battlefield tours for schools

WE ARE ZEITGEIST

BATTLEFIELD AND HISTORICAL TOURS AND IN-SCHOOL WORKSHOPS

At Zeitgeist Tours for Schools, we believe in the power of hands-on, engaging history experiences. We break the mould of the conservative battlefield school tour that’s been more or less unchanged for decades. Our team of passionate educators and history experts design high quality tours that go far beyond the traditional classroom experience.

Meticulously tailored to your exam requirements, we use hands-on activities, challenges, games and expert guides to connect with students and deliver a modern, exciting tour fit for the 21st century. Zeitgeist Tours: Where the past comes alive and exam success becomes an exciting reality.

We’ve just had the most outrageous, spectacular and fulfilling school trip to the battlefields. We’ve fired WW1 era rifles, tried to put gas masks on in the required time, worn several uniforms, heard any number of ridiculous jokes, worn trench armour, heard incredible stories, never been bored once even for a moment and even had birthday surprises thrown in along with surprises for a retiring teacher that joined us for their last trip. To add to this we think we might have the first teenage English person to fire a musket at Waterloo and annoy a Frenchman in over 200 years (she dropped his musket). I won’t be organising any battlefield trip again without Zeitgeist because without them none of these incredible experiences would be possible. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Head of Humanities

I would only ever use these guys now. From the moment I enquired the service has been nothing short of outstanding! We took 42 year 9/10 pupils and every single one of them was completely captivated. Our itinerary fully supported the Western Front section of the course, and the guys asked us which areas of the course we wanted more focus. The tour was built on relationships at every site we visited, and the knowledge and stories shared were both personal and relevant. Nothing was too much, and every request I made during the booking process was met without question! Yes this tour was more expensive than all the other quotes I got, but it was worth every single penny!

History Teacher

This week I took 31 of our Year 11 pupils away on a WW1 battlefields tour with the best company I have ever worked with – Zeitgeist Tours for Schools (…) 3 days jam packed with fun, adventure, learning and a really meaningful experience. We survived gas attacks, shot pistols, climbed into bunkers, we participated in the last post service, we bought (and ate) large quantities of Belgian chocolate, we paid our respects to individuals lost in the Great War and so much more. I cannot recommend them highly enough, cost may be slightly more, but my goodness, worth every penny

Head of History

Here at Zeitgeist Tours for Schools, we believe in ditching the “one-size-fits-all” approach to history education. That’s why we offer completely bespoke tours, tailored specifically to your curricular needs and exam requirements. 

You Choose the Learning Focus – We Craft the Perfect Itinerary!

Based on your input, our team of passionate educators and history experts will then work their magic, building an itinerary aligned with your chosen destination and learning objectives.  We’ll incorporate key historical sites, interactive activities, and engaging challenges to ensure your students are actively learning and having a blast.

Need a Starting Point? Let Us Be Your Guide!

While we encourage you to unleash your creativity and craft your dream tour, we understand you might need some inspiration. Why not have a look at our most popular battlefield and historical tour models here or just  use t he convenient online form to tell us to take care of everything for you.

Contact Zeitgeist Tours today and let’s embark on a historical adventure together!

zgtours4schools

#Adventureoverlecture #schooltrip #battlefieldtrip #edexcel #aqa #historyteachers #teachergram

#Adventureoverlecture #schooltrip #battlefieldtrip #edexcel #aqa #historyteachers #teachergram ...

The huge interest in our `Crime and Punishment` workshops is keeping us busy this week. #teachingresources #teachergram #gcse #PearsonEdexcel #Edexcel #workshops #history

The huge interest in our `Crime and Punishment` workshops is keeping us busy this week. #teachingresources #teachergram #gcse #PearsonEdexcel #Edexcel #workshops #history ...

Most beautiful weather for a visit to this important memorial. We strive to connect every student, no matter of what cultural and religious background, to the exciting and fascinating legacy of our mutual past. #Edexcel #historyteacher #battlefieldtour #diversitymatters #diversityandinclusion #WW1 #india #Empire #sikh #punjab

Most beautiful weather for a visit to this important memorial. We strive to connect every student, no matter of what cultural and religious background, to the exciting and fascinating legacy of our mutual past. #Edexcel #historyteacher #battlefieldtour #diversitymatters #diversityandinclusion #WW1 #india #Empire #sikh #punjab ...

Early bird visit to Thiepval before heading back to Belgium. #ww1 #battlefieldtrip #gcse #schooltrip

Early bird visit to Thiepval before heading back to Belgium. #ww1 #battlefieldtrip #gcse #schooltrip ...

Richard Townsley leading students underground on the hunt for soldiers` graffiti created during the Battle of the Somme. Superb photo by Alison Kempson #PearsonEdexcel #historyteacher #ww1 #medicine #history #teachergram #teacherlife

Richard Townsley leading students underground on the hunt for soldiers` graffiti created during the Battle of the Somme. Superb photo by Alison Kempson #PearsonEdexcel #historyteacher #ww1 #medicine #history #teachergram #teacherlife ...

Visiting the beautiful CWGC cemeteries is important, but we think it is important to show students what lies beneath the surface. Due to our links to historians, anthropologists and archaeologists all over Europe, we are able to make the archaeology of the battlefields a central theme of our tours. #battlefieldtrip #teachergram #battlefieldtour #gcse #schools #historyteacher #ww1

Visiting the beautiful CWGC cemeteries is important, but we think it is important to show students what lies beneath the surface. Due to our links to historians, anthropologists and archaeologists all over Europe, we are able to make the archaeology of the battlefields a central theme of our tours. #battlefieldtrip #teachergram #battlefieldtour #gcse #schools #historyteacher #ww1 ...

Lovely visit to Pond Farm before heading up to the Somme! #battlefieldtrip #history #gcse #teachergram

Lovely visit to Pond Farm before heading up to the Somme! #battlefieldtrip #history #gcse #teachergram ...

Taking the time to actually talk with the students and not `at` them, is something all our guides do naturally. #battlefieldtrip #battlefieldtour #gcse #teachergram

Taking the time to actually talk with the students and not `at` them, is something all our guides do naturally. #battlefieldtrip #battlefieldtour #gcse #teachergram ...

WHY TRAVEL WITH ZEITGEIST

WE ARE DIFFERENT

• We understand the crucial role source analysis plays in exam results.  Our guides lead students through the steps of historical enquiry using primary sources, fostering critical thinking and a deeper understanding that translates directly to exam success.  This approach sets Zeitgeist apart from the competition, ensuring your students gain valuable skills that will have a lasting impact on their academic journey. 
• Our tours are activity-driven, bringing students face-to-face with the past. Students will not only handle artefacts, they will also interpret firsthand accounts and engage in hands-on history activities and tasks that encourage them to think like the historical events they’re studying. 
• We believe learning flourishes through a genuine connection between students and educators. Our expert guides personalise the experience, unlocking international perspectives from all sides of history.  We want our students to develop a deeper understanding of the past and their place in the world to become engaged global citizens.
• Learning thrives in an atmosphere of excitement and engagement. At Zeitgeist Tours, we understand that fun, laughter, camaraderie, and teamwork create a powerful foundation for learning. A school trip shouldn’t be a passive experience! Zeitgeist is Adventure over Lecture. 

ADVENTURE OVER LECTURE!

A team of experts, value for money, quality accommodation, national curriculum, fully bespoke and exam-relevant.

No pre-packaged tour models. We design your tour from scratch, based on your wishes and needs. 

WE CARE ABOUT OUR STUDENTS

I’ve accompanied students on countless battlefield tours with various operators. However, I must say that none have come close to the exceptional experience offered by Zeitgeist Tours. The commitment to exam relevance was unmatched. Every aspect of the tour was meticulously aligned with our curriculum, ensuring that students weren’t just having a good time but also consolidating crucial knowledge directly applicable to their studies. The sheer level of fun and engagement was a revelation. Activities of all kinds were woven in throughout the tour, transforming learning into an adventure. Students were consistently absorbed and motivated, a far cry from the occasional boredom I have seen when standing around in cemeteries with other tour providers.

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BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE

There is nothing more that brings history to life – and helps embed that history on the young brain – than visiting the places where it happened. This is particularly so in the case of the military events which have shaped so much of our history.

Experiencing the trenches of World War I, or the walking amongst the WW II bunkers at Normandy; understanding how Wellington used the land at Waterloo to secure victory, or any number of sites in the UK from the Civil War to the Battle of Britain.

Classic Battlefield Tours has taken many school groups on this journey of discovery, and has an enviable reputation for being able to deliver the entire experience with very little need for teaching staff to get bogged down in administration and logistics.

We deliver:

Through a single point of contact

A tailored package

With full insurance, and enhanced DBS and non-assured STF/LOTC Badge

Including guides, travel and accommodation as a premium service

We want to make your life as easy as possible, while delivering for your pupils a truly memorable and inspiring experience that will enhance their love of and enthusiasm for the history they are being taught.

European tours:

A three-day, two-night Tour of Normandy. Led by battlefield guides Dan Hill, and Rocky Salmon, this tour will focus on the D Day landings and the Battle of Normandy from June to August 1944.

Sites included are:

• Pegasus Bridge
• Merville Battery
• Sword Beach
• Longues-sur-Mer Battery
• Omaha Beach
• Omaha cemetery
• La Cambe German cemetery
• Operation Goodwood
• Villers-Bocage
• The Falaise pocket and Memorial de Montormel Museum

All meals are provided.

Accommodation: The staff and guides will all be in single rooms with ensuite bathrooms, and the students are in multiple dorms with ensuite bathrooms.  Towels, bedding and all meals are provided.

A three-day, two-night Tour of Berlin. Led by battlefield guides Dan Hill, and Rocky Salmon, this tour will focus on the military history of Germany 1870-1945 and The Cold War.

• Brandenburg Gate
• Holocaust Memorial
• Hitler’s Bunker
• Topography of Terror Museum
• Saschenhausen Concentration Camp
• Grunewald Station
• Olympic Stadium
• Reichstag dome visit
• Berlin Wall
• Checkpoint Charlie

Accommodation:  The staff and guides will all be in single rooms with ensuite bathrooms, and the students are in multiple dorms with ensuite bathrooms.  Towels, bedding and all meals are provided.

Ypres & Somme

A three-day, two-night Battlefield Tour of the Somme and Ypres. Led by battlefield guides Dan Hill, and Steve Chambers, this tour will focus on the two major British engagements of the Great War at Passchendaele 1917 and the Somme in 1916 with a specific focus on the involvement of the local residents in those battles.

• Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery,
• Vancouver Corner & Herts Regt Memorial,
• Essex Farm,
• Passchendaele Memorial Museum
• The Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.
• Sunken Lane at Beaumont Hamel,
• Newfoundland Memorial Park,
• Ulster Tower,
• Lochnagar Crater,
• Thiepval Memorial.
• French memorial at Notre Dame De Lorette

Battle of Hastings

Battle of Bosworth

Battle of Britain

Testimonials: 

“On Monday and Tuesday, year 8 visited the key battle sites of the Battle of Bosworth. Last term, year 8 learnt about the rise of the Tudors and the pivotal role the battle played in their ascendency. The students were able to stand on the very site where Richard III and his men camped on the penultimate night before the battle. Students were shown the main events of the battle by historians who positioned them in the troop formation so students could relive the conflict. Afterwards, students went into the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre where they were able to try on the chainmail and helmets that both the Houses of York and Lancaster would’ve worn. It was a very immersive experience for the children who behaved well and were very respectful to both the historians and the sites they visited.”  Barclays Academy

School Tour Enquiry Form

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Number of teachers on the tour (required)

Which battlefields would you like to visit: (Please complete with as much information as possible on what you want from this tour)

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Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding: the action taken to promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and protect them from harm, maltreatment, and abuse.

In any safeguarding incident it is likely that CBT guides will not be acting alone and that they are unlikely to be the lead agency dealing with the matter.   For example, we always work closely on our tours with schools and the guides are never alone with the children without a teacher present.

At Classic Battlefield Tours, we take the safety of young people very seriously and it is our top priority.  James Stewart-Smith, our Managing Director takes overall responsibility for our arrangements for Safeguarding.  Any concerns about a child or young person on a trip would be reported to JSS and the teacher in charge immediately.

All our staff are DBS checked and have undergone basic safeguarding and First Aid training.

All our coach drivers have been DBS checked and we have undergone the New Coach Training together with the Accommodation Training and are up to date with all the audits and procedures required.

We, the management, tour guides, coach drivers, administration staff etc, are all committed to:

• Taking the interests and well-being of young people into account, in all our considerations and activities.
• Respecting the wishes, rights and feelings of the young people on our tours.
• Taking all reasonable practicable steps to protect them from neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
• Promoting the welfare of young people and their protection within a position of trust.

We ensure all our staff, tour guides, coach drivers etc.

• Set a good example for others to follow
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect
• Treat everyone equally – do not show favouritism
• Remember you have been placed in a position of trust – do not abuse this
• Report all allegations, suspicions and concerns immediately
• Remember that someone might misinterpret your behaviour/actions
• Respect a young person’s right to personal privacy
• Act within appropriate boundaries, even in difficult circumstances
• Encourage an open and transparent culture, where people can challenge inappropriate attitudes or behaviours
• Plan activities that involve more than one other person being present, or at least within sight and hearing of others
• Are never alone or speak alone with a young person
• Do not make any physical contact with a young person at all
• Do not enter a young person’s room under any circumstances
• Do not trivialise abuse or let it go unreported
• Do not join in physical contact games with young people
• Do not overstep the boundaries between yourself and young people by engaging in friendships or sexual relationships
• Do not swear or use inappropriate, suggestive or threatening language, whether verbal, written or online
• Do not rely on your reputation or position to protect you

If a young person tells us they are being abused, we follow this format –

Allow them to speak without interruption, and accept what they say

Be understanding and reassuring – we do not give our opinion

We tell them we must pass the information immediately on to their school/college etc

We write careful notes detailing time, date and exactly what was said for forwarding to the appropriate person e.g. School Safeguarding lead on the trip

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James Stewart-Smith, Managing Director, Classic Battlefield Tours

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WWI Battlefield Trips for Schools

WWI battlefield trips offer students the opportunity to experience the surreal settings of wartime conflict. Your history students will benefit from first-hand details of what life was like in combat, with a range of different school trips to First World War battlefields and some of the most historic sites from the Great War.   We'll help you to plan the ultimate WWI battlefield trip for your history group. Our team can provide assistance with booking travel, and tours, delivering educational materials and more. This ensures you have everything you need for an enriching and fun learning experience.

Locations of NSTs World War 1 Battlefield trips

Our WWI battlefield trips span many locations, offering history students on a school trip to Belgium the opportunity to explore a selection of symbolic sites from the First World War. These include: 

• In Flanders Fields Museum
• Menin Gate & the Last Post Ceremony

Sanctuary Wood Museum & Hill 62

Passchendaele memorial museum.

• Hooge Crater Museum and Trenches Experience 
• Ypres Walking Tours
• The Somme Battlefield trip

Why book a WWI battlefield school trip?

Our WWI battlefield trips cover the events of the war in considerable historical detail, particularly in the Ypres Salient and Somme regions. First-hand experiences of this historical landscape will help your students appreciate the history of the First World War, helping them to understand the significance of what took place.   Teachers can benefit from school trips to First World War battlefields too. Students who embark on our battlefield trips take lots of educational value and invaluable experiences that simply can’t be replicated in the classroom. 

The benefits of booking WWI Battlefield Trips with NST

When you book a battlefield trip with NST , you’ll benefit from the following features:  

• Access to NST’s Château d’Ebblinghem - NST’s exclusive school group accommodation on the Opal Coast in Northern France is ideally located for WWI Battlefield trips to French Battlefields and will make your role as group leader that bit easier!
• Subject Experts - All of our Subject Experts are professional academics, historians and writers with incomparable knowledge of their subject area. They have the ability to communicate their learning in a way that will enlighten and stimulate your pupils whilst on a battlefield trip.
• ABTA & ATOL protection - This provides you with financial security and peace of mind that you're protected no matter what.

Get in touch with NST today for more information and advice on planning your ideal WWI battlefield school trip, or take a look at some of our most popular options below.

Browse our curriculum-linked school trips to the First World War Battlefields

We provide lots of subject-specific battlefield trips, designed to combine learning elements of History, English or Religious Studies with the historical context of the WW1 battlefields. Our range of curriculum-linked battlefield school trips includes: 

• English Literature battlefield trips
• Religious Studies battlefield trips
• History - Ypres and the Somme day trips
• History - Ypres and the Somme trips
• History - Medicine and Surgery on the Western Front  

All of our school battlefield trips are created with the aim of delivering value to your students. If there are any areas that you would like us to focus on for your battlefield trip then please get in touch and we will be happy to discuss to get the most educational value out of a school trip. 

History - Ypres & The Somme Battlefield Trips

History - ypres & the somme.

Our established Ypres & the Somme history tour programme covers the events of WWI in the Ypres Salient and Somme regions, enabling your pupils to learn from a wealth of important historical sites and excursions.

Learn more about our  trips to Ypres & the Somme .

History - Medicine & Surgery on the Western Front

For groups studying Medicine and Surgery on the Western Front, our established WWI Battlefields tours programme will give context to the events in the Ypres Salient and Somme regions and allow pupils to gain understanding of medical treatments, developments and historical context of medicine in the early 20th Century.

Learn more about our  medicine & surgery on the Western front trips .

English Literature - Battlefield trips

English literature.

Bring the literature of the war to life for your pupils with an English school trip to the battlefields region and gain an unforgettable insight into the effects of the war on iconic writers.

Learn more about our  English trips to the battlefields . 

Religious Studies

Religious studies.

Our established WWI Battlefields religious study tours give pupils a deeper emotional connection with wartime events, providing them with the opportunity to appreciate the scale of sacrifice.

Learn more about our  religious studies trips to the battlefields .

History - Ypres & The Somme day trips

History - ypres & the somme day trips.

Our battlefields day trip is a great option for groups on a budget. Covering Ypres Salient and the Somme, our established First World War battlefields tour programme enables pupils to learn from a wealth of historical sites.

Learn more about our  battlefields day trips .

Experience a First World War battlefields tour with our short video

First world war battlefield trip highlights - our groups love....

We’ve arranged lots of battlefield school trips for groups and we always receive amazing feedback from teachers and students alike. We’ve selected some of the best WWI trip highlights, with lots of detail on what you and your students can expect during your visit. 

In Flanders Field Museum  

In flanders field museum.

This superb state-of-the-art, interactive museum is now an even richer experience with the updated larger museum. Covering most aspects of the war in Flanders, each visitor will receive a wristband that will take them on a journey in the museum through the eyes of someone who was there.

Sanctuary Wood Museum & Hill 62  

Located close to the original front lines, this fascinating visit shows well-preserved British trenches and covered passageways, as well as a section of the underground tunnel system. The museum consists of two rooms housing many artefacts removed from the battlefields. Plus, a large and rare collection of three-dimensional photo images inside special viewing boxes.

Passchendaele Memorial Museum  

Commemorating the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, this museum has been enlarged. There is now an underground exhibition focusing on the battle, a network of open-air trenches and a new remembrance gallery. A full-day interactive platoon experience is also available; call us for more details.

Hooge Crater Museum and Trenches Experience  

Hooge crater museum and trenches experience.

This is a truly unique tour experience for students. Original artefacts & full-scale reconstructions of battlefield scenes can be found in the Museum Hooge Crater. Sample a must-see selection of weapons from 1914-18, war equipment and photos of all the armies that fought during those four years!

We can reserve a time slot in the trenches just for your group, so you can explore them on your own.

Newfoundland Park  

Newfoundland park.

Newfoundland Park is undoubtedly one of the largest and best-preserved trench memorials on the Western Front. Just outside the park lies Hawthorn Crater and within it are the ‘Danger Tree’ and remains of the British Front Line. The German Front Line can be seen across No Man’s Land.

Thiepval Memorial & Visitor Centre  

Thiepval memorial & visitor centre.

This is the largest memorial for the British missing on the Western Front. The location contains the names of over 73,000 men who died in the Somme section before 20th March 1918 and have no known graves. The visitor centre houses an informative exhibition designed to aid understanding of the history of Thiepval during WWI.

Ypres Walking Tour

This tour of the city includes:

• The Cloth Hall
• St George’s Anglican Church
• The Menin Gate (Britain’s major memorial to its missing)
• The Lille Gate Cemetery - A beautiful example of the work of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Your group will then return to Ypres for an evening meal and attend the daily Last Post Ceremony at The Menin Gate to witness a moving act of remembrance by the people of the city.

Vimy Ridge  

The scene of fierce fighting in 1917, when the Canadians successfully took the ridge from the Germans. Students can take a tour of the tunnels, trenches and cemeteries.

Menin Gate & Last Post Ceremony  

Menin gate & last post ceremony.

The largest and the most important of the British memorials to the Missing in The Salient. The Menin Gate holds the names of 54,896 soldiers of the British Empire. This memorial marked the start of one of the main roads out of Ypres towards the Front Line. Following a meal at a local restaurant, your students will witness the moving ‘Last Post Ceremony’ which takes place every evening at 8pm.

Book your next school battlefield trip with confidence

With NST your peace of mind is guaranteed, thanks to our comprehensive package of financial protection. Our market-leading ‘Book with Confidence’ promise gives you all the reassurance you need when booking and paying for your trip and provide the full range of financial protection measures as recommended by the DfE.    

COVID Cancellation Protection - including full refund option

Extended Payment Terms - to support with financial planning

Financial Security - fully ABTA & ATOL protected

First World War Battlefields school trip experts

We've been arranging First World War battlefield trips since 1967; we take over 10,000 students on battlefield tours each year. Our team regularly visits Ypres and The Somme to really get to know the ins and outs of the area. This ensures we always provide the highest quality accommodation, tours and transport for our trips.

Your school battlefield trip coordinator will use their knowledge to create a bespoke itinerary that's perfectly timed and meets your exact school travel needs.

Planning your first school trip?

If you're planning your first school trip, our essential guide will take you through each step of the process...

• Choosing your destination
• Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
• Promoting your tour in school
• Confirming your booking
• Tailor-make your tour
• Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
• Quick reference timeline
• Pre-tour checklist

Explore the WWI Battlefields with our history subject experts

We offer the chance to take one of our history Subject Experts on your battlefields trip. 

Our Subject Experts are former teachers with detailed knowledge of the current curriculum. They are selected to meet your exact tour requirements, helping your group to get even more from their time outside the classroom. Our Subject Experts are passionate about their subject areas, meaning they're well prepared to meet your group's needs.

Additional support, resources & information:

Tour planning service

With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated, knowledgeable Tour Co-ordinator who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from working with many other groups too. They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you:

• Pulling together an itinerary that runs smoothly
• Planning the right balance of visits every day with realistic timings
• Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals

You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.

Free school trip promotion pack

We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your school trip around school and to parents. Our free school trip promotion pack consists of:

• Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete A3 posters to promote your trip around school
• PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs
• Parents’ leaflets covering how NST manage safety, financial protection and details of our travel insurance
• Online parents’ video which showcases the benefits of taking a school trip

For selected destinations, we’ll provide a trip launch web page using video footage and imagery. This web page is provided by a weblink and can be shared with pupils and parents in many ways.

Risk assessment support including preview visits

Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour. Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip. 

Planning first school trip

Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process. If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way. Our helpful guide covers the following:

View our essential guide to a successful school trip here .

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track. 

With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away. Watch our short Locate My Trip video here.

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you. With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too. What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go. Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here .

Free classroom resources

We've created a range of free geography resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom! Take a look at our downloadable posters here .

Brexit & your school trip

Brexit &  your school trip

How will Brexit affect my school trip?

Following the end of the transition period there are several changes that will affect groups travelling with us to the EU.

For more information on these changes, visit our dedicated Brexit page here .

If you're travelling with NST and have any specific questions. please contact your Educational Travel Advisor.

Why choose NST...

Here's why thousands of teachers choose NST each year...

• Unrivalled knowledge

Your dedicated tour co-ordinator will use their unrivalled local knowledge and expertise of the WWI Battlefields to create a tailor-made, curriculum-linked itinerary to meet your group’s exact needs.

• Making it easier for you

With our online school trip organiser, travel app, FREE classroom posters and trip launch resources to support in-school promotion.

• Risk assessment guidance

Our risk assessment guidance will help you to manage group safety on your next educational trip. 

• FREE group leader inspection visits

We offer a free inspection visit to your chosen destination to support your risk assessment planning.

• Value for money

We’re committed to bringing you the best possible value trips to help make every penny count.

• Peace of mind

Your group’s location can be followed with our trip tracking device - Locate My Trip - plus you’ll have 24/7 support from us whilst you’re away.

• More than 50 years’ experience

With over 50 years’ experience, with NST you can rest assured that your group is in safe hands.

• Offsetting carbon emissions

For every trip taken, we'll plant a Maya nut tree in Peru to support reforestation, local communities & biodiversity. Plus, we'll offset an additional tonne of CO2 to guarantee carbon emission reductions. 

Looking for protection on your next school trip? 

Booking with a school travel company is the best way for you to protect parents’ money and give yourself peace of mind.  

Don’t forget – if your school arranges transport, accommodation and other services directly, you’ll be liable under the Package Travel Regulations – meaning you’ll have all the responsibilities of a travel company, both legal and financial.

Financial protection from the moment you book

NST are fully bonded:

Managing safety on school trips

For your protection, NST's independently audited Safety Management System covers:

• 24-hour emergency cover
• Audited accommodation & transport
• Excursions & school visit assessment
• Group leader preview visits to assist with risk assessment planning

We're LOtC Council’s Quality Badge assured

The Department for Education advises schools to always look for the LOtC Quality Badge when choosing a school travel provider.

Students are safe on battlefield trips

There is no need to worry when you book a battlefield tour with NST. With our safety management system you have 24-hour emergency cover on all of your trips incase anything goes wrong giving you peace of mind.

Welcome to Marshall's Battlefields

WE DO REMEMBER THEM

Using documents, music, drama and archive film we transport you to the past and make you feel what it was like to live during both World War I and World War II.

Tours for Schools

The wwi battlefield experience.

Walk in the footsteps of the fallen of WWI.  

The WWII D-Day Landings Experience

The 1944 Normandy landings changed the course of WWII.  Walk the beaches and visit the key sites.

Why Mercat Tours International

"A simply outstanding learning experience."

Adult Tours

Walk in the footsteps of the fallen of WWI.

“An emotional journey – a life changing experience.”

Watch our film

From arras100, travel info, mercat launch lifetime friendship of talbot house.

MTI has a long-standing connection with Talbot House on projects such as the 2014 Christmas Truce and 2018 King’s Shilling tours.

Remembering James Blane North

By Linda, Mercat Storyteller James Blane North.

George Wilson: The Missing WWI Machine Gunner

By Iain McRobbie In May 2017, the 9th Dunblane Pals set out for the Western Front.

World Storytelling Day, and Why Storytelling is Good For You

Storytelling is Good For You Written by Mercat Storyteller & MD, Kat Brogan A surprise.

What our customers think

"a very interesting and moving experience leaving us all with much to think about and remember.".

The variety of the visits and the personal stories made it even more memorable. the supporting materials of appropriate videos, songs and information booklets made us realise that much thought and preparation and enthusiasm had gone into the planning and execution of our Battlefields experience. Thank you very much.

Mrs Shiela Allan, The WWI Battlefield Experience,

Awards we've won

Tours & Travel to the 1914-1918 Battlefields

In recent years there has been a significant growth in the number of people wanting to visit the battlefield sites of the Western Front in Belgium and France. This increased interest stems from discoveries made in family history research and the desire to follow in the footsteps of a WW1 ancestor, students studying the First World War in the school curriculum, best-selling novels introducing the subject to a wider audience, and a range of popular plays, films and television documentaries on the subject. In response to the increased interest the variety of facilities available for visitors has also grown. Tours to the First World War battlefields, whether you choose to travel independently, with a guide or with a group, are carried out by hundreds of visitors each year. The information below is offered to help you plan a tour and is given in good faith.

Organized Battlefield Tours

Battlefield tours for students & school groups.

• Arranging your own battlefield visit
• Travel to Belgium/France: getting there
• Guides and tours starting in Belgium or France
• Travel Maps
• Accommodation & tourist information

Battlefield Remains

Location of the western front battlefields.

There is a wide choice for battlefield tour travellers these days, with numerous companies offering a variety of tours with regard to the number of days of the tour, the size of the tour vehicle - minibus or coach - and the subjects or places to be covered on the tour. Some tours start from the United Kingdom as an inclusive package tour, others can be joined once you are in the battlefield area.

A list of the main battlefield tour operators is provided on this website. As far as we know these companies comply with all tour operator and insurance regulations for taking travellers to the Belgian and French battlefield sites.

When making enquiries with them, you are strongly advised to discuss any special requirements you may have such as a visit to a particular cemetery, memorial or place of interest in advance of joining a tour. Also, ask for travellers' testimonials to get a feel for how their travellers have found previous tours.

You may like to know, too, if their company and/or their guides have any affiliation or accreditation with an organization such as The International Guild of Battlefield Guides, The Western Front Association or Blue Badge Guides.

See our list of tour companies and guides at:

WW1 Battlefield Tour Companies and Guides

International Guild of Battlefield Guides

greatwar.co.uk is proud to be a Supporter of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. The aim of the Guild is to raise the understanding and promote best practice for guiding on the battlefields.

There are a number of battlefield tour companies which specialize in tours for students. It is the responsibility of the group organizer to ensure that these companies are legally covered, bonded and compliant with all the appropriate regulations for taking groups and young people.

Our list of companies offering battlefield tours for students and school groups is provided at:

List of Battlefield Tour Companies for Students & School Groups

Arranging your own Battlefield Visit

Even if the battlefield you wish to visit is near a town, it is likely that the sites of the battles, the memorials and cemeteries will be located in a rural landscape. The distance between each place of interest may be up to several miles and, therefore, getting around can be difficult and it is recommended to travel around the battlefields by car. Having said that, once in the battlefield area, many people choose to walk and cycle around the battle sites, taking the opportunity to spend time reflecting on the what happened there almost a hundred years ago and enjoying the now peaceful countryside.

For enquiries relating to car or bicycle hire, bus and train timetables contact the Tourist Office in the area you plan to visit. Some of the hotels, Bed & Breakfast and self-catering accommodation offer bicycles for hire.

Travel by Car or Motorbike on the Battlefields

With regard to the types of location to be visited on the battlefields, the easiest way to travel between the memorials, museums, cemeteries and battlefield sites is to travel by car. If you travel to Belgium or France by rail or air, it is advisable to hire a car for the battlefield visits if possible.

• Self-Drive Tours

See our page for online resources to assist with the planning of a self-drive tour of the Western Front battlefields. Some tour companies will make arrangements for itineraries and accommodation for your self-drive tour:

Self-drive Itineraries & Tours of the WW1 Battlefields

Motorcycling on the WW1 Battlefields

Motorcycling Tours on the WW1 Battlefields

Cycling on the Battlefields

On the more frequently visited battlefields, such as the Ypres Salient and the Somme, there are maps available from the local Tourist Offices for cycling routes. Some organized battlefield tours also offer guided battlefield walks or cycling tours. Some of the hotels, Bed & Breakfast or self-catering accommodation will provide bicyles free or for hire plus information about local cycling routes.

Cycling Routes & Tours on the WW1 Battlefields

Walking the WW1 Battlefields

For information about walking routes, guidebooks for walking the battlefields see our page:

Travel to Belgium/France: Getting There

Cross channel travel.

Have a look at the following websites for planning a route across the English Channel by sea or tunnel.

Ferry Companies

Website: www.dfdsseaways.co.uk

Website: www.poferries.com

Website: www.seafrance.co.uk

Channel Tunnel

Website: www.eurotunnel.com

Price Comparison/Online Booking

Website: www.Aferry.com

Website: www.eurodrive.co.uk

Travel by Rail to the Battlefields

Travel by rail can be made by the Eurostar service from the United Kingdom or within France and Belgium to Lille Europe Station, Brussels or Paris. Local train services offer onward travel.

Local trains or car hire can be arranged from the Eurostar stations at Brussels (Bruxelles) in Belgium and Lille and Paris in France. For advice and useful websites see our page:

WW1 Battlefield Tours by Rail

Travel by Air to the Battlefields

Travel by air can be made to Brussels (Bruxelles) in Belgium, Paris, Lille, and the recently opened Albert-Picardie airport in France.

Public Transport on the Battlefields

As the battlefield locations are generally in rural areas, it may be that travel by public transport is often not available or is available but with an infrequent service. If you arrive in the battlefield region independently and using public transport, it is recommended that you contact the local Tourist Office or the accommodation where you are staying to ask for information on the best way to make your way around the battlefield area you are wishing to visit.

The following website may be helpful for buses in the Picardy and Nord-Pas de Calais regions:

Website: picardy.angloinfo.com

Guides & Tours Starting in Belgium/France

Once you have arrived in the battlefield area, you may wish to take a guided tour as an introduction to the area, or make a pre-arranged tour visiting places of special interest to yourself. There are a number of independent guides and organized tours available to travellers who make their own way to the battlefields and want to join a guide or a tour once there. Tours can be for a half day or a full day introductory visit, your guest-house host may offer a tour during your stay with them, or you may join a tour guide offering tours to locations visiting sites following a particular theme.

Tourist Offices should have a list of recommended guides and in some cases will be able to arrange contact with the individual or tour organizer on your behalf. Location and details for Tourist offices are provided in our battlefield information by area.

Our list of battlefield tour operators states which operators and guides are based in Belgium or France. By arrangement some of these guides will collect you from your accommodation or the railway station on your arrival.

Battlefield Tour Companies and Guides based in Belgium & France

For a wide-ranging list of recommended maps at various scales for driving, walking and cycling, see our page:

Maps for Travel to the WW1 Battlefields

There are a number of Apps available to assist visitors to the battlefields.

Apps for the WW1 Battlefield Visitor

Accommodation & Tourist Information

Accommodation on the Western Front

Visitors to the battlefields should be aware that even over 90 years since the end of the First World War there are still dangers posed by unexploded ammunition. DO NOT TOUCH or pick anything up if you are not sure what it is or if it looks like a piece of ammunition.

Every year several thousand artillery shells of all sizes are found in the ground by farmers, construction workers and builders. This is often called “The Iron Harvest”. Particularly in the ploughing seasons in rural areas shells can often be seen placed at the side of a field by a farmer for safe collection by the authorities.

Exploring the battlefields off the beaten track will be a rewarding experience, especially if you are carrying out research in the footsteps of a relative. Visitors are reminded to ask permission if you want to go onto private land. Be mindful of your own safety if exploring any battlefield remains such as bunkers or tunnels which are not designated public sites.

For more information about the remains to be seen on the Western Front battlefields see our information at:

Battle Remains on the Western Front

See our map showing where the battlefields are in Belgium and France, with links to some detailed sections explaining what is to be seen there, together with information for visitors on where to stay:

• Western Front Battlefields

Related Topic

Suggested guidebooks for visiting the Western Front.

Guidebooks for the WW1 Western Front Battlefields

• Battlefield Visits
• Memorials & Monuments
• Museums & Archive Collections
• Tracing Family History
• Researching Military History
• Education Resources
• Experience of the Great War
• Remembrance
• Organizations
• The Poppy Umbrella
• Tours from UK
• Tours start in Belgium/France
• Cycling Tours
• Walking Tours
• Motorcycle Tours
• Tours by Rail
• Tours for Schools & Students
• Guild of Battlefield Guides
• Accommodation

Copyright © www.greatwar.co.uk All rights reserved.

Find a Guide

Explore the world’s most trusted directory of battlefield guides.

The guide directory details all those Accredited Members who have chosen to advertise their expertise and services as guides on the Guild website.  Each of these has passed our Accreditation Programme in which they have demonstrated the skills needed for us to say that they are high-quality guides who will give you a great tour.

You can filter by battle/campaign or country and then click on the name of an Accredited Guide to read their biography. Most Accredited Guides have contact details by which you can contact them directly. If not, or if you want to pass a message to them, please contact them via the Guild Secretary  via our Contacts Page .

Many Guides can develop bespoke personalised tours and can research where particular ancestors might have fought or died. If you want to advice on following a particular ancestor and you have not identified a particular Accredited Guide, please contact the Guild Secretary. We guarantee we’ll have somebody that can help you!

Please note, the Guild does not recommend or endorse any of the commercial products or companies of the members listed below. We are not responsible for checking that those listed below have complied with the relevant legislation or regulations in the jurisdictions they are based or guide in. Many are members of ETOA or other local guiding associations and some have a local permit to work with children or vulnerable adults. But it is your responsibility to ensure they meet all the criteria you need for them to work with your group.

Finally, this list shows only our Accredited Guides. Our Ordinary Members are not listed here and if you would like to check whether a particular individual is a member of the Guild, or for any other further help, please contact the Guild Secretary via our Contacts Page .

Some of our Accredited Guides have experience of researching military aspects of family history, and may be able to assist with your genealogical enquiries.  A list of those members is here ; if you would like to seek their assistance, contact details can be found by selecting their profile from those shown on this page.

Frank Baldwin

Accredited guide number: 8.

I am a freelance guide, historian and heritage professional. After retiring following ten years in the army as a Royal Artillery Officer, I became increasingly involved in interpreting and presenting battlefield heritage for the Battlefields Trust and The Royal British Legion. My interest in battlefield touring was triggered by noticing that the part of Germany in which we were training in the 1980s had been a battlefield in 1757. I had always been interested in military history and both my father and grandfather had fought in the world wars.

As a guide, my clients include  small and large groups, businesses as well as educational and military groups. I was an early supporter of the Guild of Battlefield Guides and been part of its validation team, responsible for assessing guides’ competence, since 2008. I instruct on courses teaching battlefield guides and have been Guide Co-ordinator for the Liberation Route Europe.

In 2012 I was elected to the British Commission for Military History. My published work includes two books on D Day and Normandy, chapters in British Army Guide to the Western Front, and articles in military history journals. I write a military history blog https://theobservationpost.com

My interest and knowledge of military history stretches from Caesar to the Cold War and my guiding experience covers much of Europe. Besides the world wars and the Napoleonic era, I am also interested in the mid C19th wars between Prussia, Austria and France and the Severn Years War.

Two of my books are on artillery in Normandy and I am currently writing a battlefield guide to artillery on the First Day of the Somme in publication. The artillery story of both world wars is a little neglected and I offer battlefield tours to tell the artillery story under the brand www.gunnertours.com

One speciality is providing military background for people researching their ancestry. I have been a researcher for a company that makes a popular ancestry-based TV programme and have appeared on television myself.

I have been privileged to support some of the British Army centenary staff rides as a subject matter expert alongside academic historians. My clients include many military units and headquarters. I run a website offering advice to military units planning staff rides, battlefield studies or realities of war tours. www.staffrideservices.com

The links between military and business strategy fascinate me. I offer a service to help organisations to learn from other people’s mistakes using examples from statecraft and military history. www.businessbattlefields.com

I chaired the Battlefields Trust from 2008-2015 and was involved in many projects to preserve, interpret and present many of the Battlefields of Britain, including the re-discovery of the battlefields of Bosworth.

Battles 30 Corps 7 Years ANZACS on the Western Front ... Aachen Advance to Victory Agincourt Almaraz Anglo/Zulu War Antiquity Anzio Ardennes Arnhem Arras Arras Aspern – Essling & Wagram Aubers Ridge Austerlitz Austerlitz Campaign Badajoz Band of Brothers Bapaume Bastogne Battle of Amiens Battle of Anzio Battle of Britain Battle of Calais Battle of Halbe Battle of Lewes Battle of Lys & Op Blucher Battle of Minden Battle of Overloon Battle of Sicily Battle of Teutoberger Forest Battle of The Aisne Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme Belleau Wood Blenheim Boer War Bosworth British Civil Wars Bruneval Raid Bullecourt Cambrai Canadians on the Western Front Cassino Ciudad Rodrigo Combined Bomber Offensive Crecy Culloden D-Day Delville Wood Dieppe Dunkirk Edward I’s conquest of North Wales Eindhoven & Nijmegen English Civil War Eshowe Fall of Berlin Fall of France Festubert Fromelles Fuentes de Onoro Fulford German Airborne Invasion of Crete Gingindlovu Gothic Line Gustav Line Hastings Hastings Campaign Hindenburg Line Hlobane Hürtgen Forest Isandlwana Lansdown Le Hamel Liberation of the Netherlands Ligny London Blitz Loos Lorraine Campaign Ludendorff Offensives Marlborough's campaigns Marston Moor Messines Meuse-Argonne Middle Ages Minden Monmouth Rebellion Mons Monte Cassino Napoleon Neuve Chappelle Norman Conquest of England Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Normandy Preparations in UK Operation Aintree Operation Amherst Operation Berlin Operation Blockbuster Operation Frankton Operation Husky Operation Infatuate Operation Jubilee Operation Market Garden Operation Michel Operation Overlord Operation Plunder Operation Shingle Operation Veritable Ortona Passage of the Alps and Marengo Passchendaele Polygon Wood Quatre Bras Reichswald Forest Retreat to the Marne Rhine Crossing Roman Invasion of Britain Rorke's Drift Roundway Salamanca Salerno Sambre Crossing Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren Sedan Sedgemoor St. Mihiel Stanford Bridge Talavera The 100 Years War The Jacobite Rebellions The Last 100 Days The Somme 1918 Towton UK Home Front US Soldiers on the Western Front 1917 - 1918 Ulundi Verdun Viking battles in Yorkshire Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge Vitoria WWI WWII Wars of the Roses Waterloo Waterloo Campaign Wavre Wellington's campaigns Wellington’s Peninsular battles Wellington’s Pyrenees battles Ypres

Countries Austria Belgium Crete ... Czech Republic France Germany Hungary Italy Netherlands United Kingdom

Caters For Bespoke Group College Groups Families ... Individuals Leadership & Management Training Management Development Pilgrimage Groups Small Groups

Simon Bendry

Accredited guide number: 104.

Simon has been interested in military history since he was a child. He first visited the battlefields on family holidays and soon became fascinated with D Day and the Normandy campaign. In his teens he developed an interest in the First World War and led his first guided tours to the former battlefields of the Western Front while still at university. After graduating with a history degree, he went on to train as a teacher and for 15 years ran annual school tours to the Western Front.

From 2014, Simon ran the prestigious and multi award-winning First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours Programme – a UK government funded initiative which saw 8,500 students and teachers visit the former battlefields of the Western Front. Simon led more than 90 of these tours and as the programme’s lead for on-site education became an internationally recognised expert in leading students and teachers on the battlefields. He has also led tours for adult organisations including universities. Simon also has a passion for historical research and is able to bring the battlefields to life with personal stories, while also placing these stories in the immediate and wider historical context.

Simon is a member of the British Commission for Military History and the Western Front Association.

Countries Europe United Kingdom

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Bespoke Group ... Clubs and Societies College Groups Families Individuals Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups School Groups Small Groups

Wybo Boersma

Accredited guide number: 30.

I was born just before the Second World War and still have some memories of that time; Jewish people being hidden by my parents, my father coming back from a concentration camp and the fighting and liberation in April 1945 of my native town, Groningen, in the Northern part of The Netherlands by the Canadian Army.

I joined the Dutch Army in 1960 as a member of the Royal Signals and retired in 1991 as a Warrant Officer. In 1974 I became a member of the Board of the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek and was responsible for the organisation of the museum and its dioramas following the move from its original location at Doorwerth Castle, to the Hartenstein Hotel in 1978. After 1991 I spent the next 14 years as a Volunteer Director of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein at Oosterbeek and was responsible for its establishment in 1978 and the renovation of the museum in time for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem.

I organise and conduct battlefield tours for military and civilian groups on Market Garden, (specialising on the 1st British Airborne division, the1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade, and the 101st and 82nd US Airborne Divisions), Normandy, Ardennes, Hürtgenwald, Dieppe, the French SAS participation in Operation Amherst in April 1945 and the Airborne Operations during the Rhine Crossing in March 1945.

I have been a guide for 30 years and guide in collaboration with the Liberation Route Europe, Battlefield tours of the city of Groningen and the Society of Friends of the Airborne Museum. From the start I have been a member of the Battlefields Trust and the Dutch Documentation Group 1940 – 1945.

Battles Ardennes Arnhem Bastogne ... D-Day Dieppe Eindhoven & Nijmegen Liberation of the Netherlands Normandy Landings Operation Amherst Operation Berlin Operation Market Garden Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren WWII

Countries Belgium France Germany ... Holland Netherlands Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Families Individuals ... Military & Veteran

Simon Browne

Accredited guide number: 116.

Simon was an infantry officer for over 30 years.  A member of the Royal Anglian Regiment, he served on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.  He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History, Master’s Degree in Military Studies and is a Graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course.

His fascination with touring battlefields began in 1977, when living in Germany he went to see the film a Bridge Too Far.  Then persuaded his father, a Royal Air Force officer, to take him to Arnhem to try and bring to life what he had just seen.  This interest further developed as student, studying for a History Degree at Portsmouth Polytechnic, where he organised his first Battlefield Tour, a trip with student friends to Normandy.  He was very lucky in that his military career really allowed him to indulge this passion, taking him on numerous Battlefield Tours and Staff Rides, In Europe, America, and as far afield as Vietnam and the Falkland Islands.

Currently Simon focuses on three main campaigns;  the Blitzkrieg of 1940, D-Day and the Normandy Campaign and the Ardennes Offensive, the ‘Battle of the Bulge’.

Battles Ardennes Battle of the Bulge D-Day ... Fall of France Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Operation Overlord

Simon Burgess

Accredited guide number: 108.

Simon retired from the British Army in November 2022, and qualified as a badged guide (Badge 108) in May 2020.

He originally served in the Royal Air Force before leaving to pursue a career in the oil industry, and also serving as a reserve officer. Rather to his surprise he ended up joining the Regular Army 9 years ago.

Simon has served on operations in Gulf War 1, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq (where he ran Basrah Fire Brigade) and twice as an aviation planner in Afghanistan (including with the US Marine Corps) and has worked at battlegroup, brigade and divisional level .

He has served as the Operations Officer in the Attack Helicopter Force HQ, and as the aviation specialist in the Collective Training Group at the Land Warfare Centre. He delivered training to brigade and division HQs, particularly in the use of aviation and air land integration.

Simon has recently guided tours to Normandy, Sicily and the Western Front battlefields of World War 1.

He is particularly interested in Normandy in WW2 (particularly the British 6 th  Airborne Division) and in all aspects of air power in WW1 and WW2.

He is also passionate about the American Civil War, particularly Gettysburg and the Eastern theatre battles.

Battles American Civil War Battle of the Somme Normandy Campaign ... Normandy Landings Normandy Preparations in UK Operation Overlord WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium France United Kingdom ... United States of America

Caters For Battlefield Studies Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... Families Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups Small Groups Staff Rides

Robin Burrows-Ellis

Accredited guide number: 78.

I have always been passionate about history, archaeology, geography and travel. So naturally, being a battlefield guide is absolutely my ideal job. I began guiding whilst I was studying archaeology in the 1980s, conducting tours around various British archaeological sites of all periods. In 2009, I progressed onto guided town walks, fundraising for charity. Since 2012, I have operated Robin’s Red Ramble Tours. I now specialise in leading battlefield tours in Normandy.

I firmly believe that a guide must only conduct tours in areas for which they have a deep local knowledge of the history, archaeology and topography. For this reason I spend a considerable amount of my time investigating the archives, studying the primary sources and researching all of my tours. This may involve translating documents and carrying out additional archaeological fieldwork myself. I thoroughly enjoy the thrill of uncovering new or forgotten pieces of the jigsaw, especially if there is a new or interesting personal story to tell. I have been specifically researching the Battle of Normandy and the ‘Atlantic Wall’ fortifications since 1999. I have now accumulated a wealth of material both published and unpublished which has now filled my home!

As I am constantly researching new material, all of my tours are unique. I endeavour to make my tours as personal and tailored to the individual clients as possible. Whilst this can be a challenge at times, I do believe the individual’s personal story must be told. It is always worth the extra effort to tell ‘His Story’ both accurately and completely, fitting it into the overall context of the battle or campaign.

I hold a full UK class D coach driving licence. I have experience with groups both large and small. I actually enjoy driving minibuses, coaches and double-deck buses. I try to ensure my passengers have the best possible experience on their journey. I like to give them the smoothest and most enjoyable ride that I can and I always go that extra mile.

Battles WWII

Countries Europe France Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Individuals ... School Groups Small Groups

Ewan Carmichael

Accredited guide number: 84.

Ewan’s particular interests are Leadership, the Realities of War and Close Combat, through the ages, but particularly the ‘horse and musket’ era. On tour, he believes in balancing depth of research with enjoyment.

He is a direct successor to Wellington’s McGrigor as Director General Army Medical Services. He set up and led the British Army’s Air Assault Medical Regiment and then commanded all of the Army’s Field Hospitals operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was awarded an MBE for Squadron leadership in the First Gulf War and CBE for his direction of the Army Medical Services (AMS), at a time when the AMS achieved its highest battle casualty survival rate in history (halving the death rate).

A graduate of the Army Staff College and member of the Royal College of Defence Studies, his MA was on whether it is possible to create a strategy which endures. A Fellow of one of the Medical Royal Colleges, he is also an Apothecary and Freeman of the City of London.

Gregarious rather than combative by nature, he was surprised to be elected as President of the Combined Services Martial Arts Society by its members, and even more pleasantly surprised to win the first Worldwide Open tournament for renaissance sword & buckler at Hanover in 2010.

Battles 7 Years American War of Independence Arnhem ... Austerlitz Austerlitz Campaign Austro-Prussian War Battle of Minden Blenheim Bosworth British Civil Wars British Colonial Conflicts Culloden D-Day English Civil War Koniggratz London in the Civil War Marston Moor Middle Ages Minden Napoleon Normandy Landings Sedgemoor The 100 Years War The Boyne The Jacobite Rebellions Towton Wars of the Roses Waterloo Campaign

Countries Austria Belgium Canada ... Czech Republic Eastern Europe England Europe France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands North America Poland Portugal Scotland Slovakia Spain United Kingdom United States of America Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... College Groups Corporate Tours Group Types Individuals Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups Reenactors School Groups Small Groups

Stephen Chambers

Accredited guide number: 75.

Steve is one of the leading military historians on the Gallipoli campaign. Even though this is his prime passion, he also has in-depth knowledge of many British military campaigns and battles that include Waterloo to the end of the Second World War. Stephen is a freelance battlefield guide, author and researcher specialising in British military history, from the redcoats to khaki.

He has written several books; his first book in the Battleground Europe series, Gallipoli – Gully Ravine (Pen & Sword 2002) had high acclaim, along with its follow-on volumes; Anzac The Landing (Pen & Sword 2008), Suvla: August Offensive (Pen & Sword 2011) and Anzac: Sari Bair (Pen & Sword 2014). British and commonwealth military history has continued to have been a successful theme, with Uniforms & Equipment of the British Army in World War One (Schiffer Books, 2005), the first serious work on the subject. Recently Stephen co-authored Gallipoli: The Dardanelles Disaster in Soldiers’ Words and Photographs (Bloomsbury 2015) with Richard van Emden and is working on Walking Gallipoli, to be published in 2018. Stephen’s Battleground Europe guidebooks have all been translated in to Turkish.

When not writing, Stephen is on the Battlefield, continuing his research and guiding groups. The best way to study a campaign is to walk in the footsteps of those involved, whether in the grasslands of Zululand, the mud of Flanders or the beaches of Gallipoli.

Stephen is a Trustee of the Gallipoli Association and a member of the Western Front Association and Orders and Medals Research Society. He is also a director of Great War Digital Ltd (http://www.greatwardigital.com/), home of the WW1 mapping Linesman GPS product.

Battles 20 C. Anglo/Zulu War Arnhem ... Battle of the Somme Boer War D-Day Dieppe Dunkirk Eindhoven & Nijmegen Fall of Berlin Gallipoli Loos Mons Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Operation Berlin Operation Overlord Passchendaele Rorke's Drift Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium France Germany ... Holland Netherlands South Africa Turkey United Kingdom Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups College Groups Families ... Military & Veteran School Groups Small Groups

Paul Colbourne

Accredited guide number: 113.

Battles ANZACS on the Western Front Battle of the Somme Bullecourt ... Fromelles Messines Neuve Chappelle Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI Ypres

Countries Belgium France Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Bespoke Group ... Clubs and Societies College Groups Evening Presentations Families Individuals Pilgrimage Groups School Groups Small Groups

Graeme Cooper

Accredited guide number: 7.

Graeme has been battlefield guiding since 1995. He operates ‘Cooper’s Waterloo Tours’, a family run Essex based business specialising in tailored tours to the Napoleonic Campaign battlefields of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. A Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society (FINS), Graeme qualified as a Waterloo Campaign Guide with Les Guides 1815 in 1998.

Graeme’s interest in the Napoleonic Campaigns was sparked during his time as a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst by his tutors, the late and renowned military historians and authors, Professor Richard Holmes and Dr David Chandler. His Great Great grandfather John Cooper fought at Waterloo in the 7th Hussars. In WW2 Graeme’s father Johnny Cooper was David Stirling’s navigator in ‘L’ Detachment SAS.

Graeme was the driving force behind the creation of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides in November 2002. Since his original idea, the Guild has grown to International status and has set the benchmark for many who have passed its quality validation programme. Graeme was the Guild Secretary until November 2009 when he became the first member to be elected to the Guild’s Roll of Honour for his services to the Guild and the craft.

In May 2006 he established Corporate Battlefields Ltd, a leadership training company for corporate management and has since delivered to senior global management teams from eBay, Boeing UK, London Fire Brigade, Lilly, Brother UK, HSBC, Parliamentarians, the NATO Secretary General and others on the battlefields of Waterloo, Salamanca, Isandlwana, Normandy D-Day Beaches and Naseby.

Graeme is a recognised Great War and WW2 Guide, member of the Battlefields Trust and former Chairman of the British Army of the Rhine Branch of the Western Front Association. He and his wife live in Essex and have a son and daughter who both commissioned through Sandhurst. Graeme enjoys golf, photography, chess and telemark skiing.

Graeme’s testimonials declare his standards.

“Graeme Cooper is the master story-teller. You stand with him in a green field, but when he speaks you see a battlefield before you.” – Adam Holloway MP

Battles Almaraz Almeida Aspern – Essling & Wagram ... Austerlitz Austerlitz Campaign Badajoz Bussaco Ciudad Rodrigo Coa D-Day Fuentes de Onoro Ligny Lines of Tores Vedras Napoleon Norway 1940 Campaign Passage of the Alps and Marengo Porto - Crossing of the Douro Quatre Bras Rolica Salamanca Talavera Vimiero Vitoria WWI WWII War of the 7th Coalition Waterloo Waterloo Campaign Wavre Wellington’s Peninsular battles Wellington’s Pyrenees battles

Countries Africa Austria Belgium ... Czech Republic Eastern Europe England Europe France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Portugal Scotland South Africa Spain United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Studies Bespoke Group ... Clubs and Societies College Groups Corporate Tours Families Leadership & Management Training Long Tours Military & Veteran Short Tours Small Groups Staff Rides

John Cotterill

Accredited guide number: 10.

John Cotterill is a self employed battlefield guide for military groups, veterans, civilian clubs, families, individuals and schools. He was a founder member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides in 2003, was badged in 2004 (Badge 10) and was a Guild validator for 15 years. John served as a regular officer in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and their successors the Mercian Regiment for 37 years. He saw active service in Ulster, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and inactive service on four continents. He lives in Nottingham and is an active member of the Western Front Association, the Soldiers,Sailors and Airmans Families Association (SSAFA) and his Regimental Association. John’s particular speciality is writing and delivering problem solving exercises that allow participants to “re-fight” battles of the past. He has guided groups on battlefields from Tanzania to Tunisia and from Stalingrad to Singapore

Battles American War of Independence Crimean War Napoleon ... Spanish Civil War WWI WWII

Countries Africa Asia Belgium ... Denmark East Africa Eastern Europe Egypt England Europe France Germany Greece Holland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands North Africa Norway Portugal Russia Scotland Singapore South-East Asia Spain Tunisia Ukraine United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Families Individuals Military & Veteran ... School Groups

Anthony Coutts-Britton

Accredited guide number: 20.

Anthony Coutts-Britton had the good fortune to have been tutored by some of the famous names in military history, most notably, David Chandler, Anthony Brett-James and John Keegan. His specialities are the European battlefields of the World Wars and the Napoleonic period. Tony served in the British Army and later had a second career with NATO in Belgium. Far East tours of duty were in Hong Kong and then in Korea with the UN. He served in Germany, Northern Ireland and twice in Berlin. He is an Independent Battlefield Guide. He is also a speaker, presenting to audiences on military, political and social history. Since 2010, he has been a cruise ship speaker.

He graduated in History at the University of Maryland. He is an accredited Badged Guide of the Guild of Battlefield Guides of which he is a Past Chairman and a senior examiner. In November 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

Battles Ardennes Arnhem Napoleon ... Normandy Landings WWI WWII Waterloo

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Netherlands Western Europe

Accredited Guide Number: 29

I have been guiding on the battlefields of the world for some 20 years. After military service with the Parachute Regiment I followed this with over 6 years spent in the service of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman. My military experience included service during Op Corporate, the recovery of the Falkland Islands with 3 rd Bn The Parachute Regiment as well as service in Northern Ireland. After retiring from a successful Financial Services company in 2005 I have pursued a further career as a Battlefield Guide/Historian.

My guiding experience has taken me on tours to Italy including Sicily, Crete, Germany, France, Belgium India, Singapore, Oman and the Falkland Islands. I have worked with and toured at Higher Command level with the British Army as well as leading and writing Battle Studies and Tours for Junior Staff.

I have worked with a number of companies on tour for schools looking at European History in places like Berlin and Krakow as well as more traditional tours to France and Belgium to see the Battlefields of both World Wars.

I also carry out public speaking engagements and arrange subject matter/venues for a number of Clubs

Battles 20 C. Falklands War WWI ... WWII

Countries Africa Asia Australasia ... Australia Europe South America United Kingdom Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Military & Veteran School Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 80

Originally commissioned into The Gordon Highlanders, I served for twenty years as an infantry officer in the British Army. This included tours at regimental duty as a rifle platoon and close reconnaissance platoon commander, adjutant and company commander. I have also served as an aide de-camp, infantry tactics adviser to the Kuwaiti Army, close reconnaissance instructor at the Land Warfare Centre and a staff officer at brigade and divisional levels.

As a civilian, I have worked in West Africa as a security sector reform consultant to the UN; then as a humanitarian programme manager and operations director reducing the negative impacts of rogue ex-combatant groups small arms, ammunition and unexploded ordnance in conflict-prone communities.

My military service, including operational tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and my time working in Africa has given me a solid grounding in the theory and conduct of military operations and the impact of war. I have a Masters degree in Military Strategic Studies and I am a graduate of the Italian Joint Forces Higher Command and Staff College. I bring this experience with a lifelong interest in military history to my battlefield tours, offering clients a coherent strategic, operational and tactical perspective. I work hard to ensure that the memory of those who fought is properly honoured and respected.

I am a fluent Italian speaker and can get by at colloquial level in German which helps considerably with tour management.

I am accredited with the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and work as a freelance guide for a number of companies, including Staffride, Albatross Tours, Galloway Travel and Battle Honours. This means that I work with adult groups, schools and military units. I also work privately for individuals, families and groups to deliver bespoke tours in Italy, France, Belgium and Berlin.

Battles Arras Battle of Anzio Battle of the Somme ... Cassino Gallipoli Gothic Line Gustav Line Normandy Landings Operation Berlin Salerno WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Germany Italy Turkey Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Families Individuals ... Military & Veteran School Groups Small Groups

Roel Dekkers

Accredited guide number: 95.

I have been interested in the stories of the Second World War since I was a child. This interest continued during my career as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army; I was especially interested in comparing the military actions of now and then. Living in an area where, in September 1944, one of the largest airborne operations took place and where, in February of 1945, the largest land operation started on Dutch soil, I started to study these operations. By giving battlefield tours from 2014 around the Rhineland I introduced people to a relatively unknown battle (Operations Veritable, Blockbuster, Plunder and Varsity) which was the beginning of the Allied advance over the River Rhine and the further advance to the northern Netherlands and towards Berlin.

Other specialisms:

On special request of individual family members of mostly deceased veterans, I provide a special tour where their relative spent their time during the battle for the Rhineland. I also provide tours for specific military units. I also give presentations to schools about the Second World War in general, special presentations about specific battles, and presentations about my efforts in crisis areas during my military career.

Battles Arnhem Eindhoven & Nijmegen Hürtgen Forest ... Liberation of the Netherlands Operation Market Garden Operation Plunder Operation Veritable Reichswald Forest Rhine Crossing Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren WWII

Countries Germany Netherlands

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group College Groups ... Families Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups Small Groups

Peter Edwards

Accredited guide number: 86.

Much of my own family history has been forged by war. My maternal grandparents lived in the Polish lands of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Whilst my mother and grandmother experienced life in occupied Poland at first-hand during the Second World War, my grandfather served with the Polish army and then Polish units of the British Army in Poland, France, North Africa and Italy. Other family members served in Berling’s army and the AK. My interest in battlefields was kindled as a youngster as my grandfather took me to visit his comrades’ resting places in Bolgna, Ancona and Padua.

My interest in History led me to 25 years of teaching and lecturing in institutions as diverse as secondary schools, universities and high security prisons and my teaching has always recognised the importance of either taking the students to the outdoors or, in secure conditions, to bring the outdoors to the students. Even my PhD thesis – a study in contrasting British and Austro-Hungarian interpretations of the problems of late imperial Russia – provided numerous opportunities to walk the ground described by nineteenth century commentators. Nothing compares with experiencing History in its actual environment.

My academic interests and family history have taken me firmly down the line of an inter-disciplinary approach to my craft, and I work from the perspective that military history and the study of battlefields can be hugely enhanced when accompanied by a secure political and socio-economic context. Civil historical sites and concentration camps are integrated into my tours whenever relevant. I gain enormous pleasure from guiding, as it provides the excuse to develop my research, broaden my own perspectives and share my expertise with a broad range of people. Part of my pleasure in studying History is to witness the evolution of my own views – their constant reassessment and refinement is firmly rooted in my translation of academic desk-bound study to bringing the past to life in the field.

Battles Cold War Edward I’s conquest of North Wales English Civil War ... Fulford Stanford Bridge Viking battles in Yorkshire WWI WWII Wars of the Roses

Caters For Adult Coach Groups College Groups Families ... Individuals School Groups Small Groups

Bert Eikelenboom

Accredited guide number: 79.

My family lived in Rotterdam when the war started. They had to hide from the bombs and this story and of course the story about the ‘Hunger winter’ of 1944/45 were often recounted during family get togethers.

In 2008 we moved to Groesbeek and my interest in the actions in Groesbeek was stimulated. I wanted to know everything about the Operation Market Garden and especially the military exploits of the Americans under command of General James Gavin.

I started as a Guide in the Liberation Museum and learned more about the background of the Second World War and the destruction on both side of the borders.

In 2013 I started Liberation Tour. With my DODGE WC51 military vehicle manufactured in the US 1944, I give guests a total battlefield experience combining the smell and the movement of a military vehicle of the period, audio stories, video, maps, pictures and my own storytelling about the battles.

Operation Market Garden in Arnhem is one of my tours. The stories of the British are totally different from the stories of the Americans but they have one thing in common – the fact that they all fought their hearts out to liberate the Dutch.

Battles 20 C. Arnhem Eindhoven & Nijmegen ... Operation Market Garden Operation Veritable WWII

Countries Europe Holland Netherlands ... Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Group Types Individuals ... Small Groups

Christopher Finn

Accredited guide number: 42.

Christopher Finn served in the RAF for 33 years as a navigator, primarily on the Buccaneer, and was a weapons and tactics specialist.  As a Wing Commander he was the UK’s LGB specialist in AHQ Riyadh during Operation GRANBY.  His final flying tour was as OC the Navigator & Airman Aircrew School.  A graduate of the Joint Services’ Defence College, in 2000 he gained an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University.  His last 5 years in the RAF were spent at Shrivenham, firstly on the Directing Staff of the Advanced Command and Staff Course and then, on promotion to Group Captain, as the RAF’s Director of Defence Studies.  In this role he lectured extensively on air power to UK and international audiences, published articles on air power and ran the RAF’s staff ride programme.

On leaving the RAF in 2005 he spent ten years as a Senior Lecturer in Air Power Studies with Kings College London, later Portsmouth University, based at the RAF College Cranwell.

Since 2003 Chris has developed and led over 30 staff rides and battlefield tours covering the subjects and battles listed below.  These have predominantly covered the influence of air power on the battlefield but also areas such as joint fires, logistics, command and control, intelligence, campaign planning, leadership at all levels and the political aspects of warfare.  However, he has also covered maritime battles (Malta & NEPTUNE) and land battles (Monte Cassino & Berlin).

  Chris also lectures on Military History to a wide range of audiences including, recently, a lecture on the role of the Royal Artillery in the Imjin River Battle of the Korean War.

He is a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Higher Education Academy, and works as a volunteer Guide at the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

A member of the Guild since 2008, Chris gained his Badge in 2009, became the Chief Validator in 2015 and became the Director of Validation (now Accreditation Director) in 2017.  He was elected the fourth Fellow of the Guild at the 2020 Annual Conference.

Battles Ardennes Arras Battle of Britain ... Battle of Calais Cassino Cold War Combined Bomber Offensive D-Day Dunkirk Fall of Berlin Fall of France Monte Cassino Normandy Landings Operation Overlord The Siege of Malta

Caters For College Groups Military & Veteran Staff Rides

Des FitzGerald

Accredited guide number: 88.

Des retired from the Army in 2015 after over 30 years of service. Initially enlisting and serving as a Gunner, he was commissioned into the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters (later Mercian) Regiment. He is a self-employed Defence Consultant and was recently working on the STRIKE Brigade experiment, with a particular focus on Concepts and Doctrine. He is a student of the Advanced Command and Staff Course and has served in 1* and 2* Headquarters, as well as being the Chief Instructor of the Combined Arms Tactics Division. He has a MA in Defence Studies from Kings College London.

He has a keen interest in military history and is widely read. In particular, he enjoys visiting battlefields and has dragged his long-suffering wife over many of them. (Though still happily married she now refuses to follow him anymore.) He has led tours to the Crimea, Dublin, Italy and Normandy. He is now developing his expertise in the Napoleonic era. He has a particular interest in understanding how and why decisions were made; the impact of doctrine, terrain and organisational culture; as well as trying to relate the experience of the soldiers at the time.

Battles Crimean War WWI WWII

Countries Europe Russia

Dudley Giles

Accredited guide number: 26.

Dudley Giles has been an active battlefield guide for over 25 years and was an early member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

A former British Army officer, Dudley managed, in a career spanning nearly 34 years, to serve a third of his time in North West Europe (Germany and Belgium), a third in the UK (including three residential tours in Northern Ireland) and a third in ‘exotic’ locations such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Kosovo and the flanks of NATO (Norway and Turkey). In 1990 he attended the Army Command and Staff Course, and, in 2001, was serving as NATO’s senior military police officer during the climactic events post 9/11. In 2006/7 he deployed to Afghanistan as General Richards’ senior police advisor and his last appointment in the Army before finally retiring in 2012 he was Deputy Provost Marshal (Army).

In 2006/7 Dudley found himself on the modern battlefields of Afghanistan and was able to help soldiers, diplomats and journalists understand the historical similarities between the present and past experience of British soldiers in that country. On his return he acted as the chief battlefield guide for the very first Help for Heroes Big Battlefield Bike Ride and continued to support the charity in that capacity until 2013. This experience eventually led him to set up a specialist touring company -‘Battlefields by Bike.

Dudley took his first degree in Law (LL.B (Hons) at the University of Leeds in 1979 and later a Masters Degree in British First World Studies (2010) – graduating with Distinction.

When not running his own tours or carrying out research, Dudley works as an independent contractor for schools, military groups, families and other battlefield touring companies.

Battles 30 Corps ANZACS on the Western Front Advance to Victory ... Anzio Ardennes Arnhem Arras Arras Aubers Ridge Band of Brothers Bapaume Bastogne Battle of Amiens Battle of Anzio Battle of Calais Battle of Halbe Battle of Lys & Op Blucher Battle of Minden Battle of Sicily Battle of The Aisne Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme British Civil Wars Bruneval Raid Bullecourt Cambrai Canadians on the Western Front Cassino Cold War Combined Bomber Offensive D-Day Delville Wood Dieppe Dunkirk Eastern Front - Estonia Eindhoven & Nijmegen English Civil War Fall of Berlin Fall of France Festubert Fromelles Gallipoli Gothic Line Gustav Line Hindenburg Line Kursk Le Hamel Liberation of the Netherlands London Blitz Loos Lorraine Campaign Ludendorff Offensives Messines Meuse-Argonne Middle Ages Mons Monte Cassino Neuve Chappelle Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Normandy Preparations in UK Norway 1940 Campaign Operation Avalanche Operation Berlin Operation Blockbuster Operation Chariot Operation Dragoon Operation Husky Operation Infatuate Operation Jubilee Operation Market Garden Operation Michel Operation Overlord Operation Plunder Operation Sea Lion Operation Shingle Operation Veritable Ortona Passchendaele Polygon Wood Reichswald Forest Retreat to the Marne Rhine Crossing Salerno Sambre Crossing Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren St Nazaire & Dieppe The Great Patriotic War The Last 100 Days The Somme 1918 Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Waterloo Ypres Yugoslav Wars (1990s)

Countries Afghanistan Belgium England ... Estonia France Germany Holland Italy Netherlands Norway Norway Scotland Sicily Turkey United Kingdom Wales incl. Sicily

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Studies Battlefield Walks ... Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies Corporate Tours Cultural Tours Cycling battlefield tours Evening Presentations Families Individuals Leadership & Management Training Long Tours Management Development Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups School Groups Self-drive Tours Short Tours Small Groups Staff Rides

John Patrick Hamill

Accredited guide number: 59.

I am a retired Army Quartermaster (Logistics) and have been guiding professionally since 2009.

My interest in battlefields began as a boy when I caused uproar in his father’s garden by digging trenches and having battles with model soldiers in my father’s flower/vegetable beds. I joined the Army, aged 15 as a Junior Leader in 1961. Since then, my Regular Army career has been with many different Regiments and Corps (Middlesex, Queens, Royal Army Medical Corps and the Intelligence Corps), spanned 47 years, with operational experience in Northern Ireland and The Former Republic of Yugoslavia. In June 2002 I was awarded an MBE for my service.

I have had an extensive career serving across the globe. my infantry experience, both tactical and administrative gives me a soldier’s eye for ground with its impact on various weapon systems and the logistic support needed to maintain armies in the field.

I have an interest in medieval battles such as the Battle of Lewes and Wolverhampton, as well as the English Civil War. I have researched and led a Tour of the Battle of Waterloo in the past and have added this to my list of tours. Another area I am researching is the various Battles of the Hundred Years War with France and anticipate being qualified to take Tours in these battles.

I am also well qualified to lead tours on many of the battlefields of both World Wars.

Battles Battle of Lewes Battle of the Bulge Delville Wood ... Middle Ages Napoleon Normandy Landings Passchendaele Polygon Wood Verdun WWI WWII Waterloo

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Individuals Military & Veteran ... School Groups Small Groups

Clive Harris

Accredited guide number: 39.

Raised in Hertfordshire, Clive spent much of his childhood speaking to veterans of the Great War who encouraged him to join the Army. Clive served in the Royal Signals in BAOR, Cyprus and France before taking up a permanent staff post at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On leaving the army he joined his local Constabulary as a specialist communications officer and control room manager, in his spare time he became a trustee of the Western Front Association and joined the Committee of the Gallipoli Association.

In 1998 he began working as a speaker, writer, researcher and battlefield guide and since then has guided groups the length of the Western Front, Gallipoli, Salonika, Palestine & Italy for the Great War, alongside Normandy, Arnhem, The Italian Campaign and the London Blitz for the 1939/45 war.

Clive, who completed an MA in Great War Studies is a member of the British Commission for Military History and a co-owner of both Battle Honours & Staffride Ltd, leading specialist battlefield tour operators.

He has written three books, “Walking the London Blitz”, “A Wander Through Wartime London” & “The Greater Game – Sportsman who Fell in the Great war” alongside contributing to a number of edited works on military history.

Battles Arnhem Gallipoli London Blitz ... Normandy Landings WWI WWII

Countries Europe

John Harris

Accredited guide number: 82.

John has been interested in military history since childhood. He comes from an extended military family and his early hobbies – modelmaking, wargaming and re-enacting – all allowed him to pursue his interest.

His involvement in re-enacting has taken him to battlefields across the UK, western Europe and the USA, and he has spoken to audiences of varying types, numbering up to 10,000 in one instance, about all aspects of conflict.

After a full-time career in Royal Mail, John took early retirement in 2012. His role as a senior manager with commercial and financial responsibilities gave him a keen awareness of the importance of customer satisfaction and ideas of value for money, concepts that are a key part of his touring offerings.

He has a BA (with First-Class Honours) in War Studies, completed part-time at the University of Birmingham and then the University of Kent while he was working.

Battlefield tour guiding has long been an ambition and John joined the Guild in 2015. He undertook training on the theory and practise of all aspects of guiding – the tour management side as well as engaging audiences in historic locations. He is proud to be a member of the Guild and to have been awarded Badge Number 82 in June 2017. In progressing towards the Badge, John was delighted to receive the Guild’s David Chandler Award for work he did on sources relating to the engagements of Lexington and Concord at the start of the American War of Independence.

John is a freelance guide and a keen motorbike rider. He specialises in set and bespoke motorbike tours of First World War and Second World War sites, the former including Ypres and the Somme, the latter relating to the May 1940 campaign, Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He is equally happy to guide those who prefer to travel on more than two wheels.

As well as the World Wars, John has a keen interest in eighteenth- and early nineteenth- century warfare, particularly during the Seven Years’ War, American War of Independence and Waterloo campaigns.

Battles 7 Years American War of Independence Ardennes ... Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme D-Day Napoleon Operation Market Garden WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Germany North America United States of America Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Individuals Motorbike Groups ... School Groups Small Groups

David Harrison

Accredited guide number: 103.

David Harrison is an independent battlefield tour guide who specialises in the Italian campaigns of the First and Second World War.  He organises bespoke tours to the First World War campaign in the north of Italy which include the Battle of Caporetto 1917, the fighting on the Asiago Plateau, along the River Piave and the final Battle of Vittorio Veneto 1918. He also specialises in the Allied Second World campaign on Sicily in 1943, at Salerno/Monte Cassino/Anzio 1943-44, and along the east coast against the Gothic Line 1944-45. His 30 years of service in the British Army from platoon to corps level allow him to interpret the battles for the visitor today, whilst his NATO assignments enable him to provide insights from the other main participants (Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland and USA). He has studied in detail the Battle of Ortona 1943, the role of Anders’s Polish II Corps and has a particular interest in the impact of the war on Italian society. He is educated at Masters level and has had campaign book reviews published. He received his accreditation (Badge 103) from the Guild in January 2020. He lives in Edinburgh and the Le Marche region of Italy.

Battles Anzio Asiago Plateau Battle of Sicily ... Caporetto Cassino Gothic Line Salerno Vittorio Veneto

Countries Italy

Caters For Families Individuals Military & Veteran ... Small Groups

David Harvey

Accredited guide number: 63.

I began exploring battlefields, castles and other defensive sites as a teenager. These early interests became a lifelong passion in understanding the past through battles as turning points in history and led to membership of the Guild and gaining qualification as an accredited member.

A full career in policing has trained me in a detective’s way to look for corroboration of facts. There’s a saying ‘never let facts get in the way of a good story’, however I believe the truth holds a more revealing narrative than a mere story. Revisiting the accepted course of events is a rewarding way to explore scenes of battle, encouraging discussion about accepted facts.

Graduating from the School of Ancient History and Archaeology, Leicester University in 2012, I have a familiarity with modern archaeological techniques. This enables me to explain how advances in scientific analysis may significantly add insight for battlefield tourists. An example of this has been scrutinising the recent revelations of King Richard III’s battle wounds and reassessing the conduct of the battle of Bosworth through field walking and geophysical surveys.

I have visited and studied a wide range of historical sites across the Mediterranean and Europe from ancient to modern eras. Organising private tours to interesting locations overseas and in the U.K. has become a real pleasure, providing additional research and discrete visits according to client needs.

As a local historian, I am a member of a variety of community based groups with interest in maintaining a living heritage, such as the Rutland Historical Society. My archaeological skills are maintained through field-walking, surveys and excavations with community archaeological teams and Leicester University.

Personal historical interests extend from Roman occupation of Britain through Saxon and Viking settlement to the Norman Conquest. I have particular knowledge of the English Civil War and an understanding of the Wars of the Roses with fresh interpretation of the end of medieval age with the defeat of Richard III.

Battles 20 C. Battle of Halbe Battle of the Somme ... British Civil Wars D-Day English Civil War Middle Ages Napoleon Operation Market Garden Passchendaele WWI WWII Wars of the Roses Waterloo Ypres

Countries Belgium Cyprus England ... Europe France Germany Greece Italy Netherlands Scotland United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group College Groups ... Individuals Pilgrimage Groups School Groups Small Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 32

Chris comes from both an RAF ( Father AC2 to Flt Lt.) and a police ( Grandfather London PC, Uncle, Met Inspector) family. Chris undertook 40 years in Radiology in the NHS as a radiographer both in clinical practice and in management.

An active member of the Western Front Association he began guiding by organising regular trips to the Western Front for his local WFA branch. Interest in developing his guiding skills led to membership of the Guild of Battlefield Guides. Chris is proud to have been accredited with Badge 32. He is also proud to have been a member of the first GBG guiding team to accompany the initial H4H Great Battlefield Bike Ride through Northern France.

The Guild has helped to widen his areas of interest to V weapon sites within the Nord Calais area.

Chris also has lately developed an interest in historic sites around his Lichfield home from the Civil War sieges of Lichfield cathedral, WW1 encampments on Cannock Chase, with the Messines Terrain model and CWGC and German cemeteries there, to the history of Castle Bromwich airfield in both world wars, with the many local burials of WW1 aviators, and their individual histories.

Chris is a regular weekly volunteer guide at the National Memorial Arboretum both for normal weekday visits and participation in the many special events held there, Armistice Day service, New name dedications, Ride to the Wall ( 5000 motorbikes on a special day), new memorial unveilings, remembrance parades and many others.

Battles WWI WWII

Caters For Battlefield Walks Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... Evening Presentations Families Individuals Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups Small Groups

Andy Johnson

Accredited guide number: 52.

My interest in military history started many years ago and, by the age of 12, I KNEW that I was going to join the RAF. I served with the RAF for over 28 years, including 17 years on the Boeing Sentry AWACS, with operational flying in the Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

I left the RAF in 2009 to become a full-time Battlefield Guide, and have now completed 129 tours (it should have been a lot more but COVID-19 got in the way!).

I take groups to the Western Front and, having travelling widely in India, have a major interest in the story of the Indian Corps on the Western Front. I also lead Second World War tours and have been privileged to take veterans to Normandy and Monte Cassino. What an honour! I should have taken a group to Imphal in August 2020 to commemorate VJ Day but, sadly, this was cancelled due to COVID.

Having spent so long in the air environment, I also lead tours to sites related to the Great War in the air, the Combined Bomber Offensive and the German secret weapons programme. This naturally leads to the subject of National Socialist Germany and I have explored a number of aspects of Hitler’s Germany, from the concentration camp and forced labour systems through to the Final Solution. It is a difficult but important subject.

And Germany, of course, leads to an interest in Berlin. I never served in Berlin – but I am an old Cold Warrior!

I joined the Guild of Battlefield Guides in 2008 and completed validation in November 2011.

Battles Arnhem Battle of Amiens Battle of the Somme ... D-Day Normandy Landings Operation Market Garden WWI Ypres

Countries Belgium Eastern Europe England ... Europe France Netherlands Poland Scotland United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Individuals School Groups ... Small Groups

Malcolm Jones

Accredited guide number: 45.

Malcolm Jones BA (Hons)

Malcolm is a British Military Historian, who specializes in the campaigns and battles of Wellington in Spain during the Peninsular War. He is a member of the ‘Society for Army Historical Research’ and a Badged member of the Guild since 2009.

Malcolm has always been interested in History and the military, which developed from an early age. His main love and focus has always been the Second World War, the Indian Mutiny, and the British colonial army of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His passion for the Peninsular War campaigns and its Battlefields began some 35 years ago.

After serving in the Army, and obtaining his history degree, he worked in business management in Britain and the Middle East. Over the years he has travelled extensively throughout Portugal and Spain, much of it following in the footsteps of Wellington’s men. During this time, he fell in love with the Spanish landscape, history and culture.

Malcolm now lives in central Spain, close to many of the battlefield sites, which he has visited on many different occasions and therefore knows the areas he guides very well. He is an enthusiastic historian, who is happy to share his experience with anyone who is interested; be it Wellington’s Army, the local history, culture, food or wine.

As a Badged Member of the ‘Guild of Battlefield Guides’, Malcolm has led many Military Battlefield Studies over the last ten years and has experience of leading battlefield tours since 1993 in Germany, Poland, Crete and Spain. With a rich and knowledgeable background, you can be assured of an informative tour, presented in an enjoyable and interesting manner.

Battles Almaraz Badajoz Ciudad Rodrigo ... Fuentes de Onoro Salamanca Talavera Vitoria Wellington’s Peninsular battles

Countries Crete Gibraltar Portugal ... Spain

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... Families Individuals Military & Veteran

Accredited Guide Number: 91

As a camp follower of an army officer father and army officer husband, Sue developed an interest in military history and battlefields. Her grandfather served with the Royal Horse Artillery in WW1 and her father with the Gordon Highlanders at the tail end of the Second World War. She has lived in several areas of ongoing conflict: Cyprus; Northern Ireland; Berlin and Korea where she was involved with the groups of returning Korean war veterans and their families on pilgrimage visits. She spent four years in the United States, visited 37 states and various American Civil War (and other) battlefields.  With her father and husband, she has lived in several parts of northern Germany. She joined the Guild in 2011 and became badged in 2019.

A qualified teacher for both primary and secondary pupils, with a BA Hons in Philosophy and politics, a PGCE, and an MPhil in History of Art, she has experience teaching and lecturing to school pupils, undergraduates, and interest groups.

Sue qualified as a City of London Guide in 2007 and a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide in 2009. She was course director for the London Blue Badge training course for six years and trained 120 guides. She also trains the site guides for Tower Bridge in London and is currently one of the course directors for the South East England Blue Badge training course.

Now qualified as a Blue Badge guide for most regions of England, she is accredited to guide many prestigious sites with battlefield connections such as the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Churchill War Rooms, IWM, NAM, HMS Belfast, Dover Castle, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, York Minster, Canterbury Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Rochester Cathedral, Hadrian’s Wall, several more castles and many art galleries and museums.

Sue has developed a wide range of walks and tours in London, and beyond, with war related themes such as the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, Blitzed Brits, WW1 and WW2 walks, Battle of Britain, The Art and Literature of War, Castles and Conflicts etc. She is happy to design a bespoke tour for a family or larger group.

In England, she has led tours connected to the Romans in Britain, Wars of the Roses, The English Civil War and Jacobite Rebellions. In France and Belgium, she has been involved as a guide in tours associated with the First World War poets and particularly with the war experiences of Wilfred Owen.

Second World War tours include sites connected to the Battle of Britain, the D Day Museum at Portsmouth, associated embarkment sites of allied troops, Bletchley Park, and several sites connected to specialist units such as the secret auxiliary units and commandos. She is a regular visitor to the D Day landing beaches in Normandy.

Battles British Civil Wars Roman Invasion of Britain The Jacobite Rebellions ... WWI WWII Waterloo Waterloo Campaign Wellington’s Peninsular battles

Countries Belgium France Germany ... Portugal Spain United Kingdom

Caters For Bespoke Group College Groups Families ... Pilgrimage Groups Small Groups

Willem Kleijn

Accredited guide number: 61.

Since 2005 we cater for national- and international groups under the brand DRG Battlefield Tours & Books. We guide both larger civilian/ military (in co-operation with fellow GBG-battlefield guides and tour-operators ) and bespoke individual battlefield tours in following areas:

• ‘Airwar 40-45’ Battlefieldtours around former Luftwaffe airfield ‘Deelen’ (near Arnhem) and ‘Lufwaffe radarsite ‘Tiger’ on Dutch Isle of Terschelling
• Market Garden 1944 battlefieldtours: Eindhoven area (101 US Airb.Div), Nijmegen area (82.US Airb.Div.) and Arnhem (1.British Airborne Div).
• Transportation available for groups up to 8 pers. Coaches for larger groups on request
• Accredited Guide of Liberation Route Europe, member of SGLO (Study Group Airwar )
• We are proud to have served to following clients in recent past (a.o): British Royal Marines, Dutch Royal Marines, 39 Signals Regiment UK, Martin Kaule Tours Berlin, Albatros Travel Denmark, LGB Battlefieldtours USA, Royal Navy/ HMS Kent, WW2 Museum New Orleans, LGB Tours USA/ WW2 Round Table Hist.Society, Dorenweerd College Doorwerth NL, Nat. Military Museum Soesterberg NL, Staff 11.Airmobile Brigade NL, DMO Dutch Army, Rijks Vastgoed NL, Lukkien Video Productions NL, Amstour Travel, Nat. Society of Reserve Officers NVRO, etc,

Battles Arnhem Eindhoven & Nijmegen Liberation of the Netherlands ... Operation Market Garden WWII

Countries Europe Netherlands Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Small Groups

Ian Langworthy

Accredited guide number: 101.

I have had a lifelong interest in history generally and military history in particular. During a 40 year career as a solicitor I organised and led, with my brother, many tours for friends and family to the battlefields of Western Europe.

As I came up to retirement I decided that I wanted to continue guiding on a formal basis. I obtained an MA in military history from the University of Buckingham, joined the Guild of Battlefield Guides and having completed the Guilds’ course for Accreditation am now the proud holder of Badge 101.

I am a freelance guide and have experience in researching for and guiding a variety of groups to western European battlefields of various eras. I also have a keen interest in Romano-British history, British history generally and the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War in particular.

Battles Arnhem Battle of the Somme Culloden ... Napoleon Normandy Landings Verdun WWI WWII Waterloo Campaign Ypres

Countries Belgium England France ... Germany Scotland Wales

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... College Groups Families Individuals School Groups Small Groups

Carlo Larosa

Accredited guide number: 69.

Carlo is born in the Italian town of Genoa, where he lives and works.

His interest and passion for military history and military affairs goes back to his childhood’s days, when he discovered himself as an hungry reader of them.

After his classical studies, a degree in law and a today’s job for Deutsche Bank,(where he regularly uses techniques learned by his fellow guide’s members), he concentrated his studies and researches on the long history of conflicts in the last century.

Genoa is a seaside town so, quite naturally, naval warfare is one of his expertise but, quite oddly, he is really fond of alpine warfare as well, the Dolomites being his favourite ground both for history and trekking.

Being Italian Campaigns oriented, on tour Carlo’s setting is as far as conceivable from the academic: he always try to let his audience live, more than hear to, history. The big picture of human conflicts is often mixed up with little stories of characters and human beings, without  long lists of dates and names. Letters, diaries and experiences of men at war always are placed side by side and often replace old, heavy volumes of history.

On battlefield he always let his guests smell the cordite. So, quite naturally, he found the Guild’s environment his environment. After being the first Italian Member, since 2009, he finally was awarded his Badge, n. 69, at the AGM in Bromsgrove, November 2014. On the same occasion he was the recipient of the David Chandler Award for the best Assignment Six.

Carlo regularly lectures around Italy and teaches military history at the Genoa’s Free University. The most important thing, he always says, in being an Accredited Guide and Italian is to succeed in giving to other members and guides a different perspective about some conflicts and let them know better some of the most beautiful places in the Italian Peninsula!

Battles Cold War WWI WWII

Caters For Adult Coach Groups School Groups Small Groups

Graeme MacPherson

Accredited guide number: 115.

Graeme is a serving Army officer with a background in military logistics. He has served full time and part time for over 34 years in a range of command and staff appointments.

He has been a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides since 2014 and became a badged guide in 2021. His interest in the military started at a young age as he learned of the service of his grandfathers in the Second World War, one as a Royal Engineer, the other as a Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineer in 79th Armoured Division.

He has led a number of military group tours to the WW2 sites of Normandy, Monte Cassino, Sicily, Arnhem and Berlin before developing an interest in the Western Front during WW1.

Graeme has designed and led the Commonwealth Soldier programme taking school and community groups from SE England to the battlefields of France and Belgium to study the contributions made by Commonwealth troops in WW1. He has also delivered a number of tours in the UK and overseas has had the opportunity to lead a tour to the Falkland Islands. In 2018 he supported the Army Cadet Armistice 100 programme to the Somme and the National Muslim Armistice commemorations at Woking’s Indian Army Muslim burial ground memorial.

He is particularly interested in the human aspects of conflict and bringing the personal stories of those who served to life. In addition to leading groups, Graeme also has an interest in research and has delivered a number of WW1 community research projects, presentations and events as well as delivering individual bespoke research projects for families wanting to know more about their relatives.

He is a volunteer speaker for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and a member of the Western Front Association.

Battles Anzio Arnhem Arras ... Battle of Anzio Battle of Sicily Battle of the Somme Delville Wood Dunkirk Falklands War Fall of Berlin Loos Monte Cassino Neuve Chappelle Normandy Campaign UK Home Front Ypres

Countries Belgium Falkland Islands France ... Germany Italy United Kingdom

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Bespoke Group ... Clubs and Societies College Groups Families Individuals Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups School Groups

Joris Nieuwint

Accredited guide number: 112.

Battles Ardennes Arnhem Band of Brothers ... Battle of the Bulge Eindhoven & Nijmegen Liberation of the Netherlands Operation Market Garden WWII

Caters For Adult Coach Groups College Groups Evening Presentations ... Families Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups Staff Rides

Paul Oldfield

Accredited guide number: 51.

In a military career spanning 36 years, Paul served in most of the usual hotspots, including three years in Ulster, plus the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. Other appointments included running the MOD’s Africa team for three years, commanding a mountain and arctic warfare unit and a tour with the Gurkhas. With his military experience he is able to bring a soldier’s insight to battles of the past.

Paul was educated in Sheffield and at Victoria College, Jersey, where he became interested in the German occupation and fortifications. He ran his first tour in 1983 on the Somme and has been involved in WW1 and WW2 tours since. Paul is a member of the Western Front Association and Gallipoli Association. He joined the Guild in April 2008 and was presented with Badge 51 on 20th November 2010. He was heavily involved in the Guild’s support for Help for Heroes’ annual Big Battlefield Bike Ride from 2012, including leading the guiding team 2014-18.

In 1988 he co-authored Sheffield City Battalion in the Pals series. Cockleshell Raid was published in Pen & Sword’s Battleground Europe series in 2012 and Bruneval followed in 2013. He is currently writing a series of sixteen books, Victoria Crosses on the Western Front . The first was published in July 2014 and the final volume is expected in late 2025.

Battles 20 C. Advance to Victory Arras ... Aubers Ridge Battle of The Aisne Battle of the Somme Bruneval Raid Cambrai Cassino D-Day Dieppe Dunkirk Festubert Gallipoli Loos Messines Mons Neuve Chappelle Normandy Landings Normandy Preparations in UK Operation Frankton Operation Market Garden Retreat to the Marne St Nazaire & Dieppe The Somme 1918 WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Italy Western Europe

Caters For Bespoke Group Small Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 68

I retired from the army after a 34-year career in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. During my career, I served with a variety of regiments, including operational service in The Gulf, Bosnia and Afghanistan. From the very beginning of my career I was fascinated by each regiment’s unique history and battle honours. This soon developed into a quest for more knowledge, especially that of The Great War.

My interest in military history probably goes back even beyond my military service to my childhood, listening to my father who was a proud regular soldier who served with the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War and saw service with the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk and later with the 8th Army at El Alamein.

I studied at Birmingham University under Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones and in 2013 was awarded the MA in British First World War Studies. My thesis focused on the mechanical challenges of British armoured warfare in the Great War. I also have an MSc in Battlespace Technology gained at Shrivenham.

I have particular interests in trench raiding in the First World War and armoured warfare up to the modern day. I have been organising and guiding battlefield tours and conducting individual research for many years.

I completed the Guild’s validation scheme in 2014 and became one of the few accredited members not referred during validation. I was very proud to be awarded Badge Number 68 in 2014 by Professor Gary Sheffield.

Battles Battle of Amiens Battle of the Somme Cambrai ... D-Day Dunkirk Le Hamel Normandy Landings Villers-Bretonneux WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium France Germany ... United Kingdom

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies ... College Groups Families Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups

Anthony Rich

Accredited guide number: 74.

Based near Birmingham, my guiding centres on, but is by no means restricted to, battles of all eras in and around the Midlands & Welsh Marches. I guide for a wide range of national and local organisations, small groups and individuals. I am Secretary of the Battlefields Trust’s Mercia Region.

My guiding is always on a not-for-profit basis or to raise funds for a pre-agreed charity. When presenting a battle I focus on the human aspects, aiming to bring the drama to life through some of history’s more colourful, but often forgotten, characters, through the recorded words of participants, and through the use of original artefacts and replicas. Born into a Diplomatic Service family I grew up amidst a wide variety of cultures, observing the importance of understanding the past to explain the present. After living behind the Iron Curtain, I served with the British Reserve Forces for 22 years during the Cold War. There I learnt how soldiers behave and armies work. After commanding a rifle company I was selected for international staff and liaison duties. Leading British & foreign regulars and reservists in a multi-national HQ, I was privileged to engage with foreign traditions, cultures and military thinking vastly different to the English-speaking experience.

Battlefield visitors often want to gain leadership and management insights. In presenting these aspects I draw on my experience over some 30 years as a senior manager in the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as my formal qualifications. They include an MPA (a public & voluntary sector specific MBA), the Army Staff College’s Reserves Command & Staff course, & the Emergency Planning College’s Strategic Command Course. On the basis of my experience The Chartered Management Institute elected me as a Fellow and the Institute of Directors as a Member.

Research into all eras of military history fascinates me, as does any opportunity to present a battle from a fresh angle. For example I used a tour of Naseby as a case study on “Prejudiced Thinking” for a public sector senior training day.

In 2016 I was awarded the Guild’s prestigious David Chandler prize for my research work.

Battles Battle of Teutoberger Forest Battle of the Somme British Civil Wars ... D-Day English Civil War Marlborough's campaigns Middle Ages Monmouth Rebellion Napoleon Norman Conquest of England Owen Glendower's Revolt Roman Invasion of Germany The Jacobite Rebellions WWI WWII Wars of the Roses Waterloo Campaign Ypres

Countries Belgium England Europe ... France Germany Netherlands Scotland United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Clubs and Societies ... Evening Presentations Leadership & Management Training Self-drive Tours Short Tours Small Groups

Brian Rogers

Accredited guide number: 109.

I am a serving Army officer and qualified as a badged guide in May 2020.  I have served with the Household Cavalry both operationally and as a mounted cavalryman on state ceremonial and public duties, as well as working on the staff in the wider Army.  Military experience of the Middle East, Balkans and Afghanistan.

I have been visiting battlefields for many years and have led a number of small group tours, for military personnel, veterans and members of the general public.  Very interested in all matters involving the cavalry where I like to think I have a unique insight, as well as armoured operations where I also have significant practical knowledge.  I continue to develop and learn my craft, and I am currently studying for an MA in the History of Great Britain and the First World War.

Battles Napoleon WWI WWII

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Studies Battlefield Walks ... Bespoke Group Clubs and Societies College Groups Families Individuals Military & Veteran Pilgrimage Groups Reenactors School Groups Staff Rides

Dr. Christopher L. Scott

Accredited guide number: 5.

Christopher Scott has been walking battlefields for over 40 years. He has guided parties around the sites of Medieval, Civil War, Marlburian and Napoleonic battles and was a trustee of the Battlefield Trust and The Guild of Battlefield Guides. He is also a member of the British Commission for Miltary History and the Royal Historical Society. He did his doctorate on the 17th century militia at Cranfield University, part of the Defence Academy, with Richard Holmes and he is well published with ten battle books to his credit; his new interpretation of Roundway Down was released in late 2018. Early in his career he worked in theatre then schools as a drama teacher. Later in Education he led departments then faculty teams, and helped set up and manage a Further Education College. As Director of Education for The Royal Armouries he designed the education and public interaction programmes for the Tower of London, Fort Nelson and Leeds Museums. Away from work he is a re-enactor who commanded the Parliamentarian Army for the Roundhead Association; he is a theatre director, wargamer and stamp collector.

Currently Chris is a trustee of the Museum of Military Medicine and writing the story for the projected new museum in Cardiff Bay. He is also a freelance battlefield guide, lecturer, consultant and writer; he is also a good storyteller and won the Cameron Mackintosh Contemporary Playwright Award.

Battles English Civil War Marlborough's campaigns Middle Ages ... Monmouth Rebellion The 100 Years War Waterloo Campaign Wellington’s Peninsular battles

Countries Belgium France Netherlands ... Portugal Spain United Kingdom

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Families ... Individuals Small Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 40

Mike is a member of the Guild of battlefield Guides Board, holding Accredited Guide status having earned Badge No. 40. His first tour as a guide was in the early 1980’s and he has led groups all over the world since then. Mike spent nearly thirty years in education, ending his career as a member of the Senior Leadership Team at one of the most prestigious schools for girls in the country.

Mike now works full time as a tour manager, historian, battlefield guide, consultant and researcher. He tours across the battlefields and historical locations of Western and Central Europe leading large groups and small private tours with guests from many countries. He considers his special interests to be the WW1 battlefields, Berlin and Eastern Europe during the Cold War, the Holocaust. However, having led groups in India and southern Africa he also considers this to be areas of interest and experience.

Mike is a public speaker on cruise ships and conferences across the world as well as organisations in the UK. Mike has experience as a Tour Manager for Cultural Tours across the world. He is also a published author with books on the battlefields of the Western Front.

Mike is a member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides, the Western Front Association, the Institute of Travel and Tourism and European Tour Operators Association.

Battles Battle of the Somme British Colonial Conflicts Cold War ... Normandy Landings Operation Berlin Verdun WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Asia Eastern Europe England ... Europe India Scotland South-East Asia United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Cultural Tours ... School Groups Small Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 53

After retiring from a varied and rewarding career policing in the Metropolis, he embarked on a part time second career as a Safety Officer in the sporting and music events industry.

Having more free time on his hands allowed Scottie to seize the opportunity to pursue his real interest and passion in life for military history and Battlefield touring. Having organised numerous trips to the Battlefields of Europe for friends and colleagues since the mid 80’s he joined the Guild of Battlefield Guides to hone his skills in this area. He achieved their ‘Badged’ accreditation in 2012 and during this process he was honoured to receive the Guilds ‘David Chandler’ Award, as recognition for the best sources presentation in 2011 from the Guild patron Professor Gary Sheffield.

He is fortunate to be very well travelled and has experience of guiding not only in the UK and Europe, but some far flung battlefields in Asia, North America, North and South Africa, his interest in the later continent has resulted in him building up an extensive knowledge of both the Anglo Zulu and Boer Wars.and a love for that country, its culture and its people .

Battles Agincourt Anglo/Zulu War Boer War ... WWI WWII

Countries Europe South Africa United Kingdom

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks College Groups ... Families Individuals School Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 18

Brian Shaw is an Ex Warrant Officer in the Parachute Regiment who has been leading battlefield tours for the past twenty years. Born in Nottingham in 1958 he joined the Army in 1974 as a Junior Soldier, progressing through a busy career specializing in Battlefield Communications. Brian become a Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1995 and retired from the Army in January 2013 after 38 years’ service.

Brian has had an extensive career serving across the globe, in Northern Ireland on operations and from South Africa to the Arctic Circle and from California to Hong Kong, the long way round, on training. This long Infantry experience and knowledge of tactics, give him a soldier’s eye for ground and the implications of terrain on the weapon systems of any chosen period.

Brian has a long-held interest in military history, particularly the Second World War. He combines his own experiences and his knowledge of history to put his audience on a tour within the experience of what the soldiers of the day saw, felt and experienced. Whilst Brian’s passion is for the Second World War and specifically NW Europe 1944/45 (D–Day to the war’s end) but with a wide military history knowledge he is happy working with groups on the battlefields of the Great War or others.

Brian has assisted in and personally planned and led tours on the Battle of Waterloo, The Western Front, Gallipoli, France and Belgium 1940, Malta, the fighting in Normandy, Operation Market–Garden, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, the Rhine Crossing (Plunder and Varsity) and the Ardennes Offensive. Italy – Anzio and Cassino.

Battles Aachen Battle of Anzio Battle of the Bulge ... Battle of the Somme Belleau Wood Cassino Fall of France Gallipoli Hürtgen Forest Meuse-Argonne Mons Napoleon Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Operation Blockbuster Operation Market Garden Operation Veritable Rhine Crossing St. Mihiel The Siege of Malta US Operations on the Western Front 1917 - 1918 Verdun Vimy WWI WWII Waterloo Campaign Ypres

Countries Belgium France Germany ... Italy Malta Netherlands Turkey

Robert Shaw

Accredited guide number: 106.

Robert Shaw is an accredited Battlefield tour guide and has written military history books on the SAS, SOE and the Cold War. He retired from the British Army after a career spanning over 25 years where he worked in the fields of IEDD, logistics and intelligence, working for UKSF and DIS. He subsequently managed training for the UN and NATO in Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, Nigeria and Somalia. His battlefield tour expertise and experience includes the American Civil War, WW1, WW2 and the Cold War in UK, USA, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sicily, Crete, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Poland and the Balkans. Robert has a Master’s degree in Global Security from Cranfield University and lectures at UCL on intelligence and defence matters and counter proliferation.

Battles American Civil War Cold War WWI ... WWII

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Studies Bespoke Group ... College Groups Military & Veteran School Groups Staff Rides

Steve Smith

Accredited guide number: 17.

I qualified as a Guild Guide in 2004, having left the RAF in 2003, where I served for 18 years as an RAF Police NCO at various bases in the UK and abroad and completed tours in Northern Ireland, the Falklands and in Macedonia on a NATO Peace Keeping mission. At present I assist students in attaining diplomas at various levels of education.

I have had an interest in military history since the age of 13 when I was introduced to my Great Grandfather Private G/5203 Frank Smith who served in the 7th and 8th Buffs in WW1 at the Pozieres Memorial on the Somme. Since then I have traced his war from 1915 to 1918 and now assist others in doing the same thing. It is both a passion and a calling to me.

I now work for Adaptable Travel where I am lucky enough to conduct battlefield tours with school groups and I also specialise in taking adult groups across as well. One of my main areas of focus is taking families on small battlefield pilgrimages to locate where their family members served. It is something I love doing.

I am an author having had two books on Norfolk in WW1 and WW2 published in 2012 and 2014 and I am currently working on my third book which will be about the Norfolk Regiment on the Western Front.

One of my other passions is the air war in both WW1 and WW2 and I conduct tours looking at aspects of these aerial battles. Living in Norfolk provides me with access to subjects such as the Zeppelin raids carried out over the county in 1915 and the Commonwealth and US bomber wars in WW2. I also love guiding the Battle of Britain having been brought up with stories of that time whilst growing up in East Kent.

I am comfortable guiding all aspects of WW1 and WW2 in Europe and revel in being provided with new challenges where I am offered the chance to study and walk the ground for specific unit actions.

As one gentleman said once said to me when I took him to see where his father had fought on the Western Front,

‘You helped to put the meat on the bones of my dad’s story.’

Battles Arnhem Battle of Britain D-Day ... Gallipoli Operation Market Garden WWI

Countries Turkey Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Families Individuals ... School Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 57

I come from a family that saw service in both the World Wars. My mother’s father was in  France during the First World War and her two brothers fought in the Second War – one in  the Royal Air Force, successfully evading capture at Dunkirk in 1940, and another with the  Royal Navy in the Atlantic. On my father’s side of the family, my grandfather saw service in  the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First War and later became an Air Raid Warden in  Burton on Trent in World War II, whilst his brother was with the Royal Air Force in the Far  East.

Talking to them sparked my own interest in military history which then developed to reading  about battles and military campaigns – it was the part of the history lessons at school I liked  most! When I had some pocket money I would buy books about battles and would always be  scouring ‘junk shops’ for military cap badges, medals and the like.

Medal collecting led to me undertaking research into the lives of the individuals that had won  them and in turn to research the battles in which they had fought. The next logical step was  visiting some of those battlefields. Initially alone but later with friends and family, the visits developed into small guided tours with an emphasis on the human side of war and its effect  on the people involved, not just the combatants but those back home or in the countries where the campaigns and battles were fought.

As well as general tours of the Western Front battlefields I also have a particular interest and knowledge in the involvement of the Canadian and Australian forces in both World Wars and have led a number of tours to the European battlefields where they fought as well as in the UK where they trained.

I also particularly enjoy taking small groups on family pilgrimages and undertaking the research that is involved in developing these tours. In particular, I have led a number of American groups and families to the Normandy battlefields of World War II. This led to the development of tours around particular American units including the 29th Division in the drive from the Normandy beachhead to St Lo and the Division’s battle to capture Brest in Brittany. In the UK I have also researched and developed tours around the US forces in the West Country in the run up to D Day including the Slapton Sands disaster and the development of the Woolacombe Infantry Training Centre in Devon.

I have significant experience of working with school groups and  was recently part of the guide team that delivered the Government initiative to take two students and a teacher from every English state school to the battlefields of France and Belgium between 2014 and 2019. I am currently a volunteer speaker for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and also help to clean and maintain CWGC headstones in local churchyards.

“Once again you’ve made our battlefields trip and amazing experience. Thank you for all the extra special investigations you do. We can’t imagine these trips without you!” Teacher – School group

“Our trip has been the trip of a lifetime experience – your part made it absolutely awesome!” Guest – Canadian Adult group

Battles Ardennes Arnhem Bastogne ... Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme Cambrai Charleroi Cornwall in the Civil War D-Day Delville Wood Dieppe Dunkirk Eindhoven & Nijmegen Fall of France Liberation of the Netherlands Messines Mons Napoleon Normandy Landings Normandy Preparations in UK Operation Michel Operation Overlord Passchendaele Quatre Bras Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren St Nazaire & Dieppe Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Waterloo Waterloo Campaign Wavre Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Germany Netherlands United Kingdom Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Clubs and Societies ... Evening Presentations Families Individuals School Groups Small Groups

Iain Standen

Accredited guide number: 24.

Iain Standen is CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust, the organisation that runs Bletchley Park the historic site of secret British code breaking activities during WWII and birthplace of the modern computer.

A former Regular Army officer in the Royal Corps of Signals, he served in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Cyprus, as well as on operational deployments to Northern Ireland (where he was Mentioned in Despatches), Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Iraq. He commanded at troop, squadron, unit and group level, graduated from the Army Staff College and served in a range of staff appointments. This extensive military experience allows him to provide a wide–ranging soldier’s insight on his battlefield tours.

As the son of an RAF officer and the grandson of an Army officer it could be said that the military and military history are in his blood. His interest in battlefields stretches back to his childhood, and he visited his first, Bosworth Field, over 30 years ago. Since then he has toured the battlefields of the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the United States, covering battles and campaigns from the Seven Years War to the Second World War. Whilst maintaining a broad interest in a range of campaigns, the American Civil War remains his favourite era. He began leading military battlefield tours with the troops under his command in 1987 and led military tours and staff rides throughout his Army career.

Iain has been working commercially for Anglia Battlefield Tours since 2001 and has guided tours for them on the battlefields of Waterloo, Ypres, Somme and Normandy.

He is a member of the American Civil War Roundtable (United Kingdom) and lectures on American Civil War subjects. He also maintains an interest in military history and battlefield preservation through membership of The Battlefields Trust, the Western Front Association and the Civil War Preservation Trust. He was an early member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (member number 28) and completed his Validation in August 2006.

Battles American Civil War American War of Independence Antietam ... Battle of Minden Battle of the Somme Bull Run Franco-Prussian War Gettysburg Meuse-Argonne Monocacy Napoleon Verdun WWI Waterloo Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... North America United States of America Western Europe

Glenn Stennes

Accredited guide number: 102.

My fascination with military history ignited during my primary school years, thanks to a teacher who had been a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War. His stories were utterly captivating. In my early teens, I had joined the Air Cadets, firmly ensnaring my interest in the military. I enlisted in the Canadian Army, where I embarked on operational tours in Egypt, Israel (Golan Heights), and undertook two tours in the former Yugoslavia. My military career was diverse, ranging from instructing recruits, providing trades level training for soldiers, to conducting leadership training for NCOs and officers.

After my second tour in the former Yugoslavia, I transitioned to a role with the United Nations, which took me back to the Balkans. Here, I served in Croatia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia in senior management positions, further broadening my experience and understanding of international military operations.

Currently, I live in the Republic of North Macedonia, where my passion for military history continues to thrive. Remarkably, the Dojran Battlefield is literally in my backyard. I am proud to be a founding member and the President of the Macedonian Front Society, a local Non-Government Organisation dedicated to the protection, preservation, and promotion of the battlefields that remain from the Macedonian Campaign.

My expertise and primary interest lie in the Macedonian Campaign of 1915-1918, known by various names such as the Salonika Front, Front d’Orient, Southern Front, or Macedonian Front, depending on the country the soldiers who served were from.

This lesser-known campaign offers a rich and fascinating tour experience for anyone interested in the First World War. Whether you’re looking for a family pilgrimage or wish to conduct a detailed battlefield study, I am committed to providing a custom-designed tour that meets your specific interests and requirements.

Battles WWI

Countries Greece Republic of North Macedonia

Caters For Corporate Tours Families Individuals ... Military & Veteran Small Groups

Tim Stoneman

Accredited guide number: 65.

Tim has guided tours to battlefields and Remembrance sites since 2008, leading schools parties, groups of veterans, serving military and the general public.

Before this he served in the Royal Navy for 35 years as a Gunnery and Air Defence Officer. This included service at sea in the Falklands and in the First Gulf War, as well as deployments afloat to many other parts of the world, and shore postings working with colleagues from the British Army, Royal Air Force and other nations. During his naval career, his life-long interest in naval history led him to take part in several battlefield studies, initially as the maritime expert, and subsequently broadening his interests to encompass land and air campaigns of the 20th Century.

Whilst preferring to look at battlefields with a nautical or amphibious flavour, such as Gallipoli, Dunkirk or Normandy, he is equally at home guiding on the Somme, in Flanders or other land-locked regions.

He is a Westcountryman by birth, with, perhaps not surprisingly, something of a maritime interest from an early age. After many years in Portsmouth, enjoying living near a major focus of the nation’s naval heritage, he has recently returned to his Devonshire roots. He joined the Guild in 2008, was awarded his Badge in 2014 and became the Guild’s Validation Secretary in 2015, a role he relinquished in 2020 when he joined the Management Board and was appointed as Guild Secretary.

Battles Arnhem Arras Arras ... Battle of Calais Battle of Sicily Battle of the Somme Bruneval Raid D-Day Delville Wood Dieppe Dunkirk Fall of Berlin Gallipoli Le Hamel Loos Messines Mons Neuve Chappelle Normandy Campaign Norway 1940 Campaign Operation Husky Operation Jubilee Operation Market Garden Operation Overlord Passchendaele Polygon Wood The Somme 1918 Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Italy Norway Norway Turkey Western Europe

Joël Stoppels

Accredited guide number: 70.

Joël Stoppels is a battlefield guide and founder of the Battlefield Tours in the Netherlands. He did research in different allied operations during the Second World War in the Netherlands. By means of the Battlefield Tours he shares his knowledge with other people who are interested in the Second World War. “ The battle to liberate Holland was so severe and heavy, it took so many lives, that it should not be forgotten ”, is Joël’s conviction.  In the summer of 2012 he started with guided tours under the name ‘Battlefield Tours Groningen’.

The young historian has a mission: he believes it is very important to keep the memories of the war alive. Every year there are less people who actually experienced the war. Young people should be aware that freedom is the most important condition for individuals and for a country. It can be lost very quickly, but you do not get it back easily. In the Second World War soldiers from other countries helped us, they did fight for our freedom and many died for it. Let us never forget and be grateful that we live in freedom in this country until today.

Joël Stoppels organizes battlefield tours for military and civilian groups on Market Garden, the 1st British Airborne division, the 101st and 82nd US Airborne Divisions, the French SAS participation in Operation Amherst in April 1945 and the Canadian operations in the Netherlands and Germany (March/ April 1945).

Besides being a member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides with badge no. 70, he is also the coordinator for the international guide network of the Liberation Route Europe.

Battles Arnhem Operation Amherst Operation Market Garden

Piers Storie-Pugh

Accredited guide number: 12.

Piers has been guiding groups consisting of veterans, students, relatives and military groups to battlefields and war cemeteries of Europe, The Far East, The Mediterranean and North Africa for the past 35 years. He started his tour operating career with Major & Mrs. Holt’s Battlefield Tours before setting up Remembrance Travel in 1985, for the MoD/RBL, which he continued to run for 25 years. In 2011 he was appointed Chief Executive of The Not Forgotten Association, a tri-service charity for the wounded.

Piers is a qualified guide, badged no. 12, with The Guild of Battlefield Tours, qualifying on The Ypres Salient 1914-1918; The Somme 1916; The Chindit Operations of Burma 1943-44; The Battle of Hillman in Normandy 1944 and The Battle of Arnhem 1944; just some of the World War battles of which Piers is an undoubted expert.

He has taken thousands of relatives to their chosen war cemetery as part of the Government funded War Widows Grant in Aid Scheme, 1985-2010. He wrote the blueprint for the Big Lottery/MoD initiative “Heroes Return”.

Piers comes from a military background, his grandfather serving in the Great War, wounded at The Battle of Loos; and his father, having been captured a number of times in the early part of WW2, was sent to Colditz for four years. Piers himself served in both regular and territorial armies, enabling a personal military perspective to be brought to his tours.

His public speaking topics include “Escaping from Coldtiz”; “Chindit Operations of Burma 1943-44” and “War Cemeteries and Memorials Worldwide”.

Piers is one of the most experienced battlefield and remembrance guides, whose speciality is to personalise his tours to his audience and specific requests for family connections to those who fell.

Countries Asia Belgium Europe ... France Myanmar Netherlands South-East Asia Western Europe

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Andrew Thomson

Accredited guide number: 14.

I am a historian, tour operator and private guide based in Canterbury. I run my own company Dr Thomson’s Tours full-time, specialising in tailor-made tours with a historical and cultural theme in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Battlefield guiding accounts for around two-thirds of my business. Battlefield tours are particularly special to me as they combine history (asking what happened, why it happened then, there, and in that way), people (both empathy with those who fought, and on–the–spot interactions with one’s clients), landscape, and travel – all great interests of mine. Where History and Place overlap is at the heart of the buzz I get from history and explaining it to others.

After graduating with a degree in American Studies in 1979 I was briefly a civil servant, then a university administrator for fifteen years. I was Administrator of University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (the UK’s first and largest university space research group), then moved to Canterbury in 1992 to be Administrator of the new Canterbury Business School. Meanwhile I was taking my love of history forward by completing a PhD in American History in my own time; the subject was the experiences of ordinary American troops in France in 1944 and 1945 and their interactions with the French people. On completion of this I set about my aim of doing something ‘useful’ (i.e. productive!) with a History PhD and set up Dr Thomson’s Tours in 1997. This allows me to teach ‘in the field’, to take my study of history forward, and to meet a fascinating and varied mix of people.

References (see Trip Advisor, for instance) pay tribute to my relaxed but authoritative style, the high level of organisation of tours, and my ability to personalise a tour and make the complexities of war understandable to audiences with very varying degrees of pre–existing knowledge.

I was very proud to obtain the Guild of Battlefield Guides’ badge in November 2004.

Battles 20 C. Ardennes Arnhem ... Bastogne Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme Bullecourt Cold War D-Day Dieppe Eindhoven & Nijmegen Fall of Berlin Fall of France Fromelles Meuse-Argonne Peenemunde US Operations on the Western Front 1917 - 1918 Verdun Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Germany Luxembourg Western Europe

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Frank Toogood

For over three decades Frank has had a successful career within the creative industry as a designer and creative director.

During that time, Frank also served 10 years in the 70 (Essex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron, part of 71st (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment (V), and had the distinction of having been the youngest qualified tradesman in the regiment by 12 months, at the age of 19.

Frank’s interest in battlefield guiding came from his father who served in BAOR and grandfathers who fought in WW2 – one in the Royal Artillery on the Western Front and the other in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.

Frank has been battlefield guiding since 2006, specialising in Waterloo, the Great War, WW2 and more recently, Berlin, where in 2019 he was licensed to guide at the Sachsenhausen Memorial.

He also played an active role within the Guild and has held several positions on Council, including Members’ Representative, Brand Manager and Guild Secretary. 

In 2011 he was proud to be the first recipient of the Richard Holmes Memorial Award for Services to the Guild.

Frank is also a member of the Essex Yeomanry Association and a Life member of the Royal Signals Association.

Battles Arnhem Battle of the Somme Cassino ... D-Day Napoleon Normandy Landings Peenemunde WWI WWII Waterloo Ypres

Countries Belgium Europe France ... Germany Italy Western Europe

Vivien Whelpton

Accredited guide number: 72.

Vivien gained her B.A. in English Literature at Bedford College London, and trained to become a teacher. She taught for thirty-eight years in a variety of secondary schools and colleges, heading up departments of English and of Media Studies.

It was through teaching the literature of the Great War and taking her sixth-form students to the battlefields of the Western Front that Vivien became fascinated by the history. After retiring from teaching in 2006, she undertook the M.A. course in War Studies at Kings College London. She also began a new career as a writer. She has published a two-volume literary biography of the First World War poet and novelist Richard Aldington. She lectures on the literature of the First World War and is a regular contributor of articles to journals. Vivien joined the Guild of Battlefield Guides in 2011 and became an accredited guide in February 2014. She works for the tour company ‘Battle Honours’. She has conducted, under the auspices of ‘Battle Honours’, a series of literary battlefield tours, aiming to explore the nature of the various conflicts on the Western Front in which the combatant poets took part and the roles they played, and to use this context to explore their writing. In November 2018, the hundredth anniversary of the death of Wilfred Owen, she conducted a tour of the battlefield sites where he served. She has also guided a series of literary tours for secondary school students under the government’s First World War Centenary Schools Programme and finds it particularly rewarding to introduce young people to the battlefields of the First World War.

Vivien’s knowledge of the literature of the war is extensive and she is happy to lead literary tours of the Western Front for both student and adult groups. But she also has a thorough grasp of the military history of the war and an awareness of how understanding is enhanced by visiting and walking the battlefields.

Vivien is a member of the Western Front Association, the Wilfred Owen Association and the Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship.

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Julian Whippy

Accredited guide number: 31.

Julian has had a passion for military history since his childhood and has led tours across the battlefields of the globe from Beesheva to Spion Kop. He has a particular interest in both Normandy and Arnhem having spent years researching and travelling the beach and inland battles of 1944. He enjoys leading groups to uncover lost or seldom-seen sites of battle from all wars. He has a military background, having served with the Royal Anglian Regiment as a member of the Territorial Army. A published author, he is a badged member and validator within the Guild of Battlefield Guides. Julian lectures on military history widely including in Whitehall for the Royal United Services Institute. Julian is today employed full time in military history as co-owner of both Battle Honours & Staffride Ltd, two leading specialist battlefield tour operators.

Battles Arnhem D-Day Normandy Landings ... WWII

Ray Wilkinson

Accredited guide number: 58.

Ray is especially interested in the British volunteers of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, the Roman Invasion of Britain in 43 AD, in particular the activities of Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Vespasian), and the military career of Major General James Wolfe; he also has a broad interest in the Roman Occupation of Britain, land warfare during the First and Second World Wars, the American Civil War, and the British Civil Wars.  In addition to leading battlefield tours in Europe he has led business study tours to the USA and throughout the UK facilitating best practice learning by client organisations from the Middle East, the Far East, and the UK.

He is a romantic idealist at heart and a firm believer in the power of the human spirit, with a heartfelt dislike of DIY born of much unfortunate experience, it is the actions and motivations of individuals in the context of military history and battlefields that interest him the most – and it is on those aspects that he focuses his attention.  His aim as a battlefield guide is to encourage clients to consider events and situations from a fresh perspective learning lessons from the past to be applied in the future.

He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London (DL), a former Army Reserve Officer and having been awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1993, he was awarded the Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal (QVRM) for services to Defence in 2011.

Ray was a Council member of the Army Records Society and has a CMS, DMS and an MBA from the Open University Business School; he is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of The Drapers Company.

Battles 20 C. Antiquity English Civil War ... Roman Invasion of Britain Spanish Civil War WWI WWII

Countries Belgium France Germany ... Spain United Kingdom

Caters For Individuals School Groups Small Groups

Adam Williams

Accredited guide number: 56.

I served with the Army Air Corps for 24 years as a Helicopter Pilot/Instructor and Examiner and was first introduced to Military History during this time.  I come from a ‘Military Family’ with a Great Grandfather who fought in the Zulu War of 1879, a Grandfather that saw active service with the Fleet Air Arm in WW2 and a Father in the RAF.

I was first introduced to the Battlefield in 1984 on an Operational Tour to the Falkland Islands.  Fortunately, there were many veterans of Op Corporate on this tour and much of my spare time was spent with them on the battlefield.  It was during this tour that I developed an interest in Military History, but it would take a further 20 years before I started Battlefield Guiding.

Being a Pilot meant that I was fortunate enough to see the Battlefield from an aerial perspective.  I have since conducted tours from the air, ranging from the Somme to Normandy and even Iraq! After reading a book about 9 Parachute Battalion called ‘The Day the Devils Dropped In’, I found my interest being directed towards Normandy and the D Day Landings of WW2.  I have led many tours of the Normandy Landing Beaches with a particular interest in 6th Airborne Division and the 1st Battalion The Suffolk Regiment.

I have a developing interest in the SAS/SOE Operations in WW2 and have also led tours of the SAS action in Oman in 1958/9 on Jebel Akhdar.  I currently live in the Middle East where I continue to fly Helicopters.

Battles Anglo/Zulu War Oman WWII

Countries Asia Europe France ... Middle East Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Battlefield Walks Bespoke Group ... Clubs and Societies College Groups Corporate Tours Cultural Tours Individuals Long Tours Military & Veteran Motorbike Groups Pilgrimage Groups School Groups Self-drive Tours Short Tours Small Groups Special Educational Needs Young Offenders

David Wilson

Accredited guide number: 81.

David’s background includes 45 years of military service in both the Regular Army and Reserve. He graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon in December 1975 into the  Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He has completed a wide variety of regimental, training and  staff postings, including operational tours of duty in Uganda with the Commonwealth Military  Training Team (1983) and in Cambodia with the UN (1991-92). In 2006-07 he was deployed  as an Operations Analyst in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2004-05 he served as the ADF  Liaison Officer to the USMC-led headquarters with other international assistance forces  based in Thailand during the tsunami relief operation.

His keen interest for military history is long-standing and widely varied. This includes being  involved as a specialist technical adviser to the movies “Breaker Morant” and “Gallipoli”  which were filmed in South Australia in the early 1980s where he was posted at the time.

While researching various aspects of family involvement in WW1, he was invited to co-  author the history of the 19th Infantry Battalion AIF. It was one of the many untold stories of  the Great War and “Fighting Nineteenth” was published in June 2011. As a result of this  work, he has set up his own business AIF Research Services which assists families and  other interested groups to track their First AIF ancestors both in Australia, as well as  providing advice for potential battlefield tourists. David is regularly booked to speak to local  historical societies on a variety of WW1 topics.

David’s interest in battlefield guiding was sparked by a 1981 visit to the Gallipoli area which  was at that time relatively untouched since 1915. Here he fell in with a small group of fellow  countrymen also making that pilgrimage. At that time he was teaching military history at the  Officer Cadet School Portsea, and the role of de facto battlefield guide fell to him. Since  2006 he has regularly guided at Gallipoli and also on the Western Front where he gets to  practise his French. He is also involved in the planning for some 2018 memorial events to  be held in the Péronne and Mont St Quentin areas. He has recently added colonial forts of  New South Wales to his portfolio of guiding locations.

Countries Asia Australasia Australia ... Belgium Europe France Singapore South-East Asia Turkey Western Europe

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Accredited Guide Number: 46

David has been guiding the battlefields since 1997, with his main interests in WW1 & WW2.

His enthusiasm for military history originated from several sources, not least his 20 years in the British Army, predominantly with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, serving in many parts of the world. Also, his father was a Battle of Britain pilot, while his mother was one of the decoders on the Enigma machine at Bletchley Park. Hence his desire to become passionately involved in military history, and especially the personal stories of those who partook.

Though he works as an independent guide, he is presently guiding for four companies, including one in America and another in Canada, taking schools, universities, adult and military groups (including Staff Rides), and offering private bespoke tours. All tours always include any research to meet client requirements.

As one company recently requested, when they contacted David. ‘Can you do a Normandy tour in one day? The reply being, ‘but it takes at least 4 hours just to drive there’ (from England). The company’s response being; ‘no, it’s only 45 minutes by private aircraft’. What a tremendous tour!

Battles Arras Battle of Anzio Battle of the Somme ... Cambrai Cassino Dieppe Dunkirk Mons Normandy Landings Salerno Verdun Vimy WWI WWII Ypres

Countries Europe Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Group Types ... Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups

Accredited Guide Number: 66

Allan served for 22 years in the Regular Army in the 17 th /21 st Lancers and Queens Royal Lancers, a career which ended at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Gunnery School, Lulworth.  Allan was later commissioned into the TA serving for a further 9 years firstly with the Dorset and later the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in Bovington where he began guiding battlefield tours.

Allan’s first battlefield tour as a guide was for the Yeomanry to Normandy in 1999.  He has since guided nearly 200 battlefield tours for both Regular and Territorial Army units, schools and numerous adult groups to the Western Front, North West Europe plus other campaigns outside of the two World Wars including Waterloo and Agincourt.  Allan has guided many ANZAC focused tours of the Western Front, 1916-1918.  Allan retired from teaching to give himself the time to be an active Battlefield Guide and works freelance for several companies and organisations.  Allan also regularly gives talks on Military History to a wide variety of audiences from those including very senior serving officers to local groups in the Dorset area and wider afield.

Allan is an Accredited Member of ( Badge Number 66 ) of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and a current Validator for candidates on the Path to their own Badge.  He is a member of the Western Front Association, Royal Lancers Regimental Association and a Trustee for the Dorset Yeomanry Association.

Allan is an Alumnus of the Duke of York’s Royal Military School, Dover.  Whilst in the Army he studied and graduated through the Open University, later training as teacher at the University of Bath after which he taught History in a secondary school in Poole.  Allan was later appointed as the Headteacher of the Compass, the school responsible for providing Alternative Provision for young people in Weymouth, Dorset. Allan still lives in Weymouth with his wife Angela, who tolerates both his guiding and golf in exchange for holidays in the sun!  They have two grown up children.

Battles ANZACS on the Western Front Advance to Victory Agincourt ... Ardennes Arnhem Arras Arras Aubers Ridge Battle of Amiens Battle of Calais Battle of The Aisne Battle of the Bulge Battle of the Somme Belleau Wood Bullecourt Cambrai Canadians on the Western Front Cold War Crecy D-Day Delville Wood Dieppe Dunkirk Fall of France Festubert Fromelles Hindenburg Line Le Hamel Liberation of the Netherlands Ligny Loos Ludendorff Offensives Messines Meuse-Argonne Middle Ages Mons Napoleon Neuve Chappelle Normandy Campaign Normandy Landings Operation Chariot Operation Jubilee Operation Market Garden Operation Overlord Passchendaele Quatre Bras Retreat to the Marne St Nazaire & Dieppe St. Mihiel The 100 Years War The Last 100 Days Verdun Villers-Bretonneux Vimy Vimy Ridge WWI WWII Waterloo Waterloo Campaign Wavre Ypres

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Accredited Guide Number: 90

I was born and brought up in Jersey, Channel Islands and from an early age became passionate about its history.

My maternal grandfather, apart from serving from 1914 to 1919 with the Canadian Infantry on the Western Front, held the government position of Guardien of Gorey Castle for 25 years. He was responsible on a day to day basis for Gorey Castle, which is an 800-year-old ancient monument, and he acted as a guide to its many visitors from members of the Royal Family to French day-trippers. He taught me after he retired, without me knowing at the time that I would effectively follow his footsteps, how accurate history and humour make for the best tours.

With both of my paternal great-grandfather and grandfather being career soldiers and seeing service in both World Wars, it was inevitable that military history would help form my interests and I even contemplated a military career myself. However, that didn’t happen, and I followed a career as a lawyer for 35 years.

I got into guiding accidentally as a result of our law firm entertaining some visiting conference lawyers on a coach tour. I thought that the “pre-taped” commentary was so bad that I grabbed the microphone and gave my first guided tour! I did it again when we next had visiting clients and then again for a big family birthday coach tour. Then came a family “pilgrimage” back to the Western Front which I researched with the assistance of my grandfather’s battalion’s war diary and his 90-page military record (the Canadian ones are very full and now are all online) and by then I realised that once I had finished practising as a lawyer, there was another career!

I set up Jersey Military Tours (and its sister brand, History Alive!) in 2016 and I focus on providing personal service for small groups, although I am happy to guide larger parties. I believe in providing a complete experience to my clients to help them get the best of their exploration of a battlefield or fortress. This generally involves getting to know individual participants through their stories, the impact on them and the local population, as well as introducing other disciplines like archaeology and geology to better understand the topography.

I particularly enjoy the educational element of battlefield guiding – be it for individual clients, a class of school children or a military unit undertaking a conceptual study exercise. My mother was a teacher, so I suppose that is where I get that from!

Battles American War of Independence English Civil War Middle Ages ... Napoleon The 100 Years War WWI WWII Wars of the Roses

Countries Belgium Channel Islands France ... Spain

Caters For Adult Coach Groups Bespoke Group Families ... Individuals Military & Veteran School Groups Small Groups

School WW2 Battlefield Tour to Normandy

On a history school trip to Normandy, your group will explore the largest and most ambitious amphibious military operations ever staged – the Normandy landings of June 1944!

No war has affected so many people over such as wide area as the Second World War. We can arrange visits to the sites of the British and American beach landings along the coast, as well as museum visits that will provide the background to these.

We also offer purpose-built school group accommodation in Normandy , which is close to Juno Beach and just a short drive from all the important sights in the area. Self-contained and in the centre of a quiet village, this is the ideal base for your group on your history school trip to Normandy!

4 days, 3 nights

Need something bespoke?

Suggested itinerary.

• 3 nights' half-board accommodation
• Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
• Detailed information pack
• Free staff place ratio 1:8
• Itinerary planning service
• Motorway tolls and taxes
• Return Channel crossings
• Return executive coach travel
• Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
• VAT at current rates to tour operators
• The changing nature of warfare
• Life in the trenches
• Challenges of German nationalism
• Germany: democracy and dictatorship
• Germany and West Germany
• Life in wartime Britain
• Developments in British warfare
• 1918-1939: The inter-war years

Key Stage 3

• Challenges for Europe and the wider world, 1901
• British history beyond 1066

Accommodation

Centre Bon Sejour

UNCMT Bernières-sur-mer

UNCMT Bernières-sur-Mer is an excellent school group centre located just 400m from Juno beach. The centre is set in private walled grounds with a resident centre director to help facilitate a great trip.Students are accommodated in multi bedded rooms with teachers in twins or singles. Each room has en-suite facilities. Meals are served in a separate dining room. Other facilities, which are perfect for school groups, include a classroom/activity room, a large TV/table tennis room, a separate area for teachers, a volleyball court and a boules pitch.

Educational Activities

Arromanches 360 cinema.

Arromanches Landings Museum

Centre Juno Beach

Omaha Beach

Pegasus Bridge Museum

Cultural Activities

Bayeux tapestry, la cité de la mer.

Mont Saint-Michel Abbey

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect trip.

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in the subject area and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a trip to suit your group’s needs and meet your learning objectives.

Launching your trip to parents and students

The next step is to get your trip approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. This is full of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the trip planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start work on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your trip (freeing you up to do what you do best – teach).

Support while you’re away

From lost property to properly lost, we’ll always be on the end of the phone while you’re out on the trip. You’ll get a final info pack before you go, as well as access to all your trip documents via the Vamoos app.

After your trip

Let's chat, your trip is fully protected, we're a fully accredited school travel company. so, booking your school trip with us offers you complete peace of mind. our accreditations are your guarantee that:.

Your school trip will be fully financially protected

Your group's safety will be prioritised

Your trip will be a quality educational experience

Battlefield & World War Tours

Looking to take your students on a First World War or Second World War Battlefields tour? Bring to life the invasion of France and the low countries and the Battles that took place on the Western Front at places like The Somme, Flanders and Ypres. Visit the concentration camps of Germany and Poland, the memorials, museums and cemeteries at Tyne Cot, Thiepval and Menin Gate, or take in the emormity of D-Day by visiting Normandy and the eerie Mulberry harbours that sit off the infamous beaches to this day.

We have a selection of specialist school group tours available that can help meet the needs of your study topics and course work. Led by experts, the Battlefield Tours below will bring to life the locations and realities of the Great Wars in France, Belgium and beyond.

Every Battlefield school tour can be tailor made to your requirements, allowing your student to get the greatest understanding of the monumental events that shaped our world history.

If you are looking for a visit closer to home, your group can find out about events like the Battle of Britain, and how the World Wars affected life here in Britain. We have a range of visits and workshops that can help you teach about WWI and WWII

Tailor make your trip!

Let us find a Battlefield Tour provider for your school.

History Trip to Auschwitz and Krakow with Equity

The importance of Auschwitz and nearby Krakow makes it a ‘must visit’ destination for schools. Explore the dark history of the Nazi concentration camps and the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Old Town in Krakow.

Chateau du Broutel

The Chateau du Broutel is a stunning early eighteenth century French chateau in the northern French region of Somme. School groups can choose from five educational courses, mixing on site outdoor pursuits with French learning experiences.

Normandy-Battlefield and History

Battlefield & History Tours specialises in exactly that. View the landing beaches from the view point at Point du Hoc and see how difficult it would have been to knock out the guns…… the whole area is full of interactive and immersive visits….

Ypres-Battlefield and History

Battlefield & History Tours specialises in exactly that. Ypres and the surrounding areas are filled with history and visits that bring the studies to life. Tyne Cot Cemetery, Sanctuary Wood, Talbot House to name just a couple of visits ………

Art and history trip to Europe

Organise a history and art educational tour through Europe. An educational immersion in culture, history, arts and languages across several European cities.

Berlin History Tour - Adaptable Travel

Adaptable Travel’s bespoke school trips to Berlin offer a unique perspective on European history and the shocking impact of the Nazi’s and Third Reich. We'll enable your students to better understand this period of history on a school trip to Ber

Normandy Trips with Equity

Normandy is a great destination for a school tour offering options for Food Tech, Languages, and History students. subjects include the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, both World Wars, the D-Day Landing Beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry.

Krakow Battlefield and History

Battlefield & History Tours specialises in exactly that. Our Krakow tours are one of the most thought provoking tours students will probably ever do. The impact of being in Auschwitz can affect people in many different ways………………..

Krakow & Auschwitz History Trip

The tragedy of Auschwitz created by the Third Reich is a controversial and shocking topic. Adaptable Travel will help your students confront this significant part of WW2 on a bespoke school trip to Krakow, visiting Auschwitz and other Krakow sites.

WW1 Battlefields

Adaptable Travel will help you create a fantastic learning experience on your bespoke WW1 Battlefields school trip to Ypres and Somme. We offer our ‘Project Battlefields’ student and teacher resources, qualified guides who we hand-pick and more.

Berlin-WW11 & the Cold War

Battlefield & History Tours specialises in exactly that. Berlin offers a great opportunity to not only study WWII, but also the Cold War – excellent visit opportunities……

Somme-Lest We Forget 1

Battlefield & History Tours specialises in exactly that. The Somme are offers some great visits – the Lochnagar Crater where discoveries are still being made, Thiepval and the trenches at Beaumont Hamel where students get a feel for trench life.

Munich-The Rise and Fall of National Socialism

By the mid-1930s, Hitler's Nazi Party transformed defeated Germany into a nation envisioning global supremacy, hailed by many as a messianic force. This vision devolved into a catastrophic total war, ending in immense destruction and humiliation.

Discover Berlin

Walk the Berlin Wall, stand at Brandenburg Gate, and delve into WWII sites. Visit iconic museums & palaces. Experience modern Berlin's art scene, trendy cafes, and vibrant culture. Make memories that bridge past & present!

Krakow-Brno-Prague

Embark on a captivating journey through the heart of Central Europe on our Krakow-Brno-Prague Jewish History Tour. Explore centuries-old synagogues, poignant memorials, & vibrant Jewish quarters. A profound experience awaits-discover, learn, & rememb

First World War Battlefields Tour with Equity

Help your students understand the devastating conflicts of the past through WWI battlefield tours. Visit the cemeteries and monuments in France and Belgium as well as trenches and museums that bring this subject to life.

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Tour American Battlefield Trust-Preserved Battlefields in Three Days

Visit some of the Civil War’s most famous battlefields, with an emphasis on seeing some of the hallowed ground preserved over the past 30 years by the American Battlefield Trust and its partners. These actions range from 1861 at Ball’s Bluff to the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness.

 Before you go:

• Print or download the  Tour Map .
• Watch the action with the  Fredericksburg Animated Map ,  Overland Campaign Animated Map , and  Gettysburg Animated Map .
• Explore the Virtual Tours:  Fredericksburg Virtual Tour ,  Chancellorsville Virtual Tour , and  Gettysburg Virtual Tour .
• Download the following free apps, for more detail and touring assistance:  Fredericksburg Battle App ,  Chancellorsville Battle App ,  Overland Campaign Battle App ,  Brandy Station Battle App , and  Gettysburg Battle App .
• And for the whole story, read the Trust’s new book , Fighting the Second Civil War: A History of Battlefield Preservation and the Emergence of the American Battlefield Trust , by Bob Zeller.

Stop #1: Fredericksburg  

Time: 4 hours  Details:  https://www.nps.gov/frsp/planyourvisit/fredericksburgbattlefield.htm

The Battle of Fredericksburg was one of the Confederacy’s most lopsided victories. From December 11-15, 1862, Union troops tried to dislodge Southerners from fortified lines near Fredericksburg. Despite some temporary Federal success, the Confederate position held strong for the remainder of the battle. More than 18,000 soldiers fell during the battle—fewer than one-third from the South. The American Battlefield Trust thus far has saved 247 acres at the Fredericksburg battlefield.

Fredericksburg is also the recognized birthplace of the modern Civil War battlefield preservation movement.  On July 18, 1987, 27 Civil War historians and enthusiasts met at what was at the time Arbuckle's Restaurant and organized a grassroots preservation organization devoted to saving Civil War battlefields by buying the land. They named it the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, which later merged with the American Battlefield Trust. The APCWS made its first save in 1988, and every year since then, the movement has saved new land.

What to do:

Start at the  National Park Service's Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center , 1013 Lafayette Boulevard.

• Watch the 22-minute orientation film.
• Find out what Ranger Programs are scheduled.
• See the exhibits and walk the historic Sunken Road.

Tour the Fredericksburg battlefield. You have several options: 

• Use the American Battlefield Trust's free  Fredericksburg Battle App  on your smart phone.
• Follow the NPS Auto Tour Route and get out and explore each stop.
• Purchase a touring CD from the Visitor Center bookstore.

Don’t Miss:

• Chatham  – This Georgian-style, 1771 plantation home at 120 Chatham Lane served as a Federal artillery platform, hospital, and headquarters. Famous visitors to the home include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, and Dr. Mary Walker.  This is the second stop on the regular NPS battlefield tour.
• Lee’s Hill  – Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee observed the battle from this stop on the NPS tour.  The sweeping view he had from these heights in 1862 is now obscured by the tree-covered hillside.
• Union Breakthrough  – Union troops advancing from Slaughter Pen Farm in Spotsylvania County broke through Gen. ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s lines in the area of this tour stop before furious Confederate counterattacks forced them back. This was the only spot in the Confederate line to be penetrated by Union troops during the 1862 battle.
• Prospect Hill  – Confederate artillery positioned on this hill was a main objective of the Union assault on the southern end of the battlefield. Despite initially taking the position in a bloody assault, Union forces were driven off the hill, effectively ending the Battle of Fredericksburg. This is the final stop on the NPS tour.
• The Slaughter Pen Farm  – The site of one of the greatest preservation victories by the American Battlefield Trust , this 208-acre site saved and owned by the American Battlefield Trust witnessed vicious fighting on the afternoon of December 13. No fewer than five Federal soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in and around this field. The farm lane leading to the battlefield walking trail and interpretive signs is at 11190 Tidewater Trail.

If you have time :

• Upper Pontoon Crossing  – Near 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon of December 11, 1862, Federal soldiers from Michigan and Massachusetts ferried themselves across the Rappahannock River here (1399 Sophia Street) and wrestled control of the city from Mississippi and Florida troops.   
• Pelham’s Corner is where Alabama artillerist John Pelham positioned his cannon to enfilade the Federal left flank, complicating the Union assault at Slaughter Pen Farm. Park in the rear of the Family Dollar store, 10744 Tidewater Trail, near the corner of Benchmark Road, to see markers at this site, which was saved by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust .

Stop #2: Chancellorsville 

Time: 4 hours  Details:  www.nps.gov/frsp/index

The Battle of Chancellorsville is regarded by many as Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatest victory. From April 29 to May 6, 1863, Lee's army battled Gen. Joseph Hooker's Union Army of the Potomac around the wilderness crossroads of Chancellorsville. Although outnumbered more than 2-to-1, Lee split his undersized force no fewer than three times in the face of a superior foe. In the end, Lee was victorious, but it came at a high cost, including nearly 22% of his army and the loss of 'Stonewall' Jackson, who was wounded by his own men while scouting the battlefield after dark. Jackson died of pneumonia on May 10, 1863.

In one of its most important battles, the American Battlefield Trust in 2004 successfully fought off efforts to develop the property, and then bought and preserved about 140 prime acres fronting Route 3 that comprise heart of the first day’s battlefield.

What to do: 

Start at Lick Run Community Center on State Route 3 (6159 Plank Road), which is in the heart of the first day’s battlefield at Chancellorsville.

• Take the walking trail around this battlefield, which includes interpretive signs installed by the Trust.

Then proceed to National Park Service's Chancellorsville Visitor Center  (9001 Plank Road).

• Watch the 22-minute orientation film. 
• See the exhibits and walk the  "Wounding of Stonewall Jackson"  trail.

Tour the NPS battlefield. You have several options: 

• Use the American Battlefield Trust's free  Chancellorsville Battle App  on your smart phone.
• Follow the  NPS Auto Tour Route  and get out and explore each stop.
• Purchase a touring CD from the bookstore.

Don't miss:

• Lee-Jackson Bivouac (NPS tour stop 5) is where the two famous generals met for the last time. 
• Jackson's Flank Attack Site  – On the afternoon of May 2, 1863, the right flank of the Union Army was located in this vicinity. Near 5:15 p.m., the first wave of Stonewall Jackson's flanking column struck and decimated the unsuspecting Federals. Within hours, the Union flank was no more and Stonewall Jackson lay wounded by his own men.  The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have preserved hundreds of acres at the site of Jackson’s massive flank attack, which is stop 8 on the NPS tour route.
• Hazel Grove – This critical plateau at tour stop 9 served as an excellent spot for Confederate artillery to attack Union infantry on May 3, 1863.
• Fairview , stop 10, was the backbone of the Federal defensive line at Chancellorsville. Captain Clermont Best placed some 30 cannons in this area, and repelled wave after wave of Confederate attacks.

Stop #3: The Wilderness  

Time: 1 hour  Details:  www.nps.gov/frsp/index

On May 5-6, 1864, the Union Army of the Potomac once again locked horns with the Army of Northern Virginia in the dense thickets known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania. Over the course of two days, the two armies fought to a bloody stalemate, inaugurating a new era of violence in the war in the East.

In 2008, Walmart Corporation began planning to build a Supercenter in the Wilderness. After a three-year preservation battle waged by the American Battlefield Trust and the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition, Walmart agreed to move further west on Route 3 and gave the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Start at the National Park Service's Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter, 35347 Constitution Highway, Locust Grove, Va.

Woodland fires swept across this field — Saunders Field — during the battle, consuming the Confederate and Union soldiers who lay dying after bloody attacks and counterattacks across the field.

• Read the exhibit panels. 
• If time allows, you may wish to follow the  NPS Auto Tour Route.
• Use the American Battlefield Trust's free  Overland Campaign Battle App  on your smart phone.

Insider tip:  If you want to learn about a key battlefield feature and see the area where the American Battlefield Trust and its partners fought to keep Wal-Mart out of the Wilderness, go to the pull-off at Wilderness Tavern , on the north side of Route 3, just beyond its intersection with Route 20.

Stop #4: Mine Run Battlefield 

Time: 15 – 90 minutes (depending on whether you walk the trail). Details: Mine Run Battlefield

In late November of 1863, Gen. George Gordon Meade attempted to steal a march through the Wilderness of Spotsylvania and Orange counties of Virginia, and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. With winter fast approaching, and the recent Federal victory at Chattanooga, Tennessee, time was of the essence. Delays due to weather, coupled with heavy skirmishing, slowed the Federal advance. On November 27, 1863, the two sides clashed at Payne's Farm. After a short, but intense battle, the Confederates were able to withdraw to fortifications behind Mine Run. More delays plagued the Federal advance. On November 30th, with nearly half of his army arrayed for an assault on the strongly positioned Confederate lines, Meade had second thoughts. He and one of his most trusted subordinates called off the attack against Lee's strongly fortified position. The Federal army withdrew to winter quarters. Mine Run was the great battle that never was. 

Today, an interpretive trail includes a portion of the 690 acres that the American Battlefield Trust has saved at Mine Run.

Start at Zoar Baptist Church, 31334 Zoar Road (Route 611), Locust Grove.

• Walk the 1.5-mile battlefield interpretive trail , marked with historical wayside tablets, located across Route 611 from Zoar Baptist Church.

Stop #5: Cedar Mountain   

Time: 1 hour Details: Cedar Mountain Battlefield

On August 9, 1862, Confederate forces were on the move toward the town of Culpeper, Virginia. Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson hoped to defeat a newly formed and spread-out Union army before it could unite. The two sides clashed just outside Culpeper, in the shadow of Cedar Mountain. A seesaw battle ensued. Confederate forces broke, but Jackson rallied them in one of the more dramatic scenes of the war. In the end,  Jackson gained a narrow victory over Federal forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks. This Confederate victory allowed Robert E. Lee to shift the war away from Richmond and back into Northern Virginia—opening the door for the Battle of Second Manassas.

The American Battlefield Trust has saved 498 crucial acres of the battlefield,  including the scene of the heaviest action.  The Trust has also worked tirelessly to restore the land to its 1862 appearance, allowing visitors the opportunity to see this battlefield as the soldiers saw it.

• Walk the half-mile interpretive trail with signs on 150 acres of battlefield saved by the American Battlefield Trust. The trail begins at the parking area near Crittenden Lane and General Winder Road—to which signage will direct you.

Insider tip: Did you know that the cannons that sit on the Cedar Mountain battlefield once sat on the Gettysburg battlefield? These reproduction artillery pieces flanked Lee's Headquarters along the Chambersburg Pike, but once the American Battlefield Trust acquired that property, the Friends of Cedar Mountain Battlefield refurbished the Parrott guns and moved them to Cedar Mountain.

Stop #6: Brandy Station   

Time: 2 hours Details: Brandy Station Battlefield

The Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, involving more than 20,000 men, was the largest cavalry battle ever fought on North American soil. The Union cavalry commander, Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, anticipated the move and struck Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s men in camp at Brandy Station . Although Stuart claimed a slim victory, the battle proved the fighting mettle of the previously maligned Union cavalry.

The American Battlefield Trust has saved 2,159 acres of the Brandy Station battlefield, including most of the scenes of major fighting.  Nearly all of this land retains its wartime character, with vistas similar to those the soldiers had during the battle. Most spectacularly, the Trust was instrumental in preserving Fleetwood Hill, where a number of non-historic homes have been removed and the battlefield has been returned to its 1863 appearance.

• Download the Brandy Station Battle App , for more detail and touring assistance.
• Start at Fleetwood Hill , located at 20368 Fleetwood Heights Road. There’s a small parking area near a historic United Daughters of the Confederacy bronze tablet. A short walking trail rings the hill where a telescope helps you see the surrounding features.
• If time allows, two more walking trails await you at nearby St. James Church and at Buford’s Knoll . Brandy Station is one of the three largest sites preserved by the Trust.
• On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visit the Graffiti House , 19484 Brandy Road, Brandy Station, a wartime structure loaded with Civil War soldier graffiti. The historic house is the headquarters of the Brandy Station Foundation, which has partnered with the American Battlefield Trust to help save the battlefield.

Stop #7: Bristoe Station  

Time: 1 hour Details: Bristoe Station Battlefield

At Bristoe Station on October 14, 1863, Confederate Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill’s corps stumbled upon two corps of the Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. Union soldiers posted behind an embankment of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad raked the advancing Confederate troops and captured a battery of artillery. Almost 2,000 men fell in the battle.

The Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park represents one of the most notable saves in the history of the American Battlefield Trust. In 2004, the Trust collaborated with Centex Homes and Prince William County to save 133 acres of core battlefield, at the same time allowing the developer to build homes on other land in the tract. Without having to buy the land, the Trust was able to save much of a key battlefield on valuable Northern Virginia property.

Start at Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park on Route 619, Bristow Road, Bristow, Va..

• The 140-acre park, opened in 2007, features 2.7 miles of walking and equestrian trail and interpretive signs about the battle.

Stop #8: Ball’s Bluff 

Time: 1.5 hours Details: Ball’s Bluff Battlefield

On October 21, 1861, a Union scouting party crossed the Potomac River at Ball’s Bluff to determine the positions of Confederate troops near Leesburg. When the Union troops encountered Mississippi infantry, a skirmish began that progressed into a battle and a victory for the Southerners. Col. Edward Baker, a U.S. senator and friend of President Lincoln, was killed as the Confederates drove the Yankees over the bluff and into the Potomac, where many drowned and hundreds surrendered rather than risk escape into the river. Of the battle's 1,157 casualties, more than 1,000 wore uniforms of blue.

The American Battlefield Trust has saved three acres at Ball’s Bluff.

• The Ball’s Bluff Battlefield Regional Park on Ball’s Bluff Road, Leesburg, features a number of walking trails and battlefield interpretive signs and a small national cemetery.

Stop #9: Monocacy Battlefield

Time: 1-2 hours Details: Monocacy Battlefield

To help take pressure off the Confederates in Virginia, a force commanded by Gen. Jubal A. Early crossed the Potomac River at Shepherdstown into Maryland on July 5-6th, 1864, to threaten the national capital. On July 9th, a makeshift Union force attempted to stop Early’s invading Confederate divisions along the Monocacy River, just east of Frederick. They were defeated, and Early continued his advance towards Washington. The battle at Monocacy, however, gave the Union army time to bolster defenses around Washington.

The American Battlefield Trust has saved 442 acres at Monocacy and was integral in saving the Thomas Farm at the heart of the battlefield.

• The Monocacy National Battlefield is a National Park Service facility. After stopping at the Visitor Center, 5201 Urbana Pike, take the Monocacy National Battlefield self-guided auto tour .

If you have time:

Consider swinging by Antietam and Harpers Ferry, where the American Battlefield Trust has saved more than 650 acres of key land, including the “Epicenter at Antietam.”  See detailed itinerary of these sites.

Stop #10: Gettysburg

Time: 5 hours Details: Gettysburg Battlefield  

The Battle of Gettysburg, on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, was the greatest battle of the war. It ended Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North. For three summer days in south central Pennsylvania, more than 160,000 soldiers fought in the farm fields and amongst the boulders and hills around the small town of Gettysburg. More than 51,000 men were killed, wounded, captured or missing.

Over the years, the American Battlefield Trust has saved more than 1,000 acres at Gettysburg.  This includes land that saw fighting on all three days of the battle. On the first day’s battlefield, we saved land along Willoughby Run and adjacent to Barlow’s Knoll. Farther south, we saved a small but crucial parcel along the Emmittsburg Road over which Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s men marched on their way to Devil’s Den and Little Round Top on July 2. We also saved key tracts on Power’s Hill, a key Union artillery platform during the fighting on Culp’s Hill.  But perhaps most visibly, the Trust has preserved and restored the Mary Thompson House, site of Robert E. Lee’s headquarters during the battle.

Start at the Visitor Center , Gettysburg National Military Park.

Then tour the battlefield. You have several options.

• Watch the Gettysburg Animated Map (which you can also do on the big screen at the Gettysburg Heritage Cente r! It’s at 297 Steinwehr Avenue.)
• For a personalized experience, hire a Licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide .
• Download the Gettysburg Battle App for your own driving tour of the battlefield.
• Take the NPS self-guided auto tour .
• Gen. Lee’s Headquarters – The preservation and restoration of the Thompson House, which Gen. Robert E. Lee used as his headquarters during the Battle of Gettysburg, is one of the stellar preservation achievements of the American Battlefield Trust. The four-acre tract included a motel and restaurant for many years, with the Thompson home serving as a museum and gift store. The Trust bought the property in 2015, razed the modern structures and in 2016 opened the restored property, which includes a trail and interpretive markers. The historic site is at 385 Lincoln Highway.  
• McPherson Ridge (NPS tour stop 1) is in the heart of the first day’s battlefield at Gettysburg. Union Gen. John Reynolds was killed near a memorial to him.
• Barlow's Knoll – Located on Howard Avenue on the NPS tour after stop 3 (Oak Ridge), Barlow's Knoll is where Confederate attackers smashed the Union defensive line on the first day of the battle. The American Battlefield Trust has saved three large tracts near Barlow's Knoll, including 40 acres directly south of the knoll.
• Virginia Memorial – Here, at stop 5 on the NPS tour, the spectacular Virginia Memorial depicts Gen. Lee on his horse, Traveller, peering across the vast, open plain where his army made its great assault, Pickett’s Charge, on the third day of the battle.
• Little Round Top – Much of the battlefield is in view from this hilltop, NPS tour stop 8, which saw intense fighting on the second day of the battle as Union forces hastily occupied this commanding position and Confederates desperately and unsuccessfully tried to dislodge them.
• Peach Orchard – An ill-advised Union advance by Gen. Daniel Sickles to the area of the Peach Orchard, well in front of the rest of the Union line, threatened Union efforts on the second day of the battle.
• Power’s Hill – As the NPS tour proceeds from stop 12 to stop 13 at Spangler’s Spring, the route turns onto Baltimore Pike for a short distance before turning left onto Colgrove Avenue. While southbound on Baltimore Pike, one can see Power’s Hill in the near distance off to the right; from this hill, Union artillerists shelled Confederate forces attacking Culp’s Hill.  The American Battlefield Trust has saved key tracts at Power’s Hill, allowing the National Park Service to open up vistas of Gettysburg’s forgotten landmark. Before long, a trail will cross the property the Trust preserved and provide walking access to Power’s Hill. 
• High Water Mark – Here, at stop 15, the Union line repulsed the Confederate assault – Pickett’s Charge – on the climatic third day of the battle. After a mile’s march across open fields from the area of the Virginia Memorial, the spectacular assault by 12,000 Confederates dissolved at the stone wall and the Copse of Trees in the fury of close-quarters combat.         

Make Some History This Weekend in Fredericksburg

Make Some History This Weekend in Culpeper

Make Some History This Weekend in Gettysburg

Related battles, the battlefields today.

Visit Gettysburg

Visit Brandy Station

Visit Bristoe Station

Visit The Wilderness

Visit Cedar Mountain

Visit Monocacy

Visit Mine Run

Visit Chancellorsville

Visit Ball's Bluff

Visit Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg Virtual Tour

Gettysburg Virtual Tour

The Wilderness Virtual Tour

Brandy Station Virtual Tour

Lee's Headquarters: A Guided Tour

Chancellorsville Virtual Tour

Explore the trust's anniversary.

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University of Virginia suspends tours that had come under fire for mentioning Thomas Jefferson's ties to slavery

The University of Virginia suspended a campus tour program that had been criticized for citing school founder Thomas Jefferson's ties to slavery, officials said Friday.

The tours led by University Guide Service have been plagued by spotty attendance by student volunteers and issues with "consistency" in content, university officials said in a statement to NBC News.

The school has been "in close contact with the student-led University Guide Service" for two years "to address a trend of issues and concerns surrounding guide attendance and tour consistency, and to discuss plans for improvement," UVA said in statement.

The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group, had been calling for an end or change to the tour program, insisting that volunteers had been wrongly besmirching the legacy of UVA's founder.

The university's statement did not cite the Jefferson Council's ongoing campaign against University Guide Services.

And UVA spokesperson Bethanie Glover went a step further adding that: "This isn't in direct response to any criticism from the Jefferson Council. This is more to do with the guides not showing up for their scheduled tours."

Nonetheless, the alumni group's president claimed victory on Friday.

Council president Thomas Neale, a 1974 UVA grad, said his group helped push Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, to place 13 appointees on the university's 17-member governing board of trustees, which led to this action.

"So yeah, we raised the issue and now that they have 13 (appointees) — and not all of the Youngkin appointees are homogenous, some are fairly moderate — but all of them looked at this and said this has to change," Neale said.

Neale insisted his group doesn't want a whitewashing of Jefferson's status as a slaveowner, but a greater contextualization of America's third president and Declaration of Independence author.

He insisted that it should be taught that Jefferson signed into law, in 1807, the prohibition against the importation of slaves. The prohibition was poorly enforced, doing little to end the institution of slavery until the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation .

"He's (Jefferson) quoted by every country in the modern era having started a democracy," Neale said. "There are many commendable things about him. Of course, mention he was a slave owner. That's not hidden."

In statement posted to social media on Wednesday, University Guide Services said it hopes to work with UVA administrators to re-start tours by spring 2025.

These tours, though, must "share an honest and completely account of UVA and its history."

"To our stakeholders, collaborators, community members, and fellow students, we are deeply sorry that we cannot fulfill our mission to the fullest extent this semester," University Guide Services said.

"While these months will undoubtedly look different, we hope to continue collaborating with all of you to share those stories of this school throughout the fall."

Senior Breaking News Reporter

Cianchetti and Stevens lead 20 players through to Second Stage Q-School at Golf Nazionale

DP World Tour First Stage Qualifying School began this week at Golf Nazionale in Italy, with 20 players making sure of progression to Stage Two.

Italian Luca Cianchetti and American Scott Stevens couldn’t be separated at the top of the leaderboard with both finishing on 14 under par for the week.

The duo won by four shots from Italian Michele Ortolani and American Michael Miller.

Scores of four under par or better secured progression with the 20 players now having direct access to the Second Stage and the opportunity to earn their card for 2024.

The Second Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School will be played across four venues in Spain from October 31-November 3.

Qualified players:

Luca Cianchetti (ITA)

Scott Stevens (USA)

Michele Ortolani (ITA)

Michael Miller (USA)

Tiger Christensen (GER)

Mario Galiano Aguilar (ESP)

Tyler Johnson (USA)

William Holan (CAN)

Jacopo Vecchi Fossa (ITA)

Spencer Cross (USA)

Flavio Michetti (ITA)

Marco Florioli (ITA)

Gabriel Morgan (CHI)

Giovanni Manzoni (ITA)

Oliver Suhr (DEN)

Luis Carrera (MEX)

Alan Wagner (ARG)

Luca Cavalli (ITA)

Charles Huntzinger (USA)

Damien Perrier (FRA)

DP World Tour Partners