Richard Porter
Battlefield Guide
The Battlefields
 Delville Wood Memorial |  Trenches in Delville Wood |  Trench in Thiepval Wood |
|---|---|---|
 Fricourt German Military Cemetery |  Fromelles |  Cross of Sacrifice |
 Iron Harvest, Grenades |  Hawthorn Mine Explosion |  CWGC Cemetery Somme Battlefield |
 Engraving CWGC Headstone |
Introduction
The Western Front stretches from the English Channel in the north to the Swiss border at its most southern tip. The possibilities of places to visit and explore number in there thousands. The Somme, Arras, Ypres and Verdun Battlefields certainly attract the largest number of visitors. It's on these battlefields where we can see the highest concentration of military cemeteries, memorials, old trench lines, forts, visitor centres and museums. These are the battlefields on which I mostly guide.
There are quite a few options available to you when choosing to tour the battlefields. Some enjoy the experience of mixed group coach or mini bus tours and some prefer the more intimate use of a personal guide. I specialise as a personal guide for groups, couples and individuals.
All of my tours are planned around you and what you would like to see. Where you would like to be picked up from and where you would like to be dropped off. Once we have established which battlefields you would like to visit and for how many days. I will use my years of experience to propose what I believe is an effective and economical plan.
For a typical tour I will meet you at your hotel or train station. We would then spend the day touring your chosen battlefield where I will explain the origins of the battle whilst we take in the various sites. Whenever possible I will relay the history in a chronological order whilst using the stories of the men involved to set the scene.
Any tour can be tailored to cover the history of a relative who was killed or survived the war.
I'm also experienced in guiding Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and American history.
Please scroll down this page to have a look at some of the places you could explore.
Somme Battlefield
 Thiepval Memorial |  Hornbeam Delville Wood |  Fricourt German Military Cemetery |
|---|---|---|
 Wreath laid at Thiepval |  Aerial Photo, Somme Battlefield |  Mametz Wood, Welsh Dragon |
 Lochnagar Crater |  Gueudecourt Caribou |  London Cemetery Extension |
 Cross of Sacrifice |
One of my most popular tours is the Somme Orientation Tour. The Somme Orientation Tour is designed around the first time visitor. On the tour we visit a relevant combination of military cemeteries, memorials, preserved trenches, mine craters and other vestiges connected to the Great War. This tour leaves you with a greater understanding and appreciation of this desperate battle.
For the return visitors I have a series of walks which allows us to explore the battles within the battle. The walks take us to some of the rarely visited vestiges and isolated cemeteries.
Popular Sites on the Somme Battlefield
Sheffield Memorial Park: A quiet place to reflect on the sad reality of the first day of the battle.
Serre Road Cemetery No2: The largest and one of the most beautiful cemeteries on the Somme Battlefield.
Newfoundland Memorial Park: Walk in original trenches amongst a shell torn landscape.
The Sunken Lane: An atmospheric location to sense the real carnage of the opening day of the battle.
Ulster Tower: A lovely memorial, a great free to enter museum and a welcoming cafe stop.
Thiepval Memorial: The 72,000 names inscribed on this huge memorial speak volumes.
Lochnagar Crater: A must see enormous crater left behind after a huge underground explosion.
German Military Cemetery, Fricourt: An interesting comparison to the Commonwealth cemeteries.
Delville Wood: One of the most beautiful places of commemoration on the Somme Battlefield.
Arras Battlefield
 Grieving Mother, Vimy |  Family Memorial Cairn |  Horticulture in CWGC Cemetery |
|---|---|---|
 Mother Canada, Vimy |  Cross of Sacrifice |  Sanding & Re-engraving Headstones |
 Arras Memorial |  Grieving Father, Vimy |  Iron Harvest |
The Arras Battlefield is often overlooked but it has so much to offer. The most popular location is the Canadian Memorial Park on Vimy Ridge with it's preserved trenches, modern visitor centre, cratered landscape and the stunning architecture of the Canadian National Memorial. Battlefield tours in the Arras sector will be tailored to your requests and nationality. Arras is an excellent place to base yourself for touring the Western Front. It has great train links with Paris and Lille and is located in between Ypres to the north and the Somme Battlefield to the south.
Popular Sites on the Arras Battlefield
Notre Dame de Lorette: The largest French military cemetery in the world with stunning views.
Cabaret Rouge: A very beautiful large cemetery and the former resting place of the Canadian Unknown Soldier
Preserved Trenches, Vimy: You'll be amazed at how close the opposing trenches sit.
Canadian National Memorial, Vimy: One of the most stunning memorials on the Western Front.
German Military Cemetery, Neuville St Vaast: With around 45,000 burials the scale of loss is striking.
Arras Memorial: A place of contemplation amongst some beautiful architecture.
Carriere Wellington: Step back in time, ancient quarries which were utilised to shelter thousands of troops.
Monchy Le Preux: With its numerous cemeteries and memorials, a great place to appreciate the Battle of Arras.
Bullecourt: A must visit battlefield for Australians.
Ypres Battlefield
 Menin Gate, Ypres |  Lion, Menin Gate |  Menin Gate at Midnight |
|---|---|---|
 Brooding Soldier |  Ramparts Cemetery, Ypres |  Poelcapelle Tank |
 Museum Scene |  Langemarck, German Military Cemetery |  Tyne Cot Military Cemetery |
 German Trenches |
The Ypres Battlefield has to be the most popular destination for visitors to the Western Front. Ypres was a vital staging post for the British and Commonwealth soldiers throughout the majority of the war. For the first time visitor I recommend the Ypres Orientation Tour. We would start the day in Ypres itself where I will explain the origins of the numerous battles. The tour then takes in many of the major cemeteries, memorials and vestiges in and around the Ypres Salient. The tour can be adapted to your nationality and interests. For those who have visited the Salient before I can take you to some alternative and often overlooked interesting locations.
Popular Sites on the Ypres Battlefield
Ploegsteert Memorial: One of the nicest memorials in the area and well worth a visit.
Site of a 1914 Christmas Truce: The site of one of the most symbolic moments of peace and humanity in war.
New Zealand Memorial Park: A great opportunity to inspect two German concrete shelters
Hill 60: One of the most notorious places on the Western Front, infamous for the use of underground warfare.
German Military Cemetery, Langemark: A stark reminder of the great loss of human lives in war.
Brooding Soldier: The site of the gallant stand by Canadian forces in the face of chemical weapons.
Essex Farm: A medical dressing station and cemetery where John McCrae wrote 'In Flanders Fields'.
Tyne Cot: The largest CWGC cemetery in the world and one of the most visited sites on the Ypres battlefields.
Polygon Wood: A beautiful military cemetery is set amongst the trees of a once shattered wood.
Verdun Battlefield
 Ossuary & French Cemetery |  Fort Douaumont |  Fort Douaumont |
|---|---|---|
 Observation Dome |  French Machine Gun Emplacement |  Destroyed Fort, Verdun Battlefield |
 Fort Douaumont |  Ossuary Verdun |  Shell Holes Verdun Battlefield |
 Victory Monument, Verdun |  French Soldier, Fleury |
The Verdun Battlefield is different than most on the Western Front because of the numerous forts that were constructed after the Franco-Prussian War. The forts were modernised before the First World War and extensively used for shelter during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. My battlefield tour of Verdun starts in Verdun itself where I explain the origins of the battle. We then follow the course of the battle whilst visiting many of the popular forts, trenches and memorials. Please note the Verdun Tour is conducted over a minimum of 2 days. On the second day we can visit the American battlefields, memorials and cemetery of the Argonne.
Popular Sites on the Verdun Battlefield
Col Driants CP: Arguably the starting point of the battle, a brilliant location to understand the opening phase.
Mort Homme: There is no doubt the fighting here rates amongst the most barbaric of the whole war.
Trench of Bayonets: An interesting story and memorial.
Fort Douaumont: A few hours can easily be spent exploring this bastion on the battlefield.
Ossuary & French Military Cemetery: One of the most iconic places on the Western Front battlefield.
Destroyed Village of Fleury: See the moonscape undulations where thousands of shells rained down.
Verdun Memorial Museum: This modern museum is one of the finest on the Western front.
Fort Vaux: Learn about the defiant garrison who held out for nearly a week against repeated German assaults.
La Voie Sacree Memorial: Perched on a hillside overlooking the Sacreed Way, a nice symbolic memorial.