Brownhill Brothers: Bonded By More Than Just Blood

Football spans the generations, it unites communities and it can be the mainstay of many families.

At least, this was the case for the Brownhills; Josh is a professional player for Bristol City, his older sibling Lewis represents the Royal Air Force and the UK Armed Forces.

We went to Ashton Gate to meet up with the pair and Josh started by giving his brother a guided tour of the stadium.

When Josh scored his first goal for Championship side Bristol City, he came through on a promise and saluted his brother, Lewis, who deployed in Kabul at the time.

Josh gave his brothers some of the credit for his career:

 "We’ve always played football together in the back garden - they taught me things, and teased me a lot."

Twenty-two-year-old Josh and 30-year-old Lewis are two of four siblings; they have a middle brother Joel and a younger sister Ellie.

Football is clearly in the blood; they are lifelong supporters of Manchester City, and their dad used to play for the club and also served in the Army.

Josh said:

"He wanted to live his dream for us- he pushed us every day, and if we weren’t good enough he’d tell us."

And Lewis has also made his dad proud: "He’s very happy with the career I chose, playing football as part of it as well," he says.

Lewis has been in the RAF football setup since he was 18 and has played the last six seasons for the UK Armed Forces, and has clearly been a role model for Josh:

"I looked up to my older brother who was going into the RAF - it’s a big thing to represent a country, in sport or in the RAF, and he’s done really well and taken his job very seriously."

Lewis, an aircraft technician, gets posted later this year to become a licensed engineer so he is unsure of his footballing future, but on 20 May, all the Brownhills will be gathering in his honour.

Josh is not the only one who gets to perform in front of crowds at stadiums - Lewis plays his club football for Thatcham Town FC and they have got through to the FA Vase final where they will face Stockton Town at Wembley.

Family gatherings are, in the brothers’ words, carnage.

As for Josh, despite some interest from Premier League clubs, he is dedicated the next three years to Bristol City.

Brothers, linked by more than just family, as football so clearly courses through their veins.