Paying tribute to the most famous fighting brothers of the First World War

The Bradford brothers, Roland, Thomas, George and James in 1914 at their home in Milbank Road, Darlington, which was just round the corner from Holy Trinity Church

At Holy Trinity church, the Bishop of Durham, Dr Hensley Henson, and Captain Thomas Bradford, unveiled plaques dedicated to the 75 parishioners who had died and specifically to Capt Bradford’s three brothers: Lt James Bradford, 27, who had died on the Somme on May 14, 1917, having won the Military Cross; Brig-Gen Roland Bradford, 25, who had died on November 30, 1917, having won the Victoria Cross, and Lt-Cmdr George Bradford, 31, who made a deliberate decision to step to his death in a wash of gunshot on Zeebrugge harbour in order to secure his vessel so that his men could make it ashore. For this action, he too was awarded the Victoria Cross – they are the only brothers in the First World War to win Britain’s highest award for bravery.

The Echo noted that at the foot of one of the plaques was the peculiar words “Abide With Me”. Indeed the vicar of Holy Trinity had asked if more appropriate words should have been included, but the brothers’ mother, Amy, had told him that just days after receiving notification of Roland’s death she had received a letter from publishers De La Rue asking if they should go ahead with printing the 12,000 postcard-sized pictures that Roland had ordered, showing Christ with a soldier and the words “Abide With Me”, as Christmas gifts for each of the men in his brigade.

Abide With Me was the Durham Light Infantry’s hymn which Roland sang each day in the trenches.

Unveiling the plaques, Capt Bradford, who himself had won a Distinguished Service Order, said: “Their service was not a blind one. They knew that, terrible as war was it was more terrible still to surrender, and they were filled with the knowledge of the righteousness of their cause, and thus uncomplainingly laid down their lives for their friends.”

Then the Echo reported that Capt Bradford said: “Let them not forget those left behind. They must help the widows and fatherless, the halt, lame and blind. He did not simply mean charity, but the help of the brother smoothing away the rough places of the world, help that would enable them to live happy, useful lives.”

Can a more powerful or telling phrase – “the help of the brother smoothing away the rough places of the world” – ever have been uttered in the 100 years of remembrance since?