The “Find a Guide“ directory details all those Accredited Members who have chosen to advertise their expertise and services as guides on the Guild website. Each of these has passed our Accreditation Programme in which they have demonstrated the skills needed for us to say that they are high-quality guides who will give you a great tour.
When searching for a guide, we recommend that you filter by battle/campaign, country or capability and then click on the name of an Accredited Guide to read their biography. In stating their expertise and services, Accredited Members should be able to guide the particular battle or campaign on the battlefield. Sometimes physically guiding on that battlefield may be impossible or impractical, or it is presentation services that are required, in which case the Accredited Member should be able to guide the battle or campaign “remotely”.
As you will see, most Accredited Members have contact details by which you can contact them directly, and some have their own website, a Tripadvisor and/or a Google Review Page. If you are having difficulty in contacting them, please contact them via the Guild Secretary via our Contacts Page.
Please note, the Guild does not recommend or endorse any of the commercial products or companies of the members listed below. We are not responsible for checking that those listed below have complied with the relevant legislation or regulations in the jurisdictions they are based or guide in. Many are members of ETOA or other local guiding associations and some have a local authorisation to work with children or vulnerable adults. But it is your responsibility to ensure they meet all the criteria you need for them to work with your group.
Finally, this list shows only our Accredited Members. Our Ordinary Members are not listed here and if you would like to check whether a particular individual is a member of the Guild, or for any other further help (for example satisfying a request for which you cannot seem to find a guide), please contact the Guild Secretary via our Contacts Page.
Many Guides can develop bespoke personalised tours and can research where particular ancestors might have fought or died based on information which you may have, and this is generally part of their service. If you want to advice on following a particular ancestor and / or help and advice on researching military aspects of family history, there are several Accredited Members who may be able to assist with your genealogical enquiries. A list of those members is here; if you would like to seek their assistance, contact details can be found by selecting their profile from those shown on this page.
Richard Burgess
Accredited Guide Number: 83
Richard Burgess is an experienced battlefield guide, educator and social historian with many years’ experience designing and leading educational tours across the United Kingdom and Europe. He is an Accredited Member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides (Guide No. 83) and is also accredited and licensed to guide groups at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial in Germany, where he provides historically informed and sensitive interpretation of the site, its victims and its place within the wider history of Nazi persecution and the Holocaust.
His principal areas of interest include the First and Second World Wars, the Holocaust, the Cold War, genocide studies and the relationship between faith, conflict and the human experience. His wider historical work encompasses Victorian crime and punishment, criminology and the development of criminal investigation.
What particularly distinguishes Richard’s approach to battlefield guiding is his professional background as a former Nationally Accredited Intelligence Officer and Detective Sergeant. Drawing upon those investigative skills, together with his work as an educator and social historian, he approaches history through evidence: examining sources, questioning assumptions, testing accepted narratives and encouraging those he guides to consider not simply what happened, but how we know.
Over the years, Richard has led hundreds of educational visits for schools, colleges, churches and adult groups. Qualified in Christian Studies, he also continues to develop his professional practice in education and training, with particular emphasis upon inclusion, accessibility and meaningful engagement.
Richard founded the Essex Police Military History Club and was instrumental in securing a permanent memorial on the Somme commemorating Essex Police personnel who lost their lives during the First World War. Unveiled during the centenary commemorations in 2016, the memorial remains a lasting tribute to their service and sacrifice.
For Richard, battlefield guiding is about far more than dates, places and military events. At its heart are people: the decisions they made, the circumstances in which they made them, the consequences that followed and the lives forever changed by conflict.
His aim is to bring people into meaningful contact with the past — to examine the evidence, walk the ground and understand the human stories behind the history — encouraging those he guides to question, understand, reflect and remember.
First World War 1914-18Soldiers of the British Empire WW1The French on the Western Front...
Adult Coach GroupsBattlefield StudiesBattlefield Walks...