A COMMEMORATIVE stone was unveiled on Saturday in a County Durham pit village to mark the centenary of one of the village lads winning Britain’s highest honour for military bravery.

It went alongside a similar stone that was unveiled in March 2017 to his younger brother who also won the Victoria Cross in the First World War.

The ceremony in Witton Park, near Bishop Auckland, was performed in front of 18 members of the Bradford family, including the brothers’ niece, Waveney Brooks, who had travelled up from Kent.

“It’s lovely to find that the memory of the Bradfords is still alive,” she said. “We were amazed last year, and today is no different, and we are very, very grateful.”

Her mother, Amy, was the younger sister of Roland, who was commemorated last year for his bravery on the Somme, and George, who was commemorated on Saturday for his extraordinary action during a naval raid on Zeebrugge harbour.

“She was very proud of them, very fond of them although they used to tease her a lot,” said Mrs Brooks. “She kept the brothers very much in the forefront of family life.”

Lt-Cmdr George Bradford was killed exactly 100 years ago today (Apr 23), on St George’s Day, which was also his 31st birthday. With the raid stuttering because choppy seas made it impossible for his men to land, Bradford calmly climbed to a top of a crane on his deck, jumped on to the harbour wall with an anchor, thus securing the ship, but causing every enemy gun to be trained upon him.

A naval commander read out the citation for Bradford’s VC, which said his action was “one of absolute self-sacrifice, without a moment’s hesitation, he went to certain death”.

Cmdr Catherine Jordan, of the Royal Navy, said: “Winning a Victoria Cross is such a huge honour, and this is unique for brothers, so that makes it important for us.

“Also, in the North-East, there’s a large Army footprint up here but probably since the decline of shipbuilding, there’s not been such a maritime focus, so we are delighted to be involved.”

She had travelled from Portsmouth for the occasion, and was joined by sea cadets and reservists from HMS Calliope, in Gateshead.

The stone was unveiled by the Lord-Lieutenant of Durham, Sue Snowdon, and the ceremony was followed by performances by pupils from Escomb and St Chad’s primary schools, and St John’s secondary school. St John’s choir was accompanied by the Ferryhill Town Band in the first performance of The Soldiers Hymn, a newly commissioned work which is part of the Durham Hymns project.

Mrs Snowden said: “I’m delighted that the Navy has embraced the occasion as it is important that they know we value their service, and I’m really pleased that the local schools are so involved – it is part of their heritage, it gives them an understanding of the sacrifices that were made, and of the immense changes that that cruel war brought on.”

Witton Park has used its unique place in First World War history as the birthplace of the only brothers to win the VC to improve its environment. A pretty memorial garden has been made on the site of an old cinema, with a moving statue, by the celebrated sculptor Ray Lonsdale, at its heart.

County Councillor Rob Yorke said: “You hear the words ‘community spirit’ a lot but Witton Park epitomises those words through the way the people have worked tirelessly over the last couple of years to unveil the two plaques. They have helped raise the funds with the county council for the Brothers in Arms statue and to create the memorial garden.

“All the villagers are so proud of the Bradford family and their achievements, and we also remember the other 68 servicemen from the village who died in that war.”

The memorial garden is just 100 or so yards from Carrwood House, now two residences, where the brothers were born. Their father was a colliery manager, and they lived the first years of their life in the village before moving into Darlington, where they went to school.

But for Witton Park, the memorial project doesn’t end with the two stones in place. “For next year, we have commissioned Ray Lonsdale to design an entrance archway to the garden, and we’re going to be planting 68 trees on the village green,” said Cllr Yorke. “We are looking to incorporate their names in the garden so it will become the focus of our annual Armistice Day services.”