Leger Holidays Announce Anniversary Battlefield Tours

anniversary_battlefields

Here at Leger Holidays we are pleased to announce our new range of Anniversary Battlefield Tours

Are you are aware that next year is the 100th Anniversary of the Great War?
It is also the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings along with many other battles that were part of the second world war.
This has lead to the Government revealing they have planned four years of “acts of remembrance”. This will commence with a candle-lit vigil at Westminster Abbey on the 4th of August 2014.
This made us think about what we could do as the ‘UK’s leading Battlefield Tour Operator’ to commemorate the anniversaries. We want to provide people with the very best experience. We wanted to offer them the opportunity to visit these moving and thought provoking locations and be part of the anniversary ceremonies.
After careful planning and numerous routing trips, we are proud to offer a range of new professionally tailored Anniversary Battlefield Tours, to sit with our existing Battlefield range.
These tours have been designed and planned with great detail and will take in a combination of battlefields, memorials and war cemeteries. The tours will enable you to get the answers to those burning questions. We will also try and help you find out that little more about a relative who may have fought in the wars.
On each tour there will be a Specialist Battlefield Tour Guide. The guides will be sharing their wealth of knowledge about the places you will visit. They will also tell how countless stories of personal braveries and sacrifices that the soldiers endured.
Please visit our website, to see our full range of Anniversary Battlefield tours.

Top Five Pet Hates When Travelling

Holiday Room 101

Top Five Pet Hates When Travelling By Margo

 

We all like to get together and share our positive tales of travelling to incredible destinations. However there are times, just a few mind, when you just have to enjoy a brief rant about the little annoyances that can niggle us on our travels.

 
Whether we like to admit it or not, everyone has pet travel peeves. Whether it’s simply having to pack your suitcase or the sound of a spoilt child in the duty free sweet section, there are little things we could all do without should the travel fairy choose to grant our wishes. Here are my top five travel gripes that would be sent straight to the famous Hotel room 101 if I had anything to do with it!
 
1. Cramped legs – there is nothing worse than sitting for hours on end with that tingling pain shooting through your joints not being able to stretch out because there’s not enough leg room (not a problem on Silver Service coaches I hasten to add); and then that delightful person in front of you decides it’s absolutely necessary to pull the reclining lever. And the fight for that extra legroom seat on planes by the emergency doors – how early do you have to get there to get those precious seats?
 
2. Waiting and waiting and waiting… – once you set off on your jollies, you really just want to get going don’t you? So, for me, one of the most annoying things about travelling has to be any unforeseen delays. Airports might be good fun for an hour, but four hours later you’ve done all the shops, spent a fortune on food and drink and you’re ready to get going.
 
3. Bad baggage Handling– you’ve lovingly packed your suitcase with all your favourite clothes and accessories and all those little bits and pieces you might need. But then, at an airport, you wave goodbye to it at check in and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has that sinking stomach feeling as you wonder if and when you’ll see it again. Apparently 3,000 pieces of luggage are lost in airports EVERY HOUR! Not only is there that worry it will turn up in Bermuda, when you’re in Berlin, but also you’ve no idea if it’s being looked after. At least on a coach I’ve never once had a damaged suitcase, as the baggage handlers are less anonymous – most of the time they’re also your drivers!
 
4. Poor customer service– The customer is always right. Ok, that’s not strictly true. But I do expect to receive the high levels of customer service that I would offer holidaymakers myself. When travelling I should be kept informed, treated with respect and have my every whim catered for…well maybe not that last one, but I expect a certain level of comfort and being looked after. But given some of my holiday experiences, I’m not sure all workers in the travel industry received that memo. Now peel me my grape!
 
5. The heat is on…or off – Travelling always poses a conundrum when it comes to what clothing to wear. It may be cold when you set off from home but maybe you’re heading somewhere boiling hot? Or even colder? What should you wear to ensure you’re comfortable at both ends of the journey? But then this is made even more difficult by those annoying uncontrollable heating systems on some modes of transport. It seems the only options are ‘Sahara Desert’ or ‘North Pole’, so before you’ve even arrived at your destination you’ve probably experienced extremes of temperature you never thought possible.  I’ve become an expert on dressing in layers!
 
Have you got a pet travel hate for Room 101 – why not share them by writing a comment below?

Ideas for Father’s Day From Leger Holidays

A new car cleaning kit, baking a cake or a matching shirt and tie set are all very nice ideas but are they a little predictable? Why not take a look at our ideas for Father’s Day.

Many dads across the country would be over the moon with a car cleaning kit, but I was thinking this year I’m going to look at something a little more exciting. This father’s day I’m thinking outside the box something like a Formula One Grand Prix Weekend.
If your dad is anything like mine, then there is nothing he enjoys more than a weekend packed full of sport. Especially when the Formula One season starts. A big ambition of his is to go to a Formula One Grand Prix Weekend. Around this time of year is when the annual comments like “Next year we are going to go to Monaco” or “I would love to of been there for that race” make an appearance.

Formula One Race Weekends with Leger Holidays
Formula One Race Weekends with Leger Holidays

I know not all dads are the same. If a sporting weekend is not your dads’ cup of tea, maybe a Battlefield Tour would be more suitable? Our Battlefield tours are very popular amongst Leger customers. Especially in the build up to Father’s Day, a favourite amongst our customers is the All Quiet on the western front tour.

Trenches on the All Quiet on the Western Front Tour
Trenches on the All Quiet on the Western Front Tour

The Formula One Race Weekends and Battlefield tours are just a couple of ideas we suggest as ideas for Father’s Day gifts. Our website houses a variety of alternatives that maybe more suitable. There are tours that include city breaks, cruises, and many other live events including the Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany.
For more information on any of our tours or for more ideas for Father’s Day please visit our website. Alternatively you can contact our friendly reservations team on 01709 787 463.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user: Jim, the Photographer

The 60 year search – Jonathan and Douglas Ford

My great great uncle, Ernest Edward Ford, a Rifleman in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, was killed at Passchendaele on 31st July 1917. For his efforts in the war, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. In December 2011, I tracked down his campaign medals and the military medal. This brought to an end to the 60 year search involving both my father and I. Here is the full story.

The 60 year search started in the early 1950’s. My father, Douglas Ford was taken to Bawdsey Parish Church near Woodbridge in Suffolk, by his father, my grandfather. Whilst at the church he was shown a plaque on the wall commemorating those from the village who were killed in the First World War. One of those names was Ernest Edward Ford. My grandfather told my father that Ernest was his great uncle. My father was fascinated by this and wanted to find out more, so he talked to his Uncle, his father’s brother who had some information on the family history. He explained to my father that Ernest Edward had been awarded the Military Medal, however he did not know the whereabouts of the medals. He said to my father “perhaps you will find out one day what happened to the medals”.
My father was also interested to know whether Ernest Edward had a grave, and where it was. However, nobody in the family seemed to know. My father’s uncle did, however, state that he believed Ernest Edward had moved to Goole, and it was there where he had enlisted.
In the mid 1950’s, dad started training as a carpenter and joiner, and finished his apprenticeship in 1960. He began to travel in the UK and overseas in the construction industry. He had never lost his curiosity about the medals, and everywhere he travelled with work, he would put notices in shop windows, enquiring on the off chance that somebody might read them, who knew of their whereabouts. He also never walked past an antiques shop without going in to see if they had any medals, and would always inspect any medals they had in stock to see if they were Ernest Edward’s.
In the late 60’s, Dad moved to Wakefield in West Yorkshire and settled there. He continued to search for the medals over the coming years. He also wrote to the war office however they did not seem very forthcoming in those days with giving information out.
The search continued, and in the 1980’s, dad was told that, if he knew Ernest Edward’s service number, he might be able to obtain more information from the war office on the whereabouts of the grave and the medals. He also found out that Military Medal recipients were mentioned in the London Gazette. By this time, I had joined my dad in the research of his family history. We went to the reference library in Leeds, where we were shown a collection of London Gazettes that had been catalogued into books. The series from 1914 to 1918 filled a shelf. We were told that, somewhere in those books, Ernest Edward would be cited, along with his service number, however there was no way of knowing which book it would be in. We set about the daunting task of going through each book in turn. Dad started at one end of the shelf, and I started at the other, to see if we could find the information. Luckily, I found the citation in the second book I picked up. This was our first real breakthrough, as we now had Ernest Edward’s service number.
Dad then wrote to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, they confirmed that Ernest Edward had enlisted in Goole, and they told us that Ernest Edward was commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres. At last we knew where his memorial was and that he didn’t have a known grave. However we still didn’t know what had become of the medals, and even with the additional information, the War Office would not shed any more light on it, saying only that the medals would have been released to the next of kin. But there was no sign of the medals in the family.

The Mennin Gate, Ypres
The Menin Gate, Ypres

Now that we knew the whereabouts of the grave, we decided to visit Ypres, and hoped that we might find out some more about the medals. Our first visit to Ypres was for Armistice Day 2001. We visited the Menin Gate, and also spoke to lots of people to see if we could get any more tips on how we might continue the search for the medals, however we didn’t really get any further.
In around 2005, there was another breakthrough. One of dad’s cousins gave him a death plaque that had been issued to Ernest Edward’s mother . She had been in possession of it for some time and decided to give it to dad when she found out about his search for the medals. Dad decided to write to the war office again, stating that he was now in possession of the death plaque. He asked again if there was a record of who had received the medals after the war. The war office wrote back and said they would have been issued with the death plaque to the same person. We wondered if the medals had been in the family but maybe sold on.
At around the same time, we became aware that Leger Holidays ran trips to the Ypres Salient and heard of very good things about their battlefield tour guides. In 2006 we decided to return to Ypres, this time on a Leger Battlefield tour. It was then that we met Paul Reed and Keith Quibbell, who gave us lots of good advice on how we might move our search along, and also did some research on our behalf.
We continued searching for the medals over the next few years, but still could not find any trace.
In 2011, we visited Ypres again on a Leger tour, and one of the things that we learnt from that trip was how many war records were now being catalogued on the internet. On our return, I visited Ancestry.co.uk where I found some limited records for Ernest Edward. These records did not give us any more information though.
However, only a few weeks later, in December 2011, we had another big breakthrough. Another wave of war records had been loaded onto the internet site, including Ernest Edward’s. From those, we found lots more information, and, crucially, there was a document that stated that the beneficiary of Ernest Edward’s will was a Mrs Jackson in Goole. Not only that, but also there was a copy of a receipt, that confirmed these medals had been sent to Mrs Jackson, and not to the Ford family as the War Office had indicated. At last we knew where the medals had gone. My father and I discussed our next move, and decided that, in the New Year we would visit Goole, to see if we could track the Jackson family down, and to see if they had the medals.
Before that happened though, the last breakthrough came, and this one was the most astonishing. Over that preceding two years, I had periodically been doing internet searches on Ernest Edward Ford and Military Medals, to see if anything came up. Nothing ever had. However, just before Christmas I repeated the search, and there in front of me, on the computer screen, was a copy of an auction catalogue from Warwick and Warwick auction house. Within that catalogue was one lot, for E E Ford – Military Medal, Victory Medal and British War Medal. I had finally found the medals. There was one snag though, the auction had taken place that day, it seemed the medals had most probably been sold, and maybe lost forever. I spoke to dad about it, and undeterred, dad then phoned the auction house the next day. The auction house told us that the medals had been in a private collection for some 50 years; however the collection had recently been opened up, to be auctioned. They also told us that Ernest Edward’s medals had been sold to a dealer, Dixons medals in Bridlington. Dad then phoned Dixons, and spoke to the proprietor, Chris Dixon. On finding out that the medals had been awarded to our ancestor, and hearing the story of our search, Chris immediately agreed to sell them to us, for a discounted price, and without offering them to the open market. We were so relieved and so grateful at how sympathetic Chris had been towards us. On December 21st 2011, dad and I travelled to Bridlington, where we picked up the medals from Chris Dixon. Finally, the search had come to an end, and for the first time ever, the medals were in the possession of the family.
We could not believe that we had the medals, but what astonished us more, was some of the coincidences in the story. Firstly, Ernest Edward had grown up in East Anglia, and moved to Yorkshire before the war where he settled. Dad commented on how he had also grown up in East Anglia and settled in Yorkshire. Secondly, the medals had also made their way to Yorkshire after the auction. They seemed destined to come to us.
If there’s one message that we would like to give to other people who might be in the same position of not knowing where their ancestor’s medals are – that message would be to never give up. After nearly 60 years of a search which seemed like a search for a needle in a haystack, we have the medals back where we feel they belong.
If you are interested in any of the battlefield tours we offer, please visit our website Leger Battlefield Tours.

New Tour – Bohemian Rhapsody – Delights of the Czech Republic

Here at Leger Holidays we have just unveiled a new holiday, Bohemian Rhapsody – Delights of the Czech Republic Tour.

This Tour allows our customers to explore the highlights of the Czech Republic, including the capital Prague ‘City of 100 Spires’. We also include excursion to many spa towns of the western Bohemia and not forgetting the Baroque treasure if Cesky Krumlov in southern Bohemia.

The 9 day break includes some truly amazing places. We also offer the chance to visit the popular spa resort of Karlovy Vary. There are twelve hot thermal springs all of which are still  in use. The town is also known for its hand-made glass. A recommendation whilst there is to visit the famous Moser glass factory.
The following day includes a visit to the second largest spa town in the Czech Republic, Marianske Lazne. Time is provided for you to take in the immaculate gardens before continuing on to the fortress town of Cesky Krumlov.
Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is nestled on the banks of the Vltava River. In the centre of the medieval city there are many well preserved buildings and stunning architecture. To guarantee customers see the very best of Cesky Krumov there will also be an optional city tour available.

Delights of the Czech Republic Tour
Medieval buildings of Cesky Krumlov

Our tour also visits the home of Budweiser beer, Cesky Budejovice better known as ‘Budweis’. The tour continues on to Tabor; Czech Republic’s most favourite tourist spot.
Before heading back to Belgium and completing your return leg of your holiday we visit Prague. This excursions includes a guided walking tour of the ‘Golden Town’.  The walk introduces our customers to the splendid architecture of Prague Old Town. The huge castle is a must along with a relaxing drink in Wenceslas Square.

Delights of the Czech Republic Tour
Old Town, Prague

For more information or to book this tour, please visit our Bohemian Rhapsody – Delights of the Czech Republic Tour page.
Ever visited the Czech Republic? We would love to hear about your travels in the comment sections below.

The Chelsea Flower Show

With the Chelsea Flower Show getting underway next week, I thought I’d take a look at the history behind this annual event and have a look at what attracts so many visitors year after year.

The Chelsea Flower Show is held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London. The show was formally known as the Great Spring Show, and is known as the most famous flower show in the UK attracting visitors from all over the world.
The flower show was first held in Chelsea in 1912, as a one off event but as the location was such a success it has stayed there almost every year since.
The show has up to 157,000 visitors each year, and all tickets must be bought in advance. The duration of the show was originally four days but from 2005 onwards it was increased to five. Members of the Royal Family attend a preview day each year as the royal patronage of the RHS (Royal Hortical Society).
There are five award categories at the event. They are:
Flora – Gardens and floral exhibitions
Hogg – Exhibits of Trees
Knightian – Exhibits of vegetables, including herbs
Lindley – Exhibits of special educational or scientific interest
Grenfell – Exhibits of Pictures, photographs floral arrangements and floristry.
Other awards are known as the Special Awards, which include Best Show Garden Award, Best City Garden Award, RHS Junior Display Trophy and many more.
The Chelsea Flower Show is included on our Chelsea Flower Show, Henley and Oxford Tour, for more information or to book your place for next years event please visit our website.
If you have been to the show before, we would love to hear your experience please leave your comments section below.

A Moroccan Tagine Recipe

Moroccan Tagine Recipe – Lamb with Orange and Chickpeas
A tagine pot is a unique type of ceramic or clay cookware which is designed for slow cooking and is popular in Morocco.
The bottom of the tagine is a wide, circular, shallow dish used for both cooking and serving, while the top is distinctively shaped into a rounded dome or cone and is designed to keep the moisture in.
Typically, tagine meals are a rich stew of meat, chicken, or fish, and most often includes vegetables or fruit, salted or preserved lemons, giving a unique flavour and then served on a bed of couscous, rice or bread.
Traditionally, you arrange the food and the meat in the middle and you pile the vegetables around it. You then put the lid on and leave to cook slowly over a charcoal stove (or in a conventional oven to you and me).
What you’ll need
Preparation time 25 minutes, plus overnight soaking (unless you buy already soaked chick peas in a tin like I do)
Cooking time 2 1/2 hours

225g (71/2oz) chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (unless you buy ready soaked chick peas)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground turmeric
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1.5kg (3lb) shoulder of lamb, trimmed of all fat and cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) cubes
2 onions, roughly chopped
¾ Pint of lamb stock in boiling water
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
12 pitted black olives, sliced
½ lemon squeezed juices
½ orange squeezed juices
6 tablespoons chopped coriander
Salt and pepper

How to cook – the easy way
Combine all the ingredients above into the tagine and stir well. You can brown off the lamb and onions first if you wish but for ease I just put them in the pot with the rest of the ingredients. Squeeze in the juices of half a lemon and half an orange.  Only stir in half the coriander, using the remainder to garnish.

It’s so easy to do and looks amazing when presented in the middle of your table of guests.

Heroes Return – Ray Wilton

Heroes Return

There are a few National Lottery syndicates here at Leger HQ, as I’m sure there are at workplaces across the country. There’s many a happy conversation about what we’d do if we won, the trips we’d take and who would and who wouldn’t give up work.

Even though week after week we never hit the jackpot (£10 doesn’t go far between eight of you), one of the best things about the lottery is all the worthwhile causes it helps to support. A staggering £29bn has been raised since it launched almost 20 years ago.
One of the activities it helps to fund is particularly close to our heart the Heroes Return Grant, taking veterans back to the places where they fought during the Second World War.
On one of our February D-Day Landings battlefield tours we were joined by a film crew from the BBC’s National Lottery Saturday night TV programme. They were following a lovely veteran called Ray Wilton, along with his daughter Debbie Cox and grandson Alex. Ray was a member of the Royal Navy in WWII, joining as a telegraphist in 1943. He took part in the D-Day landings at Gold Beach on 6th June 1944, where he served on a motor launch, leading the 50th Northumbrian Division on initial landing. This visit was the first time Ray had returned in almost 70 years. As well as Gold Beach he also visited Pegasus Bridge and other key sites in Normandy linked to the landings.
Ray explains what it was like returning. “It was very emotional,” he said. “Although it looked very different – it was a crisp, sunny February day as opposed to the fierce storm of June 1944 – the memories soon came flooding back. I could remember vividly those brave young men who died on that memorable day.
“The highlight of the tour for me was visiting the Arromanches Museum and signing their visitor book, being presented with a veteran’s medal and having a wonderful welcome from the French curator there. She was in tears as she gave me the medal and thanked me for ‘liberating her country’.”
Debbie Cox, Ray’s daughter, added: “It was an emotional but uplifting experience. With my son there too, it was wonderful to have the three generations sharing the experience together. It was a privilege to pay our respects to the fallen. The film crew were very sensitive and extremely professional and we thoroughly enjoyed their company, along with that of the coach drivers, tour guide and fellow passengers, who were a varied group of all ages. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and planned an excellent and varied tour which appealed to dad as a veteran, as well as people with an interest in the war.”
Tony Lea was the specialist battlefield guide on the tour. He commented: “It was obviously very emotional for Ray and his family, but something they felt it was extremely important to do. What people often don’t realise is that for those who fought, this visit back so many decades later can be like finding the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle. My experience is that veterans often don’t know how the roles they played fit into the bigger picture of the war or the battle. They can be left with questions on why they were there and as part of a visit I will explain to them the wider story which can bring about a new understanding for them.
“Whenever we have a veteran on a tour, we will try and work around their personal experience, helping them to visit places which were important to them and weaving it into everything else that was happening at the same time. It’s fascinating to have the opportunity to speak to someone who was actually there and other visitors on the tour often find it invaluable and extremely moving to share their experience with someone who has that personal perspective.”
Ray’s story as shown on the ‘National Lottery: In it to win it’ programme can be seen on Youtube  Part 1 and Part 2 .

Be Brave With Your Breaks: Top Travel Tips from Dr David Lewis

Be Brave With Your Breaks:  Top Travel Tips from Dr David Lewis

 

Thinking about trying a new holiday destination – or even an entirely new type of trip – can be a big step for people.

 
Maybe you like to go back to the same places every year as you know you’ll have a great time. Or maybe you always like to do a cruise as that kind of holiday has worked well for you in the past.
 
But maybe 2013 is the year of change. You fancy being a bit more adventurous, seeing some of the ‘must-see’ sights the world has to offer. But where do you start? It can be quite intimidating trying to figure out all the places you might want to go and how to get there.
 
We have worked with renowned Psychologist Dr David Lewis to develop some top tips to help aspiring adventurers make their travel dreams come true:
 

  1. It’s all about the planning, planning, planning. Where have you always dreamt of going? What do you want to see or do when you get there? If you are undecided speak to someone who has already done it. There is safety in numbers and hearing about other people’s exploits emboldens you to do likewise.
  2. Once you’ve decided on your trip – do your homework. By learning as much as possible in advance about where you are going, you will make it more interesting, enjoyable and rewarding. And help build up the anticipation!
  3. When preparing for a holiday, or even when you are away, keep a checklist and tick off tasks and items as they are completed. This will increase your confidence and prevent slip-ups or lapses in memory.
  4. If you are going to a place where English may not be widely spoken or understood, even if you are on an escorted tour, write down a few basic phrases in that language to help you communicate. You will feel empowered by having it to hand ‘just in case’.
  5. Having to rush unnecessarily depletes energy levels and increases stress. Leave yourself plenty of time to get places or consider an escorted tour where the travel arrangements are all sorted for you, removing that element of worry.
  6. As people get older they need more ‘me time’ to collect their thoughts and increase energy levels. Try to spend at least 15 minutes a day chilling out away from too many distractions.
  7. Never say never. And don’t ever use ‘I’m too old for that’ as an excuse for not doing something you secretly long to do. At the same time be prepared to say ‘no, not for me’ if you really don’t want to undertake an activity or go to a certain destination.

 
So whether you secretly want to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, see the volcanoes in Italy, or you long to sail along the Fjords of Norway, we say – go for it! Those in need of some holiday inspiration can also visit our website where you’ll find plenty of great break ideas including our Grand Explorer tours to destinations such as America, Russia and the Arctic Circle.
 
 

Adam Rees’s – All Quiet On The Western Front Tour

All Quiet On The Western Front tour

In our magazine we’re always explaining to our readers that few experiences are as moving as visiting the fields on which family members fought and finding the grave or monument where they’re commemorated if they fell. To see the value of such an expedition for myself, I took a trip of the Western Front with Leger Holidays. ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ is a five-day introductory tour that includes meticulous visits of the Ypres Salient, Arras region and the Somme. It’s not only a must for any military history enthusiast, but also if you discover a family member who fought in these terrible battles of World War I.

Although there’s nothing stopping you visiting these places on your own, having an experienced tour guide with you makes the trip far more interesting, to add information on sites, facts and answer any questions that arise. Our expert Marc Hope gives colour to the history of the war, using maps, pointing out key positions and encouraging the attendees to take time to explore the cemeteries and monuments around every corner including going to “say hi to the Pals Battalions” who lay next to each other in Serre Road Cemetery no 2 on the Somme.

Battlefield guide Marc Hope talking to the group
Battlefield guide Marc Hope talking to the group

It’s this insight that makes a guide such an advantage. It’s easy enough to find the biggest British and Commonwealth cemetery at Tyne Cot or attend the incredibly poignant Last Post held every night at the Menin Gate, however, there are few printed tourist guides that show you the farmhouse on Ypres from where Adolf Hitler ran messages to his officers, or the café where Winston Churchill ate his breakfast while stationed on the Front – amazingly this was only a few miles away from his future adversary.
Although the tour is on a strict plan, detours can be made to accommodate personal visits to see the grave or name of a relative who was killed, giving an even more personal experience to your tour. During the trip to Arras one of the tourists took a moment to visit the grave of his great-uncle who was killed on the first day of the battle in 1917.
Tourists took a moment to visit the grave of his great-uncle
Tourists took a moment to visit the grave of his great-uncle

As well as the usual souvenirs, trips to battlefields can present a whole host of mementos. Any fan of programmes like Time Team will be aware of the priceless artefacts that can be uncovered in places such as battlefields and historic sites, in particular the Western Front with its high concentration of men taking part and unfathomable amounts of munitions used, many of which never exploded. Nearly a century later farmers on the Western Front are still digging up fragments of shells, clothes and, sadly, bodies. So it isn’t surprising when looking at the tower of the Ulster Division on the Somme that a farmer digs up two shells from WWI, undisturbed since they were fired in 1916, complete with heavy shrapnel balls that are shared out among our tour party.
Two recent discoveries
Two recent discoveries

The trip is both fascinating and incredibly moving, both for those who knew only patches of the history of the war or in my case, having read about it for 20 years. No matter how much you soak up from a book or watch in documentaries or dramatisations, the sheer scale of the loss and devastation wrought in this particular conflict is hard to fathom.
The Tyne Cot Cemetery
The Tyne Cot Cemetery

With preparations underway to commemorate the centenary of the war in 2014, with tours of the battlefields being booked up fast and events being planned across the country, there’s never been a better time to visit this scarred but fascinating corner of Europe, and discover the stories behind each name inscribed upon a wall or on a grave, for more information please visit the Battlefield Tours page
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