Hi Clive,
As you make your way to Turkey a note from us all to say a huge THANK YOU for our fantastic tour of the great WW1 Battlefields of Northern France. The way your personalised the land of battles and cemeteries with the amazing monuments that went with them was just terrific. We will all view this area of conflict in a completely different way thanks to your expertise and the descriptive enthusiasm that helps us feel and touch 1914-1918 and a lot more.

Robbie Vincent,  London SE 

 

 

In 25 years of teaching it was both the most enlightening and deeply joyful experience I have
ever had, and this is in no small measure down to the precise, responsive, adaptable, humane and professional management of our group by Stephen and Rory.
The group consisted of fifteen Year 9 students from a very challenging school on the south coast in Gosport, an area of deep social deprivation and habitual low aspiration. Several of
the students had not travelled out of the country before or indeed entered an airport or flown on a plane. We had service children and over half on Pupil Premium. The impact on the
students - all of them - has been profound.

Tom Andrew-Power Brune Park School, Hampshire, Gallipoli Tour 

 

 

Clive

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the Ypres tour. I was impressed with your presentational style which strikes just the right balance between information and entertainment!

I'm so grateful for the trouble that you and Jack went to to locate my grandfather's position and I never dreamt I would lay a wreath at the Menin Gate.

The bad news for you is that I'll be back.

All the very best
Hugh Swainston WFA Chairmans Tour 

 

 

 

Both Toby and I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, which was enlightening and on which we were made to feel very welcome. We would like to pass on our sincere thanks to Clive and Jack in particular.

Chirs Noble, Northampton, WFA Chairmans Tour 

 

 

Hello Clive
Many thanks for another great WFA chairman’s tour Diksmuide good location and hotel was very good Great group of people and visits to places yet again off the beaten track of the average battlefield tourist Had always wanted to see the Vladslo statues 

Christopher Weekes, Surrey WFA  Chairmans Tour 

 

            

We have just returned from the latest HAW Battlefield Tour, this time to the D-Day shores.  Organised through Battle Honours, it was another great trip.  Superbly organised with great guides.  

Jonty Wild, Pirton

 

 

Dear Battle Honours, 

This is the second time David and I have joined the Surrey Humanities group for a Battle Honours trip.  The first time was with Andrew Robertshaw to Flanders which was excellent especially as we went to where my grandfather served during the First World War.

This time Julian Whippy was our guide and his in depth knowledge of the landings was evident from the start.  We loved the way he involved us, we appreciated his sense of humour and we came to have a very good understanding both of what was involved in the planning and execution of D-Day but also what it must have been like for each soldier who would have had his own role to play.  Of course visiting the cemeteries was very moving and essential to a true appreciation of the cost of war.

We would like to express our thanks to Julian for giving us such a memorable experience and to Battle Honours for choosing such well positioned hotels.  Finally our thanks must go to the coach driver who along with Julian ensured we were always dropped off and collected from the best locations.

We would have no hesitation in recommending your company to our friends.

With kind regards,

Carole Head, Surrey Humanities Group, Normandy Tour

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much Clive for the lift down and for the very best trip! Your organisation, knowledge and standard of care and consideration are second to none.
For some reason I had a few reservations about this trip but it turned out to be the BEST. I  learned so much more than last time and certainly the area means so much more to me having walked the  ( challenging )terrain . We now have a feeling of what the lads went through though under different conditions and without  MY helpful chaps for support.

Jean Handley, Hitchin, HGWS Gallipoli 

 

Dear Clive,

I am writing rather belatedly to thank you for all you did on the DHF Tour to Dixmude. I have been on a lot of tours since my first one in the mid 1990's but this DHF one was different.  I much enjoyed the talks that you gave at each stand - whether on Haig, the units involved, the military situation, cemetery architecture or garden design(!).  But the main thing that made this tour special was the interaction between you and those members of the group who had real expertise - we had some really great discussions. Yet you kept us all to time and I never felt that we were rushed.  In my experience, not every guide is comfortable with this approach!  I do not want to sound patronising but I felt I should thank you particularly for the way in which you managed this aspect of the Tour - which I suspect is not easy though you made it appear so.

Andy Grainger, Douglas Haig Fellowship Tour

 

 

 

Dear Clive,

Please forgive my tardiness in writing to thank you very much for the excellent way you led the Essex Branch tour to Gallipoli. As usual you brought such insight and personal revelations of those involved in the campaign to light in your inimitable manner.Thank you also for providing me with that extra cross. I look forward to the next occasion I may be privileged to accompany you to another battlefield. pleas also pass on my thanks  to Kimberley and the rest of the team for such a memorable trip.

Kind regards. George Cattermole, Essex WWA 

 

 

 

More than once I had to pinch myself during the tour to really believe I was there!

You excelled yourself, fitting in everything everyone wanted to see and so much more. You gave us such a good overview of the whole Campaign and showed us so much of the ground over which the men had to fight, not only on the ground but from the sea too. What a beautiful place Gallipoli is, the scenery is breathtaking and its hard to believe that so much suffering took place there a century ago. There were plenty of opportunities to remember the fallen, all very moving, and Redoubt Cemetery was the perfect close to my first Gallipoli experience. All being well it won't be my last and we look forward to returning both with the Branch and the WFA in the future. 
Steve thoroughly enjoyed himself and I was so pleased that he found the energy to do most of the walks too. Through his photos I can see what I wasn't up to this time and can hope to see on a future visit. You brought the tour to a perfect end with the meal at the resort hotel. The owner obviously values the business you bring to him as he'd pulled out all the stops to give us a very enjoyable time.
I saw Andrew yesterday for a treatment and he was asking where we're going next year. He said he realised he was unusually reluctant to leave Gallipoli on that last ferry trip back to Canakkale on the Thursday evening, exactly how I felt when it was time to leave Redoubt Cemetery. A sure sign we'd had such an amazing and unforgettable experience.

Karen Dennis, Essex WFA