February 2025: visit to the Australian War Memorial

Going to Australia without visiting to the Australian War Memorial would have been impossible ! After paying my respect to the unkown soldier (exhumed in 1993 from Villers-Bretonneux), I went to the museum which features galleries dedicated to World War One, World War Two, Korea and VietNam. It is an excellent museum that I have been wanting to visit for years, the day ended with the Last Post service. 

May 2024: the underground experience

Touring the WW1 battlefields with a group from the University of Pennsylvania we have been exploring several tunnels along the Western Front from Vimy, Arras and the Wellington Quarry to the lesser known tunnels of Vauquois and in the Chemin des Dames. it was truly a stunning experience to access those undergrounds so well preserved and to see so many inscriptions, drawings and carvings made by the soldiers more than 100 yeras ago.

April 2024: ANZAC DAY on the Somme

 ANZAC Day tour 2024, in the words of our customers Jenny and Ron:

"Dear Sylvestre
Ron and l would like to thank you for the amazing experiences we have had on your tour over the past three days. You have taken us to many areas with much WW1 history, frontlines, cemeteries, trenches, monuments, bomb crater sites, picnics  all leaving an unforgettable impression of what was experienced and faced by the allies and enemies throughout WW1 battles. This made today’s special ANZAC service a day we will never forget. We are so lucky to have been born not only where we live but also during a time of relative peace. We are so thankful to those who went before us who had experienced, and lived and died in unimaginable conditions, we have been saved from because of the sacrifices made by them. The knowledge you have imparted upon us during your tours have given us a remarkable insight into the past and left us with the feelings. Gratitude, blessed, thankfulness, sadness and emotions beyond words. Please continue to share your extensive knowledge. Many thanks to you and if ever down under don't hesitate to contact us. You would be very welcome anytime. Love Jenny and Ron"

March 2024: Bovington tank museum

What a collection of tanks ! From the only WW1 MkI tank existing in the world, the early years of the tanks, to the famous Tiger 131 still running and a tremendous number of vehicles from many nations. A stunning experience.

www.tankmuseum.org

November 2023: "All Quiet on the Western Front"

What a privilege to take Edward Berger, the film director of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and the producer Malte Grunert on  a tour to the Somme battlefields for three days. A moving experience on Remembrance Day going to the service at the Thiepval memorial to the missing and at Fricourt German cemetery where French students have read extracts of the book and a poem in French and German. Our tour ended at the railway coach in Compiègne where the armisitice was signed, as shown in  the film...

March 2023: Ardennes / Battle of the Bulge

Glad to be back in the beautiful region of the Ardennes where the German forces launched their last major offensive in WW2. Following the advance of the Kampfgruppe Peiper to the heroes of Bastogne, numerous allied and german tanks can be seen today. The most know is probably the KingTiger tank at La Gleize, the "beast", but many others are still visible...

Sept. 2022: into original WW1 tunnels

Thanks to the Association of "Les Amis de la Butte de Vauquois" for opening these tunnels to the public on certain days. A fascinating place to explore on the surface and also undergound with one of their guides. We have been to many, many WW1 battlefields and I have to say this one is a fantastic place to explore: a must see site for all the WW1 buffs...

March 2022: visiting the forts of Lille

After the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war forts were built along the French border to prevent any invasion. Designed by Séré de Rivière, a belt of six forts defend Lille: Bondues, Mons-en-Baroeul, Seclin, Englos, Vert-Galant and Sainghin. Other smaller fortifications were built in between the forts. At he eve of the Great War they are considered as useless, Lille being away from any direct threat... until October 1914 and the fall of Lille in German hands. All the forts are then occupied by the Germans for the whole duration of the war.

See the photos of our vist on our Facebook page here: