Speakers Evening John Broadhead

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Speakers Evening Mon 11th Aug 2014 The Club Speaker for the evening was Birstall Luddite Rotarian John Broadhead. John gave a talk "The Great War And The Part My Father Played In It" John talked about the Bradford Pals Battalion, their journey to France and his fathers role in the trenches and his war experiences both on and off duty in the Somme. The talk gave a moving insight into the life that the "Pals" soldiers had in the Flanders fields around the Somme. John timed the talk to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the start of the first world war.
	John , assisted by Jo , gave a talk about his father's First World War experiences. John based his talk on a diary of 1916 kept by his father, George William Broadhead.
George Broadhead enlisted in the 18th West Yorkshire Regiment (known as the Second Bradford Pals) in March 1915 and served in the Army until his discharge in June 1919. George saw active service in Egypt and France and was present at the Battle of the Somme when his battalion suffered 70% casualties in the attack on 1 July 1916.
	Johns father George third from left with his solder comrades.
John illustrated his talk with a selection of contemporary and current day photographs and maps and extracts from the diary were read to highlight notable events." See the Slideshow for more detail.
LINKS -- The Great War -- Battle of the SOMME -- World War 1 Battlefields Serre

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