Brigadier-General Roland Boys Bradford, VC, MC (23 February 1892 – 30 November 1917) was a

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officer and an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

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forces. His elder brother, Lieutenant Commander George Bradford, was also awarded the Victoria Cross, making them the only pair of brothers to be awarded the medal during the First World War.

Early life

Bradford was born on 23 February 1892 at Witton Park,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, to George Bradford.Bradford, Roland Boys
Commonwealth War Graves Commission and educated at

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a benevolent institution which provided a boarding school education for sons of poor or deceased members ...

in Surrey. He had three brothers, James Barker, Thomas Andrews and George Nicholson,Bradford, George Nicholson
Commonwealth War Graves Commission of which he was the youngest "and by far the liveliest, endowed with an excellent mind and an ebullient sense of fun".

Military service

Bradford was commissioned into the 5th Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

unit) in 1910. He transferred to the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

in 1912, joining his regiment's 2nd Battalion with the rank of second lieutenant. He was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in February 1915. On 1 October 1916, Bradford, now a temporary lieutenant colonel commanding the 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, was awarded the

(VC) for his actions at

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, France. His citation for the award was published in the ''

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'' on 25 November, reading:

Promotion and death

On 13 November 1917, at the age of 25, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general; he was the youngest

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

of modern times (and the youngest promoted professionally, earlier young generals were simply due to position). He was

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"by a stray German shell" at

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, France, seventeen days later, on 30 November 1917. All three of Bradford's brothers also served in the First World War. Two, Lieutenant Commander George Bradford of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and Second Lieutenant James Barker Bradford, also of the Durham Light Infantry, died in service. George and Roland were the only pair of brothers to win the VC in the First World War. His third brother, Colonel Sir Thomas Bradford, became honorary treasurer of

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and High Sheriff of County Durham in 1941.

Legacy

Bradford's VC and Military Cross are currently on loan to the University of Durham and are held at Palace Green Library adjacent to

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, England. Medals are not on display, but members of the public are able to consult individual medals or groups of medals from the collection in the Barker Research Library within Palace Green Library. A memorial garden and statue to Bradford was unveiled in 2017. The British government commemorated the centenary of the First World War by installing an inscribed stone at the recipient's birthplace. Local councillors from Bradford's birthplace at Witton Park decided to use this occasion to create a memorial garden at the site with help from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, Groundwork North-East and

Durham County Council Durham County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham (district), County Durham in North East England. The council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, bein ...

. A metal statue by

Ray Lonsdale Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

called ''The Ball'' was installed as part of the memorial garden. This depicts a soldier returning home from the front together with a pitman who is comforting him and passing a football to him representing giving him back his old life before the war.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Roland Boys 1892 births 1917 deaths British Army generals of World War I British Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in World War I People educated at Epsom College Recipients of the Military Cross People from Witton Park Durham Light Infantry officers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army brigadiers Military personnel from County Durham Territorial Force officers