Find a Guide

Explore the world’s most trusted directory of battlefield guides

The 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.

You can filter by battle/campaign or country and then click on the name of an Accredited Guide to read their biography. Most Accredited Guides have contact details by which you can contact them directly. If not, or if you want to pass a message to them, please contact them via 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. If you want to advice on following a particular ancestor and you have not identified a particular Accredited Guide, please contact the Guild Secretary. We guarantee we’ll have somebody that can help you!

Please note, the Guild does not recommend or endorse any of the commercial products of the members listed below, nor does it imply that they have been checked as complying with the relevant legislation or regulation in the jurisdictions they are based or guide in.

Finally, this list shows only our Accredited Guides. 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, please contact the Guild Secretary via our Contacts Page.

Some of our Accredited Guides have experience of researching military aspects of family history, and 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.

Battle

Ian Gumm

Accredited Guide Number: 62

Ian Gumm is the founder and CEO of In The Footsteps, a leading independent battlefield tour operator, as well as a full-time battlefield historian and guide. He is a former Chair of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and has led tours since 1998. During that time, Ian has visited the battlefields of Anglo-Saxon England, the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, the English Civil Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the Anglo-Zulu War, the First World War, the Second World War … and much more.

“Touring the battlefield is my passion, it is what I love to do, and I feel extremely privileged to be able to escort people around the battlefields of the world visiting some of the most important historical sites that have shaped the world in which we live.”

Ian served in the British Army as a Reservist for thirty-six years during which time he commanded B (Rorke’s Drift) Company of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Wales; commanded the Regimental Contingent at the affiliation parade with 121 South African Infantry Battalion (a Zulu Battalion) in South Africa; was the officer responsible for the training of all junior and potential officers in Wales; trained junior managers in the Defence Industry as the Officer Commanding the Sandhurst Leadership Challenge in Wales, and was the staff officer responsible for the First World War Centenary Commemorations for Wales.

His experience, gained both on the battlefield and with the British Army, allows him to add a soldier’s perspective and paint the picture of a battle on the canvas of the countryside. This enhances your tour experience, as Ian is not only able to impart an understanding of the history, but also a feel for the men who took part in the battle and the ground over which it was fought.

“So, whether you are ‘following in the footsteps’ of an ancestor or relative on a genealogy tour; ‘following in the footsteps of heroes’ on a more general tour or retracing the steps of a military unit or formation on a battlefield study or staff ride you can be sure that Ian will deliver an experience that will leave you with memories that last a lifetime.”

As an Accredited Member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides, Ian endeavours to maintain the high standards, both in terms of service and good practice, that are commensurate with the Guild’s ethos. In addition to being an Accredited Member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides, Ian is a member of the Western Front Association, the Battlefields Trust, the Last Post Association, and the Society for Army Historical Research (SAHR).

As well as leading battlefield tours, Ian delivers interesting and informative military history talks and presentations to professional organisations, businesses, clubs, societies and other groups, small or large.

AgincourtAlmarazAnglo/Zulu War...AnzioArdennesArnhemArrasArrasAubers RidgeAuschwitzBadajozBapaumeBastogneBattle of AmiensBattle of AnzioBattle of LewesBattle of Lys & Op BlucherBattle of SicilyBattle of The AisneBattle of the BulgeBattle of the SommeBosworthBritish Civil WarsBritish Colonial ConflictsBullecourtCambraiCassinoCharleroiCiudad RodrigoCrecyD-DayDelville WoodDieppeDunkirkEdward I’s conquest of North WalesEindhoven & NijmegenEshoweFall of BerlinFall of FranceFestubertFromellesFuentes de OnoroFulfordGallipoliGingindlovuHastingsHastings CampaignHindenburg LineHlobaneHolocaustIsandlwanaKrakowLe HamelLiberation of the NetherlandsLignyLoosLudendorff OffensivesMessinesMeuse-ArgonneMiddle AgesMonsNapoleonNeuve ChappelleNorman Conquest of EnglandNormandy LandingsOperation AvalancheOperation BerlinOperation HuskyOperation InfatuateOperation JubileeOperation Market GardenOperation MichelOperation OverlordOperation PlunderOperation ShingleOperation VeritablePasschendaelePoitiersPoitiersPolygon WoodQuatre BrasReichswald ForestRetreat to the MarneRhine CrossingRorke's DriftSalamancaSalernoSambre CrossingScheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & WalcherenSluysStanford BridgeTalaveraThe 100 Years WarThe War of the Seventh CoalitionTowtonUS Operations on the Western Front 1917 - 1918UlundiVerdunVillers-BretonneuxVimyVimy RidgeVitoriaWWIWWIIWars of the RosesWaterlooWaterloo CampaignWavreWellington’s Peninsular battlesYpres

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