style="text-align: center;">
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The likelihood is that Bradford City AFC will be adopting the Bradford Pals badge in 2015 (refer page 43 of 'A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects') and ahead of this bantamspast is commissioning a limited edition run of 100 enamel badges to feature the Bradford Pals / West Yorkshire regiment crests against a claret and amber background. The initiative is to help raise funds for the appeal but also to produce what we consider to be a tasteful derivation of the badge before other variants start to appear. BCAFC does not have the monopoly on Pals commemorations but the claret and amber colours of the regiment are part of a shared heritage. The bantamspast badges therefore include claret and amber but deliberately have not incorporated a BCAFC crest. A bantamspast inscription on the reverse serves to denote the association with BCAFC supporters.<br />
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The badges are designed as shown. The horse of the WY Regiment will be produced in 3D. They will be 20mm in diameter and inscribed on the back: BANTAMSPAST X OF 100 etc and are being sold in pairs.<br />
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A little number remain available. If you would like to order a pair please confim by <a href="mailto:badges@paraders.co.uk">email</a>. Collection / despatch and payment arrangements will be confirmed later this month. The cost per pair of badges will be £15.<br />
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Please ensure that your name, mobile number and postal address are clearly stated in your email.<br />
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On Saturday 29th November Dave Pendleton is organising a special event in conjunction with supporters of Leyton Orient to raise money for the 'Honour the Pals Appeal'. It takes place from noon at Jacobs Beer House, Kent Street, Bradford. It is a free event, but donations will be welcome towards the T&A's appeal to erect a memorial to the Bradford Pals on the Somme.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-64237053100813058432014-10-23T20:57:00.000+01:002014-10-23T20:57:14.343+01:00Football and the Great WarThe supreme sacrifice of the players of Bradford City and Leyton Orient<br />
29 November 2014<br />
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As the world commemorates the centenary of the Great War there is a growing appreciation that the war affected all aspects of everyday life. Football was no exception. Although the 1914/15 league season was played to its conclusion – albeit against a background of mounting criticism – football and footballers increasingly played a full part in the conflict. Matches were used as occasions to boost recruiting. Indeed, at half-time during the first division Bradford derby at Park Avenue, Bradford City’s famous England international Dickie Bond wore his Bradford Pals uniform and made an appeal to spectators to join up.<br />
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Inevitably, like men in all walks of life, as the war progressed footballers were killed and injured in ever increasing numbers at the front. By the war’s end nine Bradford City and two Bradford Park Avenue players had been died. Those losses were replicated across the country. Leyton Orient, then known as Clapton Orient, lost three players killed and ten others wounded.<br />
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On Saturday 29 November Bradford City play Leyton Orient. This allows an opportunity to reflect on the losses of both clubs in the war to end all wars. Supporters of City and Orient have previously organised trips to the battlefields of France and Flanders. David Pendleton, from Bradford City’s <b>bantamspast</b> museum, and Steve Jenkins, vice chairman of the Leyton Orient Supporters’ Club, will speak about their trips to the Western Front and give a brief summary of the footballers who paid the ultimate price. Bradford poet Glyn Watkins will close proceedings with a reading.<br />
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The event will raise money for the ‘Honour the Pals Appeal’ being organised by the Telegraph & Argus newspaper. The appeal is seeking to erect a memorial to the Bradford Pals at Serre on the Somme where, at 7.30am on 1 July 1916, 2,000 Bradford Pals left their trenches to attack the German lines. In the space of a few hours 1,770 were killed or wounded. It was without doubt the darkest day in Bradford’s history.<br />
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The fund raising event will commence at noon over lunch at the Jacobs Ale House, Kent Street, in the city centre. The landlady of Jacobs, Christina Wagstaff, has kindly offered to donate profits from the bar food to the ‘Honour the Heroes’ appeal. At 12.30pm David Pendleton and Steve Jenkins will make their presentations. After 1pm there will be a walking tour via the Cenotaph to the Midland Hotel’s Spirit of Bradford bar where there is a display about the hotel’s links with Bradford City FA Cup winning team of 1911. Two of the cup winners who are pictured on the display, Jimmy Speirs and Robert Torrance, died in the Great War. There we will toast their memory. Those attending the match at Valley Parade will then move on towards the game.<br />
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The presentations and walk are free, but we will be asking for donations towards the ‘Honour the Pals’ appeal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-217196605041302152014-09-08T16:51:00.002+01:002014-09-08T16:52:27.946+01:00Bradford City and Remembering the Great WarAcross the world commemorations have begun to mark the centenary of the Great War. The next four years will witness numerous acts of remembrance. As Bradford City AFC lost nine players in the Great War it is important that we, as a club and a community, consider an appropriate manner to honour, not just the nine players, but also the thousands of Bradfordians, who died in that terrible conflict.<br />
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The Great War broke out on 4 August 1914 just as the 1914/15 football season was about to get underway. As one of the top five sides in the country, Bradford City approached the new season with an expectation of success in both the league and cup competitions. Bradford (Park Avenue) had joined their neighbours in the top flight giving the city of Bradford two first division teams. At first it was not expected that the outbreak of war would have too much impact on the football season. This was a reflection of the popular sentiment that ‘it would be all over by Christmas’. Both Bradford clubs admitted soldiers free of charge to their matches and made substantial donations from gate money to the War Relief Fund. </div>
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As the war ground to a stalemate it was realised that a large army would be required to achieve victory. To boost recruiting local battalions were formed so that men could serve alongside their friends, these became known as the ‘Pals battalions’. The appeal to local patriotism was obvious and the Pals battalions adopted the name of their respective towns. Those recruited in September 1914 became known as the Bradford Pals. Each new recruit was given a metal badge displaying the city of Bradford coat of arms as its centre-piece. The Bradford Pals were based at the Valley Parade Barracks which was just behind City’s Main Stand. In October 1914 almost the entire Pals battalion of 1,069 men were among a 25,0000 crowd that saw City thrash Aston Villa 3-0. Fittingly Oscar Fox, who was to later serve with the Pals, scored a second half hat-trick. </div>
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Although the continuation of the Football League fixtures attracted some criticism, there was little doubt that the game aided fund raising and recruiting. At several matches the Bradford Church Lads’ Brigade collected money for the Lord Mayor’s War Fund and cigarettes for the soldiers. Even the highly anticipated first ever Football League meeting between Bradford City and Bradford (Park Avenue) was overshadowed by the war. While the majority of the 29,802 crowd would have enjoyed the City’s thrilling 3-2 victory, there was no escaping the conflict. At half-time the former president of Bradford City, Alfred Ayrton, made a short, but rousing, speech, which was followed by showers of money and cigarettes onto the pitch. By December 1914 it was reported that ten thousand Bradford men were in military service. Arguably, the last echo of Bradford City’s golden pre-war era came on Boxing Day 1914 when 35,000 spectators crammed into Valley Parade for the visit of Everton. Many were in uniform and apparently there was a strange atmosphere in the ground. Perhaps it was recognised as the last great gathering before many would leave for the front and the possibility that some would never see Bradford again. </div>
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As 1915 dawned the fact that of 1,800 professional footballers only 122 had enlisted in the armed forces was used to criticise the game. It was a little unfair as most footballers had signed one year contracts before the war had broken out. Given the ‘it’ll be all over by Christmas’ sentiment it is understandable that there was not a flood of footballers to the recruiting offices in 1914. However, during 1915 that situation would change dramatically. Of course, some were already at the front. Frank Buckley, who had cost City a considerable transfer fee in the summer of 1914, had been released from his contract and was serving with the Footballers’ Battalion. Bradford City’s former centre half Gerald Kirk and the Bradford (Park Avenue) amateurs Donald Bell and Kirby had also enlisted. Two City players, Dickie Bond and Harry Walden, both of whom had previously served in the army, joined the Bradford Pals in April 1915. In time several City players would also join the ranks of the Bradford Pals: the Scottish international goal keeper Jock Ewart, Cleckheaton born Irvine Boocock, Joe Linford, and, as previously mentioned, Oscar Fox. </div>
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The final game of the 1914/15 season was the derby match at Bradford Park Avenue on Wednesday 28 April 1915. The Bradford Daily Argus carried full length portraits of Bond and Walden in their army uniforms. On the same page the sad news of the death of former City player Gerald Kirk was announced. He died of wounds sustained whilst leading his company into action in Belgium. The kick off was moved back to 6pm to allow thousands of workers in overalls to attend the match straight from their factories. At half-time the 25,000 crowd watched Captain Burton of the Bradford Pals hold up the front page of the Bradford Daily Argus that featured the photographs of Bond and Walden. Dickie Bond donned his corporal’s jacket to join his captain in appealing for new recruits. Avenue’s 3-0 victory should have been a moment to savour for the Avenueites, but instead it was the last Football League match for both clubs for four long years. </div>
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On the morning of 1 July 1916 the 2,000 men of the Bradford Pals left their trenches to make an attack the German lines during the Battle of the Somme. In little more than an hour 1,770 had been killed or wounded. It was one of the darkest days in the history of the city of Bradford.<br />
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Throughout the period 2014 to 2018 Bradford City AFC will be commemorating the loss of the nine players who died via a series of articles in the match day programme. Clearly, given the close ties with the Bradford Pals, and the recruiting drive during 1914 and 1915, that period in our history should be remembered. One suggestion is that the club should adopt the badge of the Bradford Pals for the 2015/16 season. It would be a visual reminder of those who went before us and endured so much. The club invited the publication of this article in order to open a debate as to how to commemorate the Bradford Pals at Valley Parade. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-90202489830292384552014-08-09T12:53:00.000+01:002014-08-09T12:57:17.897+01:00Coming Soon - A History of Bradford City in ObjectsYou can pre-order your copy by completing the form you can download from <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17029699/History%20of%20BCAFC%20in%20Objects%20-%20order%20form.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-7061462934887818372014-06-02T18:06:00.003+01:002014-06-02T18:11:46.801+01:00France-Belgium 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
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And so the fourth annual <b>bantamspast</b> trip to the battlefields of the Great War is over. A party of twenty-six travelled around northern France in glorious sunshine, paying another pilgrimage to recognise the sacrifice and tragedy of those lost fighting in what should have been the war to end all wars.<br />
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The poignancy of locations such as Vimy Ridge, now a Canadian national historic site, where 3,598 Canadians lost their lives taking the strategic ridge, or France’s Notre Dame de Lorette Cemetery where 22,970 French soldiers have found their final resting place, is impossible for even the most casual visitor to ignore. However, equally effecting are places such as the tiny British cemetery at the village of Ors where Wilfred Owen, one of the greatest war poets, is buried, or the Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery, the beautiful last resting place of three Bradford Pals.<br />
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At many of the locations we visited research by members of the group ensured that we were able to pay our respects to Bradfordians buried so far from home. Their surnames and the streets where they lived were familiar to us. From Exeter Street to Leeds Road; Manningham Lane to Toller Lane, we stood and remembered our fellow townsmen. The one Bradford City link came at Bethune where we visited to grave of John Ayrton, the son of Bradford City’s first ever chairman Alfred Ayrton. We were asked by his niece (Alfred’s granddaughter who still lives in Manningham) to lay flowers at his grave. We were delighted to do it and remember a man whose father helped found our football club and even came up with the name ‘Bradford City’.<br />
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Next year we begin to enter the period where the centenaries of the deaths of the nine Bradford City players killed in the Great War begin. The first will be Gerald Kirk, who died on 24 April 1915. We hope to be at his graveside in Belgium one hundred years to the day after his untimely death.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-78184950959629182692014-05-20T20:08:00.001+01:002014-05-28T20:28:11.635+01:00bantamspast Re-opens in a Book<b>A History of Bradford City AFC in Objects</b><br />
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A 330+ page, all colour book; planned publication at the end of September/early October, 2014.<br />
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The book records the changing match day experience at Valley Parade and the acceleration of change in the last thirty years, coincidentally since the fire disaster. The content of the book promises to be unique in comparison to histories previously written about football clubs in Britain, let alone Bradford City AFC. This is not a statistical record about players or games, it is literally an illustrated history of the club in objects but not limited to the popular '100 objects only' formula.<br />
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<i>A History of Bradford City AFC In Objects</i> has been written and compiled by John Dewhirst who has one of the largest and most comprehensive private collections of BCAFC memorabilia. The book will include items from his collection supplemented with that provided by other collectors and supporters as well as material previously featured in the <b>bantamspast</b> museum. Most of the content has never previously been displayed or included in earlier publications.<br />
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John was co-founder of <i>The City Gent</i> in 1984. He previously compiled <i>City Memories</i> in 1997 and has assisted with a number of books about the club including <i>Of Boars and Bantams</i> in 1988, <i>Along The Midland Road</i> in 1996, <i>Glorious 1911</i> in 2010 and <i>Paraders: The 125 Year History of Valley Parade</i> in 2011. John has also been involved with a number of projects celebrating the history of the club and in April, 2011 he organised the sell-out dinner at the Midland Hotel to commemorate the centenary of the FA Cup triumph.<br />
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Profits from the sale of the book will go to Bradford City AFC. Proceeds of badge and book sales will fund historic displays in Valley Parade to keep the club’s history alive and accessible.<br />
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Subscriber copies can be ordered until 31 August, 2014. Subscriber copies will have a different cover to those which go on general sale in the autumn.<br />
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Ordered copies can be collected from Valley Parade either at a launch event (tba) in the 1911 Club or from reception. Copies can be posted to those unable to collect in person.<br />
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We are also promoting a number of limited edition badges. These are strictly limited to one each per person. The badges will be posted separately to the books.<br />
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If you wish to collect the badges in person before a forthcoming game at Valley Parade then please notify by email to<br />
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glorious1911 at paraders.co.uk<br />
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Payment can be made by paypal through prior arrangement. Otherwise please make cheques payable to <b>bantamspast</b>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-24416810609317614482014-05-11T16:52:00.003+01:002014-05-11T16:52:47.888+01:0011 May 1985<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMmskOjGx-fPmif3XjsNgKgR_GMnc-ujCph5DKFWS2ynF7XqoZo1OAvprAWBZKEvoJY9eOm-ePMUG3RdZEZrlAWQnfXKeGpXktqN_xWLwqT73j5_VM0AYTTNRNzZeknryCF4FAeSQZTs/s1600/11may.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">As the Town Hall bells boomed out eleven o'clock, the sky began to cry gently onto the crowd gathered around the memorial to the Valley Parade fire. </span><br />
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The light spots of rain were almost a physical expression of the pain still felt twenty-nine years on from the afternoon when fifty-six people did not come home from a football match. The rain drops also reflected the quiet dignity that has marked the public way that Bradford has long dealt with the aftermath of the terrible tragedy that befell us on that sunny May afternoon. </div>
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In the year that the world begins to remember the centenary of the Great War, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect on the fact that how the Bradford fire is remembered will inevitably change. </div>
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Personal communications have been transformed in recent years. Today we have instant communication. In the aftermath of the fire people queued to use telephone boxes to let relatives know that they were OK. I was standing in the Paddock that fateful day and until I walked into the house my family had no idea if I was alive or dead. </div>
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Today we can hand out praise or condemnation in an instant. Those opinions will be read by thousands, potentially millions, in the blink of an eye in all parts of the globe. Our brilliant ideas, and our very worst, are there for all to witness. We can judge and be judged in an instant. </div>
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The Bradford fire used to be publicly remembered once a year at 11am in Centenary Square. Today it can be remembered by websites and social media and shared by millions on their laptops and mobile phones. How the fire is remembered can be compared to how others remember similar tragedies. </div>
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Hillsborough seems to be the benchmark. A small number of fans appear to be outraged if the fire fails to receive a one minute silence at other clubs matches or saturation media coverage. There were even unsubstantiated reports of fans being berated for not joining in the applause in the 56th minute of last season's League Cup Final. </div>
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That aspect saddens me. We are not in some kind of grief competition with Liverpool or any other club. The events, and more importantly aftermath, of Hillsborough were completely different to what occurred at Valley Parade. There are very good reasons why Hillsborough has received such a high media profile. That tragedy has been kept in the public spotlight because it had unresolved issues and ones that had to be campaigned hard for. I have long been a supporter of the Justice campaign and I can only admire the tenacity of the victims families who have had to not only deal with their personal grief, but also have had to fight institutionalised attempts to smear the victims and avoid the truth of Hillsborough. I sincerely hope that they finally find the closure (such as it can be) they richly deserve. </div>
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As the rain fell gently upon us, and Phil Parkinson became the first City manager to make a reading at the memorial service, I was reminded that we have been lucky to have been able to deal with the fire in our own way. Sheltered from the mass media, Bradford quietly did its own thing. </div>
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Future generations will remember 11 May 1985 differently, that is inevitable. The fact that they wish to remember must be a good thing. We who were there on that terrible afternoon should not preach to them, but gently remind them of how, and why, we have chose to remember it. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-49646737966496379752014-04-19T18:12:00.000+01:002014-04-19T18:12:06.703+01:00bantamspast Annual DinnerTickets are selling fast for the <b>bantamspast</b> museum’s annual 1911 dinner which takes place on Saturday at Bradford City AFC’s 1911 Club.<br />
The organisers of the bantamspast museum host an annual dinner on 26 April, the anniversary of Bradford City’s famous FA Cup triumph of 1911. That feat is all the more poignant given that 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, a conflict in which two of the cup winners, Jimmy Speirs and Robert Torrance, were killed.<br />
This year the anniversary falls on a Saturday and so it is appropriate that the dinner will taker place in Bradford City’s 1911 Club overlooking the Valley Parade pitch on which the likes of Speirs and Torrance played during the club’s golden era in the years before the Great War. Diners will enjoy a three-course carvery dinner and then listen to the stories of the nine City players killed in the Great War and proposals of how the club, and its supporters, could mark the centenary of the conflict.<br />
The dinner takes place on Saturday 26 April, 7.30pm for 8pm at the 1911 Club, Valley Parade. There are less than twenty places remaining and the event is expected to sell out. Tickets are available by telephone from the 1911 reception on 0871 978 200.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-51674730045974325882014-02-07T20:48:00.003+00:002014-02-08T10:45:27.814+00:00The 1911 Annual Memorial Dinner<div style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ever since the success of the dinner that commemorated the centenary of Bradford City’s FA Cup triumph, the organisers of the <b>bantamspast</b> museum have arranged an annual dinner on 26 April, the date when Jimmy Speirs' headed goal won the famous trophy for the Bantams. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This year the 103</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>rd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> anniversary falls on a Saturday, so it is appropriate that the host venue will be Bradford City’s own 1911 Club. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The evening will comprise a three course carvery dinner and an after dinner speaker. The cost is, perhaps appropriately, £19.11. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As we approach the centenary of the Great War, the </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;">bantamspast</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> museum’s David Pendleton will speak about the impact of the conflict on the football club and will reveal plans in place to commemorate the centenary. Nine City players died in the war, including the captain and goal scorer in the FA Cup final Jimmy Speirs and the man-of-the-match Robert Torrance.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The dinner takes place on Saturday 26 April, 7.30pm for 8pm at the 1911 Club, Valley Parade. There are only sixty places available, so the event is expected to sell out. Tickets are available from the 1911 Reception.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-51116332495607099102013-11-01T19:48:00.000+00:002013-11-01T19:48:28.995+00:00Black History Month 2013<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">On the morning of the Wolves home match the <b>bantamspast</b> museum was delighted to welcome a tour celebrating black history month. Two minibuses of visitors were welcomed to Valley Parade by the museum’s David Pendleton. Sat overlooking the pitch, the visitors heard about the manner in which City legends Joe Cooke and Ces Podd helped shape the outlook of a generation of City supporters. They also learned about Billy Clarke, a mixed race player who scored City’s first ever goal in the top division of English football in 1908.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">For some of the visitors it was their first ever visit to Valley Parade. That said, all of them knew about Nahki Wells, so who knows we may see some of them back for a match in the near future.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-90108275228013507092013-10-04T19:40:00.000+01:002013-10-04T19:50:06.491+01:00bantamspast and Black History Month 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>bantamspast</b> museum is delighted to be once again supporting Black History Month in 2013. In 2011 we hosted a hugely successful event involving former City player Joe Cooke as well as speakers from the International Centre for Sport History and Culture based at De Montfort University. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Last year we were unable to host an event due to the relocation of the museum. On the morning of 26 October 2013 David Pendleton will be welcoming a Black History Month bus tour to Valley Parade where he will talk about the perhaps surprisingly long history of black footballers in Bradford. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The bus tour is being organised by the museum’s good friend Katherine Canoville. Entitled the Bradford African Caribbean Heritage Bus, it will take place on 26 October and will conclude Bradford’s Black History Month 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The event will celebrate Bradford’s African & Caribbean Cultural Heritage, stopping off at key historical cultural and community sites within the Bradford District. The tour will visit sites associated with Bradford’s black community’s cultural achievements, scientific, artistic and sporting landmarks including: Billy Clarke, Bradford City’s first black footballer; Mary Seacole, who pioneered British Healthcare in the community; and hundreds of undocumented heroes and she-roes within the local district, who deserve to be put on the map.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>THE TOUR:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bus will arrive at The Hilton Hotel, Bradford at 11.00am</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bradford City Football Club – Valley Parade 11:30am</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">David Pendleton talks about </span><b style="letter-spacing: 0px;">bantamspast</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> and Black players at BCFC</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bus tour leaves BCFC at 11:50am to arrive at Frontline Initiative</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Delroy Dacres to talk about growing up in Manningham & Young Lions Café through the Bradford riots & beyond.</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bus tour leaves Frontline Initiative at 12:20pm to Malik House for Snapz Exhibition and WordSmithz (spoken word) and talk from Bradford Action for Refugees, Nigerian Community Association of Bradford, The NILE Project, Peace Studies from Bradford University/Peace Museum – refreshments will be available.</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Bus leaves Malik House 2.20pm and arrives at Claremont at 2.30pm</span></li>
<li><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">ACAP (African And Caribbean Achievement Project), Claremont, Bradford BD7</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>Image above shows City stalwart Ces Podd tussling with Southampton's Peter Osgood during the 1976 FA Cup quarter final at Valley Parade</i></span></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-21452343437419367442013-09-30T10:10:00.000+01:002013-09-30T10:10:14.793+01:00Bolton Woods People's Street Party<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The <b>bantamspast</b> museum was delighted to be able to play its part in making the first Bolton Woods street party a great success. Held on Saturday 31st August, the party was the first of its kind for Bolton Woods. It was centred around the New Vic Public House on Livingstone Road and children's activities took place both at the pub and at the Bolton Woods Community Centre.The event was opened by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Khadim Hussain, who welcomed the community in attendance and praised their community spirit following the recent stabbings in the area. Also in attendance was Labour Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Wrose & Windhill). Live music entertainment was provided by the Ali Campbell/UB40 tribute act and local folk singer, Creedy and there, with Caribbean Fusion from Sheffield providing </span>a Caribbean food stall<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The landlord and landlady of the New Vic are keen City fans and several coaches left the pub for both of City’s 2013 Wembley appearances. Therefore, the raffle, in aid of the charity Little Heroes, had several City related prizes: a signed Bradford City shirt; signed Bradford City team picture; and a signed copy of the book "Paraders, the 125 year history of Valley Parade" by David Pendleton. The football club provided the signed shirt, while the museum provided the framed photo and book. The raffle raised nearly £200. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It is hoped that there will be a repeat of this successful event in 2014. The museum and the football club are delighted to have played a small part in its success.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-61086457651158873072013-08-19T07:51:00.000+01:002013-08-19T08:23:41.117+01:00CTC 73 Forty Years Young<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This weekend marks the fortieth anniversary of the formation of the independent travel club CTC 73. Initially started after the club stopped running coaches to away games, CTC 73 eventually found its niche as the operator of choice for those supporters who enjoyed sampling the public house provision of market town <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>. In days when the local police were decidedly against visiting supporters drinking with a ten mile radius of the town hosting the football match, CTC 73 decided to go to the nearest market town and enjoy a glass or two there. You would be mistaken for thinking that the trippers were attracted by the ambience and architecture of the ancient market towns, the reason for visiting market towns was a simple one – they are packed with pubs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The tales from these trips are now the stuff of legend. However, although the trips were far from sober affairs, they were almost always welcomed with open arms (and tills). From Ely to Beverley; Dereham to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Stamford</st1:city></st1:place>; <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Bury St</st1:street> <st1:city w:st="on">Edmonds</st1:city></st1:address> to Brigg, we have left an often positive view of Bradford and its people. The main one being: those boys can certainly drink!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To celebrate CTC 73’s fortieth birthday there will be a reunion/gathering at the Fighting Cock on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Preston Street</st1:address></st1:street> immediately after the Sheffield United home match on Saturday 24 August. Be there or be sober!</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-12249631045521392013-08-03T06:44:00.001+01:002013-08-03T06:56:06.665+01:00An Artistic Donation<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Bradford City’s 2012/13 season will be long remembered for the club’s double Wembley appearances. The remarkable season has inspired one supporter to commission a painting which will hang in the club’s bantamspast museum. The painting is a combination of private and public memories for Kathryn Hey. As she explains: </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“It was over 32 years ago (1981) when my father took me to see my first football match at Valley Parade. Sadly this was the only game we saw together before he passed away. Thanks to his work colleagues, who kindly took me under their wing, I carried on attending. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I know he would have been as thrilled and happy as myself for last season’s incredible achievements, the best in my memory. ‘A dream’ and ‘sensational’ are words that spring to mind. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“It was for this reason I decided to commission Paul Town, a Football Stadium artist and fellow Bradford City fan to paint this canvas as a thank you to all the players, staff and management at Bradford City. Paul has worked from an original 1950’s print and photographs to create an impression of Valley Parade as my father and many others would have remembered it - including the advertisement for Hey’s brewery that was located on nearby Lumb Lane. The painting also features the Bradford City locomotive, which regularly roared past the ground - the original locomotive nameplate is on display in the main entrance at Valley Parade. As well as loving football, by father was a keen steam train enthusiast and had one of the largest collections and displays in the north of England (most of which now is in the National Railway Museum at York). I take after him for my love of football and trains!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Throughout the season I’ve made a great many new friends and spent much of my free time at the club. I’ve always been made to feel so welcome. I’m sure that like myself and many others, my father would have been so proud of our club. A big thank you to Bradford AFC and to all the people I’ve met along the way.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For the artist the painting has been a labour of love. The Baildon based builder recently began depicting football grounds and has produced and sold several paintings of grounds as diverse as Sunderland’s Roker Park, Heart of Midlothian’s Tynecastle and Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane. Paul said:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“It has been a real honour to be commissioned to paint this piece for the Bradford City museum by lifelong City supporter Kathryn Hey.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I am myself a city supporter of nearly 40 years and found the research to produce this greatly satisfying. In coordination with both Kathryn, and bantamspast museum’s David Pendleton, we together came up with a design based upon how Valley Parade and the surrounding areas would have looked around the 1940s. I hope to produce many more period paintings of Valley Parade in the future which hopefully will be of interest to all diehard city supporters both young and old. My artwork can be viewed on my Facebook page, Stadium Portraits Paul Town.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The painting will be on display in the bantamspast museum, currently housed in Bantams Bar on the Kop, in time for the start of the new season. The museum’s David Pendleton said: </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“We are delighted to receive this donation from Kathryn. It is a very kind gift and we thank both Kathryn and Paul for the painting, which we hope will be enjoyed by many City fans this season and beyond. It is a wonderful way to mark the unforgettable 2012/13 season.”</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-92173152194955339992013-06-21T08:27:00.002+01:002013-06-21T08:46:47.218+01:00<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.northernlines.org.uk/">Northern Lines</a> is a community theatre project, supported by the National Lottery. On 27th and 28th of June we are presenting the second of our intergenerational cross community projects that responds to and seeks to transform our city. Considering how Bradford City’s two trips to Wembley have reverberated around the world this year,<br />
Northern Lines are celebrating and investigating the history of Bradford City and the community that surrounds it. Our community actors will bring to life the circuses, cup victories, riots, high rolling businessmen and fans that make up the club, its history and our city.<br />The show is at The New Bradford Playhouse 7:30pm on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th June. Tickets cost £3 and are available from <a href="http://thenewbradfordplayhouse.co.uk/#/whats-on/4568968326">here</a> and on the door.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-38999389826733396502013-06-01T21:02:00.000+01:002013-06-01T21:07:00.744+01:00Belgian Blog - Day Two<br />
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Glorious sunshine greeted the second day of the <b>bantamspast</b> trip to the battlefields of the Great War. In the morning we left a football, used in the warm up at Wembley this year, at the site of the 1914 Christmas Day truce when British and German troops played football in no man's land. The site is marked by a wooden cross where visitors regularly leave footballs. Bradford City chairman Mark Lawn kindly supplied a ball and he wrote a message of remembrance from all at Valley Parade.</div>
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The day was to be dominated by thoughts of City's captain and goal scorer in the 1911 FA Cup Final Jimmy Speirs. A chance meeting at the site of one of the huge British mines exploded on the Messines Ridge with a group of Scottish doctors, who were undertaking a cycling tour of the Ypres area, gave us an insight into the fate of Jimmy Speirs. One of the doctors had written a book entitled 'War Surgery 1914-1918' examining the treatment of wounds during the conflict. Jimmy Speirs was shot through the thigh during the Battle of Passchendaele. The doctor explained that he would have suffered a broken femur. By 1917 the rapid strapping of such wounds, using a specially developed strap, vastly improved survival rates. However, it had to be applied almost immediately and as Jimmy was shot advancing across an open field it is probable that such a procedure was unlikely. His fate was probably sealed the moment he was shot. The muddy shell hole he was placed in lessened even further the chances of survival as infection was probable. In the end Jimmy was left in the shelter of the shell hole as his company continued their advance. The intention was to return, but sadly they were unable to and Jimmy was never seen alive again. In all probability he died an agonising and lonely death.</div>
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In the afternoon we visited the exact spot where he died, The two farms, named Iberian and Gallipoli by the British troops, from where the German's opened fire on Jimmy's company are still in existence - although they were probably rebuilt after the war. The open field over which Jimmy advanced offered little cover. We looked across the windy farmer's field where our great cup winner met his untimely end, it was difficult to visualise how it would have looked during the war. Appropriately we ended our trip at the graveside of Jimmy Speirs. Once again Bradford remembered.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-10188052880108083872013-05-31T20:00:00.000+01:002013-06-01T21:02:44.905+01:00Blog from Belgium - Day One<br />
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The annual <b>bantamspast</b> trip to the battlefields of the Great War is this year concentrating on the Ypres Salient in Belgium. Scene of some of the most bloody fighting of the conflict, Ypres became the final resting place of Bradford City's FA Cup winning captain and goalscorer Jimmy Speirs and the man-of-the-match in the replayed final Robert Torrance.</div>
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The first day commenced in drizzly conditions at Essex Farm Cemetery where John McCrae wrote the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' whilst serving with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Adjacent to the cemetery is the large obelisk memorial to the 49th West Riding Division. The division included the Belle Vue based 1/6th West Yorkshire Regiment. Among their casualties was City reserve Ernest Goodwin. Part of the divisional artillery was the 2nd West Riding Royal Field Artillery. They were based at the Valley Parade Drill Hall. When they mustered to depart for France at the start of the war it is reported that they used the Valley Parade pitch to store their guns and horses.</div>
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We moved on from Essex Farm to visit several cemeteries. The highlight was Lijssenhoek, which is the second largest British war cemetery in the world with some 9,901 burials. A highly informative visitor centre illustrates the work of the adjacent casualty clearing station which treated 300,000 injured soldiers.</div>
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After lunch and in increasingly glorious sunshine we searched for the site of the location where Robert Torrance was mortally wounded. Sadly he has no known grave. However, just across the fields from where the action took place where Torrance lost an arm and later died, is Klien Vierstraat British Cemetery. It is the home of bodies discovered after the war and if Robert does have a grave he is likely to be among the 109 that are marked 'A Solider of the Great War, known unto God'.</div>
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We continued the unforgettable day at the famous locations of Sanctuary Wood and Hill 60. Tomorrow we will seek out the location where Jimmy Speirs met his untimely end. Find out if we were successful when the blog is published tomorrow night.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893891594148504963.post-53797413342970387882013-05-29T16:48:00.000+01:002013-05-29T16:48:26.901+01:00Latest News from bantamspast<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">How to reflect such an unforgettable season? That will be the task in hand for the small <b>bantamspast</b> team this summer. We are delighted to have been invited to work closely with Mark Lawn to produce a new 2013 Suite at Valley Parade. Although we are at a very early stage of developing ideas, the overall vision is an exciting one and we hope we will produce something that will capture the magic of this remarkable season and its historical context. As the project progresses we will post further details, but with a major Cup Final and a Play-Off Final victory to reflect on, we are not short of content and artefacts – including a large shiny trophy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">On Thursday 30 May the annual <b>bantamspast</b> trip to the battlefields of the Great War gets underway. This year the focus is <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belgium</st1:place></st1:country-region> and in particular the infamous Ypres Salient. Several City players met their deaths near the Belgian town. The FA Cup captain and goal scorer Jimmy Speirs was killed during the terrible Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. We are planning to visit the location where he was killed and of course his final resting place. The man of the match in the FA Cup Final replay Robert Torrance was blasted into oblivion in 1918 and his body was never found. We will remember him at the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing where his name is inscribed. At nearby Poperinghe is the grave of City’s amateur centre half Gerald Kirk. He was killed in the wake of the first use of poison gas in warfare in 1915. Leading his company in a counter attack trying desperately, and successfully, to defend a gap in the Allied lines. The Dalesman paid with his life. The centre half who replaced Gerald in the Bantams’ team was James Comrie. Another man with no known grave his name is inscribed among the 56,000 of the Menin Gate at <st1:place w:st="on">Ypres</st1:place>. Of course, this terrible litany is only a tiny fraction of the huge losses suffered at <st1:place w:st="on">Ypres</st1:place>. Many of the people on the trip will be bringing stories of their own family’s loss with them, as well as that of the wider City of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bradford</st1:place></st1:city>. If it proves practicable David Pendleton will provide a daily blog of the trip which takes place between Thursday 30 May and Sunday 2 June.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We are also collaborating with the <st1:place w:st="on">Bradford</st1:place> based theatre company Northern Lines in the writing of their production <a href="http://www.northernlines.org.uk/productions.htm">‘City Stories: It’s Only the Cup. War, Love and Football’</a>, which will be staged at the New Bradford Playhouse, Little Germany, 27/28 June.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Finally, we will be adding around a dozen new framed images to the displays in our museum in exile at Bantams Bar on the Kop. At the moment admission is only available to holders of Bantams Bar season tickets and individual match day tickets. However, we have also added a couple of new images to our museum in exile display at the Corn Dolly public house on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bolton Road</st1:address></st1:street> in the city centre. Admission is open to all – for the price of a pint!</span></span></div>
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