Day 1, 26 June 2026:

Accommodation is at the Victory Services Club (VSC), Marble Arch. We will have a small group dinner and presentation in the Allenby Room. Historian Hugh Dolan will give an overview of the Australian Imperial Force, first at Gallipoli, then on the following three years on the Western Front. (D)

Day 2, 27 June 2026:

After breakfast we will visit the impressive Imperial War Museum before we head to the Royal Chelsea Hospital and the newly renovated Army Museum. This will be followed by a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. This guided tour of London will also take in several other memorials and points of interest pertaining to the First World War. (B, D.)

Day 3, 28 June 2026: (Tour of the 1916 Battlefields)

After a full English breakfast at the VSC we will depart London on the Eurostar for Lille. Arriving at Lille we will be met by our local guide, Jeffery; then travel to Poperinge in West Flanders and check-in to Talbot House (Toc H), an original hostel from the Great War. This house was a respite for soldiers on leave. We will enjoy its tiny museum and original attic chapel. This afternoon David will give a talk in the walled garden on July 1916. In the evening, as we are a small group, we will find a table in one of the many regional Belgian restaurants. David will present a series of ANZAC orders for Fromelles & Poziers over dinner. (B)

Day 4, 29 June 2026: (Tour of the 1917 Battlefields)

Today we drive to Fromelles; starting at VC Corner we will walk across the battlefield as we bring to life the events of 19-20 July 1916 and 5 Division’ attack towards the Laies canal, and the brief occupation of the German front lines that resulted in over 5,500 casualties. We will then regroup at the Cobbers Statue and drive to the mass grave discovered at Pheasant Wood. We will then enter the Battle of Fromelles Museum before moving on to Pozières. This museum is particularly worthwhile with helpful map displays and original film.

We will have a basic lunch at Le Tommy Café and walk through a recreation trench which has original artefacts. Starting at the Australian 1 Division Memorial we will then retrace the battle as we move by foot towards the ANZAC objective: a windmill on the dominant ridgeline. In the field below the ruined windmill the AIF bore 23,000 casualties; it was described by the official historian as “more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth.' From this ridgeline we can recreate the movement of our attacking infantry, and in the distance see the Thiepval Memorial.

It is then a short drive to Mouquet Farm, a place of intense fighting across from the ridge. We will visit the Thiepval Memorial, a superb structure designed by Lutyens, dedicated to the missing from the Somme battles. We will also walk the Newfoundland Memorial Park to view well preserved trenches and to learn a little of the characteristics of trench warfare. We will then return to our accommodation at Toc H. We will meet in the evening for another dinner and a presentation of orders describing the 1917 battles. (B, L)

Day 5, 30 June 2026: (Tour of the 1917/18 Battlefields)

Today, we will take a short drive to Messines, a ridgeline that dominated the Ypres Salient, where we will conduct a battlefield tour around the craters clustering Hill 60. After our tour we will then walk the approach to The Butte and the 5 Division memorial at Polygon Wood. The battlefield lies largely intact, but forested. We will have a simple lunch at Taverne de Dreve where we will be hosted by Johan Vandewelle. We will then visit the Zonnenbeke museum and Tyne Cot Cemetery. In the late afternoon we will travel to Ypres and the Menin Gate.

We will walk the square including the Ramparts Cemetery. You will then visit the In Flanders Museum in the Cloth Hall, enjoying one or two glasses of Leffe along the way. At 7pm the group will all meet at the Ypres Inn opposite the Menin Gate. Two within the group will be given the privilege to lay a wreath at tonight’s Last Post Ceremony. After the ceremony we will choose a local restaurant and continue with our battlefield preparation.

(B, L)

Day 6, 1 July 2026: (Sir John Monash Centre)

This morning we will make our way north to Bullecourt were we will identify the twin German trench lines of OG1 and OG2, which were occupied and defended at great cost by 3 Battalion. We will also walk the Sunken Road and visit the town’s small museum and church. Overall, 1 ANZAC suffered over 10,000 casualties in largely fruitless attempts to break the Hindenburg Line, finally succeeding and forcing a German withdrawal to their next supporting trench lines. Leaving behind the 1917 battlefields we will drive to Le Hamel stopping on route at Albert Cathedral.

In Le Hamel we will visit the Australian Corps Memorial and walk across the fields where Monash’s finest hour took place a year later. With an example of his detailed orders to hand we can, in a small way, gain some appreciation of his outstanding planning. We will follow the waddling movements of Mark V tanks, crest the ridge and enjoy coffee in the town. Following, we will visit the crash site of the Red Baron where Hugh will talk about the war in the air. We will then return back to the comforts of Toc H for our final night’s stay. By popular vote we will select our favourite nearby resturant. Once again, we will talk through the orders that frame the Australian Corps of April 1918. (B)

Day 7, 2 July 2026:

A very early start as we head towards Villers Bretonneux and visit Victoria School on Rue Melbourne. After walking through the town, we will then walk up the rise to the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre. David will deliver a talk on the famous battle of Villers Bretonneux which took place on 24/25 April 1918 from a tiny railway siding, that offers some indication of the ferocity of this night attack. You will have time to engage with the new memorial. We will then make one last stop at Adelaide Cemetery before heading back to Lille, where we will have a special farewell dinner. (B)

Day 8, 3 July 2026:

Sadly this morning our tour ends. You will be transferred back to Lille Station for return to London or another European destination.

We request please advance notice of family members who served in the Great War. We will make every effort to include their service & to visit their grave sites or find their names on memorials if they are numbered among the missing. We are all encouraged to share family stories and to share one’s military expertise.

Experienced historian David Howell;

Welcome pack including military history publication;

Local Guides and Support Staff;

All transfers from train stations;

2 night's, twin-share at the Victory Services Club (VSC);

4 night’s twin-share at Talbot House or alternative;

1 night twin-share in Lille

Meals as indicated B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner;

Eurostar return tickets London to Lille;

Private small bus across the Western Front. (2 x small luxury vans) 

 Meals not indicated on itinerary

International Airfare (we can arrange if desired) 

Single Supplement; and

Return international airfares.