To analyse, develop and raise
the understanding and practice of
Battlefield Guiding
The Guild of Battlefield Guides
the understanding and practice of
Battlefield Guiding
The Guild of Battlefield Guides
A word from our Patron
I find it hard to explain the peculiar attraction of battlefields. It is certainly true to say that visiting these haunted acres touches us in a number of ways. At a purely intellectual level we can trace the development of tactics, see how great commanders plied their craft, and view the interplay between the ground and the events that unrolled across it. However there is an emotional level too, as we consider the factors that brought men together to play their roles in mankind's most passionate drama, and do our humble best to understand what battle was like for the men who fought it. Sometimes, too, there is a personal overlay, as we visit a spot where a family member – known to us only, perhaps, through a sepia photograph or forgotten medals found in a drawer - risked, and perhaps lost, his life.
The enduring appeal of military history and the growing ease of travel (despite the caveats one must insert after 9/11) have made visiting battlefields increasingly popular. When I first sought out the Hillman strongpoint above Normandy's Sword Beach I had to thrash about in the undergrowth beside a little road up from the coast. Now it is increasingly well restored and even houses a museum. Parts of the Somme show the imprint of the growing number of visitors, while at Tyne Cot on Passchendaele Ridge the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has to struggle manfully (and what a good job it does, there and elsewhere) to keep any grass at all on the central pathway. Some visitors travel by car, perhaps devoting a weekend or longer to a battlefield visit, or perhaps diverting (with or without the approval of all the family!) to see a particular site. Others journey by coach or minibus, and the visitor who wishes to travel with a commercial company now has a wide choice in terms of cost, scope and what we might best call intensity.
I have been travelling battlefields on four continents for more than thirty years, and in the process have been struck by the very variable quality of the experience. I have seen groups, hunched up against the rain, being lectured worthily on the establishment of a British infantry division in 1916; overheard judgements on the Somme which would leave even Captain Blackadder blushing; and lent maps and other material to more than one worthy coach-driver who was being expected to exceed his job-description. Yet it is not an easy business. I have never visited a battlefield without learning something new, and never conducted a group without knowing that there is something I could have done better. Education is at the very heart of battlefield touring and I am delighted that the Guild has focused on this aspect in view of the number of students who now regularly visit battlefields to bring to life their knowledge gained in the classroom.
When I first heard that the Guild of Battlefield Guides was envisaged I was delighted. Not, because it will present guides with yet another hurdle to jump on their way to making a living: but, because it will disseminate best practice, extend advice and support, act as a forum for those with common interests, and above all enhance quality. As a working battlefield guide who knows that he could raise his own game, I am proud to be the Guild's patron, and I welcome you warmly to its website.
I find it hard to explain the peculiar attraction of battlefields. It is certainly true to say that visiting these haunted acres touches us in a number of ways. At a purely intellectual level we can trace the development of tactics, see how great commanders plied their craft, and view the interplay between the ground and the events that unrolled across it. However there is an emotional level too, as we consider the factors that brought men together to play their roles in mankind's most passionate drama, and do our humble best to understand what battle was like for the men who fought it. Sometimes, too, there is a personal overlay, as we visit a spot where a family member – known to us only, perhaps, through a sepia photograph or forgotten medals found in a drawer - risked, and perhaps lost, his life.
The enduring appeal of military history and the growing ease of travel (despite the caveats one must insert after 9/11) have made visiting battlefields increasingly popular. When I first sought out the Hillman strongpoint above Normandy's Sword Beach I had to thrash about in the undergrowth beside a little road up from the coast. Now it is increasingly well restored and even houses a museum. Parts of the Somme show the imprint of the growing number of visitors, while at Tyne Cot on Passchendaele Ridge the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has to struggle manfully (and what a good job it does, there and elsewhere) to keep any grass at all on the central pathway. Some visitors travel by car, perhaps devoting a weekend or longer to a battlefield visit, or perhaps diverting (with or without the approval of all the family!) to see a particular site. Others journey by coach or minibus, and the visitor who wishes to travel with a commercial company now has a wide choice in terms of cost, scope and what we might best call intensity.
I have been travelling battlefields on four continents for more than thirty years, and in the process have been struck by the very variable quality of the experience. I have seen groups, hunched up against the rain, being lectured worthily on the establishment of a British infantry division in 1916; overheard judgements on the Somme which would leave even Captain Blackadder blushing; and lent maps and other material to more than one worthy coach-driver who was being expected to exceed his job-description. Yet it is not an easy business. I have never visited a battlefield without learning something new, and never conducted a group without knowing that there is something I could have done better. Education is at the very heart of battlefield touring and I am delighted that the Guild has focused on this aspect in view of the number of students who now regularly visit battlefields to bring to life their knowledge gained in the classroom.
When I first heard that the Guild of Battlefield Guides was envisaged I was delighted. Not, because it will present guides with yet another hurdle to jump on their way to making a living: but, because it will disseminate best practice, extend advice and support, act as a forum for those with common interests, and above all enhance quality. As a working battlefield guide who knows that he could raise his own game, I am proud to be the Guild's patron, and I welcome you warmly to its website.
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Guild Patron
Prof. Richard Holmes
CBE TD JP
