Happy FA Cup Centenary + 1!

101 years ago to the day Jimmy Speirs headed Bradford City's winning goal in the 1911 FA Cup Final replay at Old Trafford. We remember all those who took part in the most glorious episode of our club's history, but in particular we honour Jimmy Speirs and Robert Torrance who subsequently died in the Great War just a handful of years later.

Return to France

Following last year’s successful trip to France and Flanders to visit the graves of the nine Bradford City players killed in the Great War, we are returning to France again this year to follow in the footsteps of the Bradford Pals. We are leaving Bradford on 31 May returning on 3 June.

This year our itinerary is:

Thursday 31 May

Depart
Bradford Interchange 10.22
Arrive
Lille 17.26

Night in Lille

Friday 1 June

Lochnagar Crater

Thiepval/Mill Road Cemetery

Auchonvillers (lunch)

Newfoundland Park Memorial

Serre No.1 Cemetery/Euston Road Cemetery/Sheffield Memorial Park

Bus les Artois (where the two Pals shot for desertion drank the night they disappeared). The bar is being specially opened for us.

Night in Albert

Saturday 2 June

Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval
Harry Ruck, Bradford Northern RLFC

Vieille-Chapelle

Shiot at dawn Bradford Pals
Herbert Crimmins and Arthur Wild.

Lestrem/Le Paradis

The village of Lestrem where the Pals were executed is the final resting place of 97 British soldiers from 1940 who were massacred by the SS.

Night at Lille

Sunday 3 June

Depart
Lille 13.34
Arrive
Bradford Interchange 18.36

bantamspast news

After City play Swindon Town on 5 May the bantamspast museum will close in its current guise. We are making way for the new free school being developed by Wayne Jacobs’ charity One in a Million. The space we occupy has been kindly made available rent free to us by One in a Million for the last two years and we wish to place on record our appreciation of their support.
A working party, consisting of John Ashton, John Dewhirst and David Pendleton from the museum and Dave Baldwin representing the football club, has been established and is examining options for relocating the museum. Although talks are at an early stage it is almost certain that we will survive in some format. With these new developments in mind, the collection of exhibits will be retained and objects loaned will remain in the safe keeping of bantamspast.
One in a Million have pledged to do their level best to retain the popular cafe area for supporters pre-match. The museum will continue in its online guise and around September we are delighted to be helping Paul Firth to publish his long awaited book on the career of City’s all time goal scoring legend Bobby Campbell. Hopefully, by the start of next season we may well be relocated in another area of the ground. One of the options is very exciting and could actually improve both the museum and the facilities offered to supporters prior to and after match. We are very keen that access to the museum remains open and free to all.
Finally, and most importantly, it is people like you, dear reader, who ultimately made the museum the huge success it has become. Whether you loaned an object, hammered a nail into a wall or simply enjoyed the nonsense we have put on for you, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Together we have given Bradford City something that is utterly unique. Not even the museums of Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid can compete with the love and soul that has made ours such a stand out museum. It’s a hackneyed phrase, but ‘for the people by the people’ is surely an apt way of describing bantamspast.

Hand Made in Bradford

The newly opened 'Hand Made in Bradford' shop (formerly Virgin Records) has a display showing former City captain Zesh Rehman in the bantamspast museum. The display is upstairs, please support the shop itself as it is reliant on sales to remain open.