In the middle of World War 1, on July 1st 1916, 2000 young men from Bradford left their trenches in Northern France to advance across no man's land. It was the first hour of the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Originally the soldier carried a bayonet (as did the statue of the sailor on the opposite side of the cenotaph).

These bayonets were long thought to be too warlike and were removed permanently when the monument was cleaned.