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I have been guiding on the battlefields of the world for some 20 years. After military service with the Parachute Regiment I followed this with over 6 years spent in the service of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman. My military experience included service during Op Corporate, the recovery of the Falkland Islands with 3 rd Bn The Parachute Regiment as well as service in Northern Ireland. After retiring from a successful Financial Services company in 2005 I have pursued a further career as a Battlefield Guide/Historian.

My guiding experience has taken me on tours to Italy including Sicily, Crete, Germany, France, Belgium India, Singapore, Oman and the Falkland Islands. I have worked with and toured at Higher Command level with the British Army as well as leading and writing Battle Studies and Tours for Junior Staff.

I have worked with a number of companies on tour for schools looking at European History in places like Berlin and Krakow as well as more traditional tours to France and Belgium to see the Battlefields of both World Wars.

I also carry out public speaking engagements and arrange subject matter/venues for a number of Clubs

Much of my own family history has been forged by war. My maternal grandparents lived in the Polish lands of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Whilst my mother and grandmother experienced life in occupied Poland at first-hand during the Second World War, my grandfather served with the Polish army and then Polish units of the British Army in Poland, France, North Africa and Italy. Other family members served in Berling’s army and the AK. My interest in battlefields was kindled as a youngster as my grandfather took me to visit his comrades’ resting places in Bolgna, Ancona and Padua.

My interest in History led me to 25 years of teaching and lecturing in institutions as diverse as secondary schools, universities and high security prisons and my teaching has always recognised the importance of either taking the students to the outdoors or, in secure conditions, to bring the outdoors to the students. Even my PhD thesis – a study in contrasting British and Austro-Hungarian interpretations of the problems of late imperial Russia – provided numerous opportunities to walk the ground described by nineteenth century commentators. Nothing compares with experiencing History in its actual environment.

My academic interests and family history have taken me firmly down the line of an inter-disciplinary approach to my craft, and I work from the perspective that military history and the study of battlefields can be hugely enhanced when accompanied by a secure political and socio-economic context. Civil historical sites and concentration camps are integrated into my tours whenever relevant. I gain enormous pleasure from guiding, as it provides the excuse to develop my research, broaden my own perspectives and share my expertise with a broad range of people. Part of my pleasure in studying History is to witness the evolution of my own views – their constant reassessment and refinement is firmly rooted in my translation of academic desk-bound study to bringing the past to life in the field.

Christopher Finn served in the RAF for 33 years as a navigator, primarily on the Buccaneer, and was a weapons and tactics specialist.  As a Wing Commander he was the UK’s LGB specialist in AHQ Riyadh during Operation GRANBY.  His final flying tour was as OC the Navigator & Airman Aircrew School.  A graduate of the Joint Services’ Defence College, in 2000 he gained an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University.  His last 5 years in the RAF were spent at Shrivenham, firstly on the Directing Staff of the Advanced Command and Staff Course and then, on promotion to Group Captain, as the RAF’s Director of Defence Studies.  In this role he lectured extensively on air power to UK and international audiences, published articles on air power and ran the RAF’s staff ride programme.

On leaving the RAF in 2005 he spent ten years as a Senior Lecturer in Air Power Studies with Kings College London, later Portsmouth University, based at the RAF College Cranwell.

Since 2003 Chris has developed and led over 30 staff rides and battlefield tours covering the subjects and battles listed below.  These have predominantly covered the influence of air power on the battlefield but also areas such as joint fires, logistics, command and control, intelligence, campaign planning, leadership at all levels and the political aspects of warfare.  However, he has also covered maritime battles (Malta & NEPTUNE) and land battles (Monte Cassino & Berlin).

 Chris also lectures on Military History to a wide range of audiences including, recently, a lecture on the role of the Royal Artillery in the Imjin River Battle of the Korean War.

He is a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Higher Education Academy, and works as a volunteer Guide at the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

A member of the Guild since 2008, Chris gained his Badge in 2009, became the Chief Validator in 2015 and became the Director of Validation (now Accreditation Director) in 2017.  He was elected the fourth Fellow of the Guild at the 2020 Annual Conference.

Dudley Giles has been an active battlefield guide for over 25 years and was an early member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

A former British Army officer, Dudley managed, in a career spanning nearly 34 years, to serve a third of his time in North West Europe (Germany and Belgium), a third in the UK (including three residential tours in Northern Ireland) and a third in ‘exotic’ locations such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Kosovo and the flanks of NATO (Norway and Turkey). In 1990 he attended the Army Command and Staff Course, and, in 2001, was serving as NATO’s senior military police officer during the climactic events post 9/11. In 2006/7 he deployed to Afghanistan as General Richards’ senior police advisor and his last appointment in the Army before finally retiring in 2012 he was Deputy Provost Marshal (Army).

In 2006/7 Dudley found himself on the modern battlefields of Afghanistan and was able to help soldiers, diplomats and journalists understand the historical similarities between the present and past experience of British soldiers in that country. On his return he acted as the chief battlefield guide for the very first Help for Heroes Big Battlefield Bike Ride and continued to support the charity in that capacity until 2013. This experience eventually led him to set up a specialist touring company -‘Battlefields by Bike.

Dudley took his first degree in Law (LL.B (Hons) at the University of Leeds in 1979 and later a Masters Degree in British First World Studies (2010) – graduating with Distinction.

When not running his own tours or carrying out research, Dudley works as an independent contractor for schools, military groups, families and other battlefield touring companies.

Carlo is born in the Italian town of Genoa, where he lives and works.

His interest and passion for military history and military affairs goes back to his childhood’s days, when he discovered himself as an hungry reader of them.

After his classical studies, a degree in law and a today’s job for Deutsche Bank,(where he regularly uses techniques learned by his fellow guide’s members), he concentrated his studies and researches on the long history of conflicts in the last century.

Genoa is a seaside town so, quite naturally, naval warfare is one of his expertise but, quite oddly, he is really fond of alpine warfare as well, the Dolomites being his favourite ground both for history and trekking.

Being Italian Campaigns oriented, on tour Carlo’s setting is as far as conceivable from the academic: he always try to let his audience live, more than hear to, history. The big picture of human conflicts is often mixed up with little stories of characters and human beings, without  long lists of dates and names. Letters, diaries and experiences of men at war always are placed side by side and often replace old, heavy volumes of history.

On battlefield he always let his guests smell the cordite. So, quite naturally, he found the Guild’s environment his environment. After being the first Italian Member, since 2009, he finally was awarded his Badge, n. 69, at the AGM in Bromsgrove, November 2014. On the same occasion he was the recipient of the David Chandler Award for the best Assignment Six.

Carlo regularly lectures around Italy and teaches military history at the Genoa’s Free University. The most important thing, he always says, in being an Accredited Guide and Italian is to succeed in giving to other members and guides a different perspective about some conflicts and let them know better some of the most beautiful places in the Italian Peninsula!

Graeme is a serving Army officer with a background in military logistics. He has served full time and part time for over 34 years in a range of command and staff appointments.

He has been a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides since 2014 and became a badged guide in 2021. His interest in the military started at a young age as he learned of the service of his grandfathers in the Second World War, one as a Royal Engineer, the other as a Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineer in 79th Armoured Division.

He has led a number of military group tours to the WW2 sites of Normandy, Monte Cassino, Sicily, Arnhem and Berlin before developing an interest in the Western Front during WW1.

Graeme has designed and led the Commonwealth Soldier programme taking school and community groups from SE England to the battlefields of France and Belgium to study the contributions made by Commonwealth troops in WW1. He has also delivered a number of tours in the UK and overseas has had the opportunity to lead a tour to the Falkland Islands. In 2018 he supported the Army Cadet Armistice 100 programme to the Somme and the National Muslim Armistice commemorations at Woking’s Indian Army Muslim burial ground memorial.

He is particularly interested in the human aspects of conflict and bringing the personal stories of those who served to life. In addition to leading groups, Graeme also has an interest in research and has delivered a number of WW1 community research projects, presentations and events as well as delivering individual bespoke research projects for families wanting to know more about their relatives.

He is a volunteer speaker for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and a member of the Western Front Association.

Robert Shaw MSc is the Director of Corporate Battlefields and the Director of Events of the International Guild Of Battlefield Guides. He is also Communications Co-ordinator and editor of the Guild magazine “Despatches”.  Holding accredited Badge Number 106, his battlefield guiding experience includes the Romans and Vikings in Britain, the American Civil War, the English Civil War, the battles of Wellington and Napoleon, WW1, WW2 and the Cold War.  These tours have been conducted in the UK, the USA, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Sicily, Crete, Malta, Libya, the Baltic States, Poland and the Balkans.  Robert has over 30 years’ experience in various military, diplomatic, intelligence and corporate security fields.  He earned a Master’s degree in Global Security from Cranfield University and, in addition to running and guiding battlefield tours for schools, military units and private clients, he regularly contributes on military history, intelligence, counter proliferation and contemporary security and defence matters (including Russia, Iran, Korea and China).  Robert has taught at UCL on “network attack” and spoken as an SME on the BBC.  He has also provided historical and technical advice to Channel Four programmes such as ‘Toxic Wrecks’ and Apple’s “Masters of the Air”.

Bob has three children, enjoys mountain guiding, canoeing and teaches youth and adult groups survival and bushcraft, resistance and countering kidnap, escape and evasion, foreign culture workshops for businesses and mental resilience.

I am a historian, tour operator and private guide based in Canterbury. I run my own company Dr Thomson’s Tours full-time, specialising in tailor-made tours with a historical and cultural theme in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Battlefield guiding accounts for around two-thirds of my business. Battlefield tours are particularly special to me as they combine history (asking what happened, why it happened then, there, and in that way), people (both empathy with those who fought, and on–the–spot interactions with one’s clients), landscape, and travel – all great interests of mine. Where History and Place overlap is at the heart of the buzz I get from history and explaining it to others.

After graduating with a degree in American Studies in 1979 I was briefly a civil servant, then a university administrator for fifteen years. I was Administrator of University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (the UK’s first and largest university space research group), then moved to Canterbury in 1992 to be Administrator of the new Canterbury Business School. Meanwhile I was taking my love of history forward by completing a PhD in American History in my own time; the subject was the experiences of ordinary American troops in France in 1944 and 1945 and their interactions with the French people. On completion of this I set about my aim of doing something ‘useful’ (i.e. productive!) with a History PhD and set up Dr Thomson’s Tours in 1997. This allows me to teach ‘in the field’, to take my study of history forward, and to meet a fascinating and varied mix of people.

References (see Trip Advisor, for instance) pay tribute to my relaxed but authoritative style, the high level of organisation of tours, and my ability to personalise a tour and make the complexities of war understandable to audiences with very varying degrees of pre–existing knowledge.

I was very proud to obtain the Guild of Battlefield Guides’ badge in November 2004.

I served with the Army Air Corps for 24 years as a Helicopter Pilot/Instructor and Examiner and was first introduced to Military History during this time.  I come from a ‘Military Family’ with a Great Grandfather who fought in the Zulu War of 1879, a Grandfather that saw active service with the Fleet Air Arm in WW2 and a Father in the RAF.

I was first introduced to the Battlefield in 1984 on an Operational Tour to the Falkland Islands.  Fortunately, there were many veterans of Op Corporate on this tour and much of my spare time was spent with them on the battlefield.  It was during this tour that I developed an interest in Military History, but it would take a further 20 years before I started Battlefield Guiding.

Being a Pilot meant that I was fortunate enough to see the Battlefield from an aerial perspective.  I have
since conducted tours from the air, ranging from the Somme to Normandy and even Iraq! After reading a book about 9 Parachute Battalion called ‘The Day the Devils Dropped In’, I found my interest being directed towards Normandy and the D Day Landings of WW2.  I have led many tours of the Normandy Landing Beaches with a particular interest in 6th Airborne Division and the 1st Battalion The Suffolk Regiment.

I have a developing interest in the SAS/SOE Operations in WW2 and have also led tours of the SAS action in Oman in 1958/9 on Jebel Akhdar.  I currently live in the Middle East where I continue to fly Helicopters.

Allan served for 22 years in the Regular Army in the 17^th/21^st Lancers and Queens Royal Lancers, a career which ended at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Gunnery School, Lulworth.  Allan was later commissioned into the TA serving for a further 9 years firstly with the Dorset and later the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in Bovington where he began guiding battlefield tours.

Allan’s first battlefield tour as a guide was for the Yeomanry to Normandy in 1999.  He has since guided nearly 200 battlefield tours for both Regular and Territorial Army units, schools and numerous adult groups to the Western Front, North West Europe plus other campaigns outside of the two World Wars including Waterloo and Agincourt.  Allan has guided many ANZAC focused tours of the Western Front, 1916-1918.  Allan retired from teaching to give himself the time to be an active Battlefield Guide and works freelance for several companies and organisations.  Allan also regularly gives talks on Military History to a wide variety of audiences from those including very senior serving officers to local groups in the Dorset area and wider afield.

Allan is an Accredited Member of (Badge Number 66) of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and a current Validator for candidates on the Path to their own Badge.  He is a member of the Western Front Association, Royal Lancers Regimental Association and a Trustee for the Dorset Yeomanry Association.

Allan is an Alumnus of the Duke of York’s Royal Military School, Dover.  Whilst in the Army he studied and graduated through the Open University, later training as teacher at the University of Bath after which he taught History in a secondary school in Poole.  Allan was later appointed as the Headteacher of the Compass, the school responsible for providing Alternative Provision for young people in Weymouth, Dorset. Allan still lives in Weymouth with his wife Angela, who tolerates both his guiding and golf in exchange for holidays in the sun!  They have two grown up children.