Find a Guide

Explore the world’s most trusted directory of battlefield guides

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.

Battle

All Ancient / Roman[6]

Roman Invasion of Britain[4]

Medway 43AD[1]

Roman Invasion of Germany[1]

Battle of Teutoberger Forest c.9CE[2]

Middle Ages[13]

Viking battles[3]

Viking battles in Yorkshire[3]

Norman Conquest of England 1066[5]

Fulford 1066[3]Hastings 1066[3]Stanford Bridge 1066[3]

Barons' Wars[1]

Battle of Lewes 1264[2]

Edward I’s conquest of North Wales 1277-83[2]100 Years War 1337-1453[9]

Sluys 1340[1]Crecy 1346[4]Poitiers 1356[1]Agincourt 1415[6]

British Civil Wars[12]18th Century[7]

War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714[3]

Blenheim 1704[2]

War of the Austrian Succession 1741-1748[1]Seven Years' War 1756-1763[3]

Minden 1759[2]

American War of Independence 1775-1783[6]

Jersey 1779 & 81[2]Siege of Gibraltar 1779-83[2]

French Revolutionary Wars 1792-1802[0]

Passage of the Alps and Marengo 1800[2]

19th Century[29]

Napoleonic Wars[22]Crimean War 1853-56[2]American Civil War 1861-65[5]

Bull Run 1861[2]Antietam 1862[3]Gettysburg 1863[1]Monocacy 1864[1]

British Colonial Conflicts[7]

Anglo/Zulu War 1879[5]

Isandlwana 1879[2]Rorke's Drift 1879[3]Siege of Eshowe 1879[2]Gingindlovu 1879[2]Hlobane 1879[2]Ulundi 1879[2]

Boer War 1899-1902[3]

Austro-Prussian War 1866[1]

Koniggratz 1866[1]

Franco-Prussian War 1870-71[2]

20th Century[52]

First World War 1914-18[45]

Western Front Allies of WW1[12]

The Indian Army[1]Soldiers of the British Empire WW1[6]The French on the Western Front[2]ANZACS on the Western Front[12]US Soldiers on the Western Front 1917 - 1918[5]Canadians on the Western Front[10]

Western Front - The beginning (1914)[13]

Mons 1914[14]Retreat to the Marne 1914[7]Battle of The Aisne 1914[7]

Western Front - Stalemate (1915)[15]

Neuve Chappelle 1915[12]Aubers Ridge 1915[8]Festubert 1915[8]Loos 1915[11]

Gallipoli 1915-16[11]Salonika Front WW1[4]Western Front - Counterattack (1916)[29]

Battle of the Somme 1916[30]

Delville Wood 1916[14]Fromelles 1916[10]Bapaume 1916[8]Flers - Courcelette 1916[7]

Verdun 1916[10]

Western Front - Attrition (1917)[31]

Hindenburg Line 1917[8]Arras 1917[14]

Vimy Ridge 1917[15]Bullecourt 1917[9]

Messines 1917[17]Third Battle of Ypres 1917[31]

Polygon Wood 1917[12]Passchendaele 1917[17]

Cambrai 1917[11]

Western Front - Defeat and Victory (1918)[16]

German Spring Offensive 1918[12]

Operation Michel 1918[9]Belleau Wood 1918[7]Battle of Lys & Op Blucher 1918[7]Villers-Bretonneux 1918[12]

Le Hamel 1918[11]The Last 100 Days 1918[12]

Battle of Amiens 1918[9]The Somme 1918[9]Meuse-Argonne 1918[7]St. Mihiel 1918[5]Sambre Crossing 1918[5]

Italian Front WW1[3]

Asiago Plateau 1916[2]Caporetto 1917[2]Vittorio Veneto 1918[2]

Middle East Front WW1[2]

Sinai and Palestine Campaign WW1[3]

Naval Battles WW1[2]Other WW1 themes[5]

Air Power WW1[2]Shot at Dawn WW1[3]Women and war WW1[3]Logistics WW1[3]Medical WW1[5]WW1 Poetry literature and art[2]

Spanish Civil War 1936-39[2]

Siege of Toledo 1936[1]Madrid 1936[1]Jarama 1937[1]Guadalajara 1937[1]May Days & Barcelona 1937[1]Brunete 1937[1]The Ebro 1938[1]

Second World War 1939-45[52]

Occupation of Europe (1940)[19]

Norway Campaign 1940[4]Fall of France 1940[18]

Sedan 1940[3]Arras 1940[7]Dunkirk 1940[15]Battle of Calais 1940[7]

The Occupation of the Channel Islands WW2[1]Operation Sealion (Seelöwe) 1940[3]Battle of Britain 1940[7]

UK Home Front WW2[3]

London Blitz WW2[3]

North Africa WW2[0]

Operation Torch and Tunisia 1942[1]

Mediterranean theatre WW2[6]

German Airborne Invasion of Crete 1941[5]Siege of Malta 1940-42[7]

Air War over Europe WW2[7]

Combined Bomber Offensive WW2[6]

Naval battles WW2[3]

Battle of the Atlantic WW2[3]Operation Berlin 1941[3]

WW2 Commando and other Raids in Occupied Europe[9]

Channel Islands raids 1942-3[1]Operation Chariot - St Nazaire 1942[5]Bruneval Raid 1942[8]Operation Jubilee - Dieppe 1942[8]Operation Frankton - Bordeaux 1942[2]

Resistance in Occupied Europe WW2[1]

Battle of Gilieres 1944 - Haute Savoie[1]French Resistance WW2[2]S.O.E. in WW2[2]

Italian Front WW2[10]

Operation Husky 1943 - Sicily[9]Ortona 1943[4]Operation Avalanche 1943 - Salerno[4]Monte Cassino 1944[11]Operation Shingle 1944 - Anzio[7]Gustav Line 1944[7]Gothic Line 1944-5[7]

Liberation of Europe (1944)[32]Eastern Front WW2[10]

Stalingrad (Volgograd) 1942-3[1]Kursk 1943[1]Estonia 1944[2]Krakow 1945[1]Battle of Halbe 1945[3]Fall of Berlin 1945[13]

Asia and Pacific Fronts WW2[1]

Singapore 1942[2]

Advance into Germany (1945)[5]

Op Plunder 1945 - Rhine Crossing[8]Op Veritable 1945 - Reichswald Forest[7]

Other WW2 themes[3]

Soldiers of the British Empire WW2[2]Women and war WW2[1]Life under Nazi Occupation WW2[1]Hitler's Atlantic Wall[2]Holocaust[1]

Korean War 1950-53[1]Vietnam War 1954-75[2]Oman 1963-75[1]Falklands War 1982[2]Yugoslav Wars (1990s)[2]

21st Century[1]

Afghanistan 2001-21[1]Second Gulf War 2003[1]

John Cotterill

Accredited Guide Number: 10

John Cotterill is a self employed battlefield guide for families ,military groups, veterans, civilian clubs, individuals and schools. He was a founder member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides in 2003, was badged in 2004 (Badge 10) and was a Guild validator for 15 years. He became a Fellow of the Guild in 2025. John served as a regular officer in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and their successors the Mercian Regiment for 37 years. He saw active service in Ulster, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and inactive service on four continents. He lives in Nottingham and is an active member of the Western Front Association, the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmans Families Association (SSAFA) and his Regimental Association. John’s particular specialities are taking families to retrace the steps of their Great War or WW2 ancestors and, for military groups, writing and delivering problem solving exercises that allow participants to “re-fight” battles of the past. He has guided groups on battlefields from Tanzania to Tunisia and from Stalingrad to Singapore.

Battles 18th Century American War of Independence 1775-1783 Jersey 1779 & 81...Siege of Gibraltar 1779-83 19th Century Napoleonic Wars Peninsular War 1808-13 Rolica 1808 Vimiero 1808 Porto - Crossing of the Douro 1809 Talavera 1809 Bussaco 1810 Almeida 1810 Coa 1810 Lines of Tores Vedras 1810 Fuentes de Onoro 1811 Almaraz 1812 Ciudad Rodrigo 1812 Badajoz 1812 Salamanca 1812 Vitoria 1813 San Sebastian 1813 Crimean War 1853-56 20th Century First World War 1914-18 Salonika Front WW1 Soldiers of the British Empire WW1 The French on the Western Front ANZACS on the Western Front US Soldiers on the Western Front 1917 - 1918 Canadians on the Western Front Western Front - The beginning (1914)Mons 1914 Retreat to the Marne 1914 Battle of The Aisne 1914 Western Front - Stalemate (1915)Neuve Chappelle 1915 Aubers Ridge 1915 Festubert 1915 Loos 1915 Gallipoli 1915-16 Western Front - Counterattack (1916)Battle of the Somme 1916 Delville Wood 1916 Fromelles 1916 Bapaume 1916 Flers - Courcelette 1916 Verdun 1916 Western Front - Attrition (1917)Hindenburg Line 1917 Arras 1917 Vimy Ridge 1917 Bullecourt 1917 Messines 1917 Third Battle of Ypres 1917 Polygon Wood 1917 Passchendaele 1917 Cambrai 1917 Western Front - Defeat and Victory (1918)German Spring Offensive 1918 Operation Michel 1918 Belleau Wood 1918 Battle of Lys & Op Blucher 1918 Villers-Bretonneux 1918 Le Hamel 1918 The Last 100 Days 1918 Battle of Amiens 1918 The Somme 1918 Meuse-Argonne 1918 St. Mihiel 1918 Sambre Crossing 1918 Italian Front WW1 Asiago Plateau 1916 Caporetto 1917 Vittorio Veneto 1918 Shot at Dawn WW1 Logistics WW1 Medical WW1 Spanish Civil War 1936-39 Second World War 1939-45 Fall of France 1940 Sedan 1940 Arras 1940 Dunkirk 1940 Battle of Calais 1940 Operation Sealion (Seelöwe) 1940 Operation Torch and Tunisia 1942 German Airborne Invasion of Crete 1941 Siege of Malta 1940-42 Bruneval Raid 1942 Operation Jubilee - Dieppe 1942 Operation Husky 1943 - Sicily Ortona 1943 Operation Avalanche 1943 - Salerno Monte Cassino 1944 Operation Shingle 1944 - Anzio Gustav Line 1944 Gothic Line 1944-5 Op Overlord Preparations in UK 1943-4 D-Day - Op Overlord 1944 Normandy Campaign and breakout 1944 Liberation of Belgium 1944 Hürtgen Forest 1944 Op Market Garden 1944 - Arnhem Eindhoven Nijmegen Arnhem 1944 Eindhoven 1944 Nijmegen 1944 Aachen 1944 Liberation of the Netherlands 1944-45 Operation Infatuate 1944 - Antwerp Op Blockbuster 1944 - Canadian drive to Rhine Battle of the Bulge 1944-5 Band of Brothers 101 Airborne Stalingrad (Volgograd) 1942-3 Fall of Berlin 1945 Singapore 1942 Op Plunder 1945 - Rhine Crossing Op Veritable 1945 - Reichswald Forest Soldiers of the British Empire WW2 Nazi V Weapons Cold War 1945-91 Vietnam War 1954-75 Yugoslav Wars (1990s)Second Gulf War 2003

Countries Afghanistan Africa Asia...Belgium Bosnia Channel Islands Crete Croatia Cyprus Denmark East Africa Eastern Europe England Europe France Germany Gibraltar Greece India Ireland Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Europe Norway Portugal Russia Scotland Sicily Singapore South-East Asia Spain Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Wales Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach GroupsBattlefield StudiesBattlefield Walks...Bespoke GroupClubs and SocietiesCollege GroupsCorporate ToursCruise shipEvening PresentationsFamiliesIndividualsLeadership & Management TrainingLong ToursManagement DevelopmentMilitary & VeteranSchool GroupsShort ToursSmall GroupsStaff Rides

Emailjohn.cotterill@btinternet.comTel.+44 7733 458 971

Ray Wilkinson

Accredited Guide Number: 58

Ray is especially interested in the British volunteers of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, the Roman Invasion of Britain in 43 AD, and the military career of Major General James Wolfe; he also has a broad interest in the Roman Occupation of Britain, land warfare during the First and Second World Wars, the American Civil War, and the British Civil Wars. In addition to leading battlefield tours in Europe he has led business study tours to the USA and throughout the UK facilitating best practice learning by client organisations from the Middle East, the Far East, and the UK.

He is a romantic idealist at heart and a firm believer in the power of the human spirit, with a heartfelt dislike of DIY born of much unfortunate experience, it is the actions and motivations of individuals in the context of military history and battlefields that interest him the most – and it is on those aspects that he focuses his attention. His aim as a battlefield guide is to encourage clients to consider events and situations from a fresh perspective learning lessons from the past.

He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London (DL) and a former Army Reserve Officer. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1993 and the Queen’s Volunteer Reserves Medal (QVRM) in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2011; HM The King sanctioned his appointment as a Member of the Order of St John (MStJ) in 2024.

Ray was a Council member of the Army Records Society and has a CMS, DMS and an MBA from the Open University Business School; he is the Priory Lead for London of the Order of St John, the Chair of Voluntary Action Surrey East (VASE), a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of The Drapers Company. He has been the Chief Validator for the Guild of Battlefield Guides since 2022.

Battles Ancient / Roman Roman Invasion of Britain Medway 43AD...British Civil Wars Wyatt's Rebellion 1554 Wrotham Heath 1554 English Civil War 1642-1651 Maidstone 1648 20th Century First World War 1914-18 Western Front - Counterattack (1916)Battle of the Somme 1916 Western Front - Attrition (1917)Third Battle of Ypres 1917 Spanish Civil War 1936-39 Brunete 1937 Guadalajara 1937 Jarama 1937 Madrid 1936 May Days & Barcelona 1937 Siege of Toledo 1936 The Ebro 1938 Second World War 1939-45 Post WWII Cold War 1945-91 Berlin

Countries Belgium England Europe...France Germany Scotland Spain United Kingdom Western Europe

Caters For Adult Coach GroupsBattlefield StudiesBattlefield Walks...Bespoke GroupClubs and SocietiesCollege GroupsCorporate ToursCruise shipCultural ToursEvening PresentationsFamiliesIndividualsLeadership & Management TrainingManagement DevelopmentMilitary & VeteranPilgrimage GroupsReenactorsSchool GroupsSelf-drive or guided toursShort ToursSmall GroupsSpecial Educational NeedsYoung Offenders

Emailraywilkinson@ymail.comTel.+7785 973 887