Following the success of the four years of Bristol and West Country based battlefield tours organised with fellow historian, Clive Burlton, we are pleased to announce another trip for autumn Our tour was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, hence we are carrying over our suggested plans for that tour to We will also visit sites and tell stories associated with the post-war reconstruction of French communities.
Once again we are travelling with our partners at Bakers Dolphin. The three night, four day tour will visit key sites associated with the West Country. Travelling by executive coach we will depart from Bristol on 24 September and travel to Arras, stopping at sites of interest en route.
The next day will be spent on the Somme battlefield with a look at the tunnelling exploits at such famous sites as Hawthorn Ridge, La Boisselle, Bois Francais and Carnoy. As ever we will ensure that we stop at key battlefield sites including the Thiepval Memorial. On 26 September we will journey northward to the sacred Ypres salient and Messines Ridge, a key battleground for the tunnelling war.
Other key sites around the salient will be explored. As ever, our tour will cover the stories of relatives of those who join us. Please do send details and we will endeavour to visit individual graves and battlefield sites if time permits.
We look forward to you joining us for another wonderful few days following in some Western Front Footsteps…. In May Fred Brown enlisted as a private soldier in the 18th Battalion Royal Fusiliers at the age of 17 years, 10 months. Following a hard winter spent in and out of the trenches and in hope of a six week break away from the front in Rouen Fred volunteered for a course of engineering.
