Great War Battlefields Tour 2022 – POSTPONED

Great War Battlefields Tour 2022 – POSTPONED

Please note that due to travel disruptions the Great War Battlefields Tour has been postponed until further notice. 

Background

As many Liverymen and Freemen will know Pastmaster Graeme Monteith has tried for some time to arrange a battlefield tour of the main action areas of the Great War but this has not happened because of the Covid outbreak. He has asked me, an Honorary Freeman and ex Clerk, to take the project forward.

To be able to plan with confidence and accuracy I need to know how many people will come, and the information below should enable you to decide if this is for you.

Your Guides

Our lead guide will be Simon Doughty, an experienced Great War Guide who has led several tours for other Livery Companies. The tour will be made possible by Peter Rolington of Great War Battlefields Ltd who will make all the travel, hotel and other arrangements and has an extensive knowledge of the main campaigns, and myself, a former 25 year career soldier who has made many visits to the Western Front, writing illustrated articles for the regimental magazine of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.

The Itinerary in Outline

This is a four day/three night tour, departing on Friday 29 April and returning on Monday 2 May (a bank holiday). On Day 1 we will travel to Ypres by coach at 9.00 am and will enjoy an afternoon tour of this very attractive city which played such a central part in the war and has many places of great interest. That evening there will be a briefing and then we will dine together informally.

On Day 2, Saturday, we will visit key battlefields, monuments and Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries (CWGC), including Tyne Cot, Sanctuary Wood, Hill 60, Messines and others, in the Ypres Salient. In the evening we will attend the 8.00 pm ceremony at the Menin Gate, and we hope to arrange for the Master to lay a wreath to the millions who spent their war in engineering, mining, building, digging and the whole range of construction tasks without which victory could not have been achieved. That evening will be free; you can dine where you wish either before or after the Menin Gate Ceremony. There is lots of choice in Ypres.

On Day 3, Sunday we travel to battlefields on the Somme where we will visit many of the key battle areas, including Devonshire Wood, Lochnagar Crater, Newfoundland Park, the Ulster Tower and the great Thiepval Memorial. We will spend that night in Arras, an old and fascinating city that lies in the heart of the northern section of the Western Front and was the launch point of the 1917 allied offensive. We will dine together informally in Arras.

On day 4, our last day, we will visit Vimy Ridge, primarily a Canadian Memorial although British and other Commonwealth troops fought there too. The view east towards the Hindenburg Line is amazing. There may be time for another CWGC Cemetery visit on the way home. We then return to UK and the drop off point.

Costs

It is very difficult at the moment, as we (hopefully) prise ourselves from the grip of Covid to be accurate about the final cost per head, but I estimate around £450, with a single room supplement for those travelling alone. This includes our coach, channel tunnel, three nights hotel bed and breakfast and at least two picnic type lunches, and we might be able to include the two “all together” dinners, excluding drinks.

And finally….

If you have a relative who served on the Western Front especially if he is in one of the CWGC Cemeteries it may well be possible to include a visit. I can also undertake some research on relatives who served, particularly if you know what regiment or corps they served with.

Action by you, please.

We need to have a clear indication of how many people will be coming, as we need a good turn out to cover all the costs. Email Tim (t.nicholson@btinternet.com) or call with any questions 01580 714035.

In conclusion

This tour will be informative, at times moving, but fun. You will spend time with your fellow constructors in the hands of experienced guides and organisers. You will need no formal clothes. You will need to meet the requirements at the time for such as proof of Covid injections, and you will have to provide your own travel insurance.

Please get in touch and let me know if this is going to be of interest to you. I have not been able to obtain any lists of those who expressed interest for any of the previous cancelled tours, so I do need to hear from you, ideally by 8 January 2022, earlier even better.

Tim Nicholson

01580 714035/07785 355723

t.nicholson@btinternet.com