ONE of the enduring impressions of the First World War is that the ordinary soldiers in the Trenches were “lions led by donkeys”, brave young soldiers sent to senseless slaughter in doomed attacks planned by callous officers.

But visitors to The Somme 1916 exhibition will discover that in the Durham Light Infantry, the truth is far less simple than the stereotype.

Lieutenant Colonel Roland Bradford, born in the village of Witton Park near Bishop Auckland, was among those officers who questioned some of the actions which cost scores of North East men their lives.

The commander of the 9th Battalion DLI, Lt Col Bradford led a force of men from Bishop Auckland, Crook, Chester-le-Street, Durham, Gateshead and Birtley sent to take an ancient burial mound, the Butte de Warlencourt, in the final weeks of the Battle of the Somme.

“Looking back at that attack it seems that the results which would have been gained in the event of success were of doubtful value and would hardly have been worth the loss which we would suffer,” he wrote.

“It seems that the attack was one of those tempting, local operations which are so costly and which are rarely worthwhile.”

Lt Col Bradford was awarded the Victoria Cross for “conspicuous bravery and good leadership” under immense fire at The Somme, and became the youngest British Army brigadier general of modern times. He died just 10 days after his promotion, aged just 25, at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917.

Along with his brothers, his is a tale of extraordinary military service, with the quartet collectively receiving two Victoria Crosses, a Distinguished Service Order and two Military Crosses. But three of them paid for their heroism with their lives.