Every year, thousands of people visit the battlefields of ‘The Great War’ that eventually became known as the ‘The First World War’. Thought to be ‘The War to End All Wars’, the four long years of human slaughter and the horrors and suffering of trench warfare not only robbed countries of a generation of young men and women but of millions of civilians throughout Europe and beyond.
Although specialising in First World War tours, particularly the Somme and Ypres battlefields, cemeteries and museums, our tours also includes visits to other battle sites in Northern France and Belgium.
Whether you wish to visit the grave of a loved one or relative or to discover where they served in action, our comprehensive tours give a fascinating, informative and historic insight into every aspect of the First World War.
Group Tours
Blue Lamp Battlefield Tours offers group tours for any number of people who wish to visit either the First World War Battlefields, the Second World War D-Day landings or all locations. We can also arrange tours for schools, business, clubs and organisations.
Family and Bespoke Tours
Personal tours for small family groups and bespoke tours for larger groups can be arranged to suit any itinerary, choice of location and stay. We can also arrange one-to-one tours for those who wish to pay a private and personal visit or for those who wish to study in-depth an aspect of particular interest or battlefields.
Winter Tours
Our usual tours run from March until October. Should you wish to book after October, the tour, depending on weather conditions, may incorporate a ‘wet weather programme’ which will utilise some of the excellent museums or near to the former battlefields.
Transport & Accommodation
We can organise all travel arrangements, hiring of transport, hotel bookings, restaurants and admission to museums and other places of interest. Our normal route is by Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais and onwards to the First World War battlefields and other key locations. If visiting the D-Day landing beaches, the outward journey will usually be from Poole to Cherbourg and returning from Caen to Portsmouth.
Travelling by minibus for groups of up to sixteen, a coach for larger groups or by car for small groups or individuals, a typical tour consigns of 3 days and 2 nights but can be adapter to any duration and personal requirement.
Family Research
If you had a family member, relative or friend who served in the Army, Navy or RAF in either World Wars and would like to discover more about their military background, we can undertake an in-depth research of military records and present you with a detailed report and in some cases related images or maps of where they fought.
The research would include the searching of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, locating and reviewing the war diaries of the relevant military unit, attempting to locate the service and pensions records of the individual, reviewing the lists of soldiers effects, reviewing the data held of the Medal Index Roll, the Medal Index Card, citations for gallantry, the Silver War Badge Roll and secondary source data relating to the actions in which the serviceman concerned was involved in.
In addition, sections from relevant maps would also be provided. It should be noted that the databases will not hold information on every serviceman. The individual story has to be thoroughly researched and pieced together.