Dudley Giles

Accredited Guide Number: 26

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.

Battles

Middle AgesBritish Civil WarsEnglish Civil War 1642-165119th CenturyNapoleonic WarsWaterloo Campaign 1815Waterloo20th CenturyFirst World War 1914-18Western Front Allies of WW1ANZACS on the Western FrontCanadians on the Western FrontWestern Front - The beginning (1914)Mons 1914Retreat to the Marne 1914Battle of The Aisne 1914Western Front - Stalemate (1915)Neuve Chappelle 1915Aubers Ridge 1915Festubert 1915Loos 1915Gallipoli 1915-16Western Front - Counterattack (1916)Battle of the Somme 1916Delville Wood 1916Fromelles 1916Bapaume 1916Western Front - Attrition (1917)Hindenburg Line 1917Arras 1917Vimy Ridge 1917Bullecourt 1917Messines 1917Third Battle of Ypres 1917Polygon Wood 1917Passchendaele 1917Cambrai 1917Western Front - Defeat and Victory (1918)German Spring Offensive 1918Operation Michel 1918Battle of Lys & Op Blucher 1918Villers-Bretonneux 1918Le Hamel 1918The Last 100 Days 1918Battle of Amiens 1918The Somme 1918Meuse-Argonne 1918Sambre Crossing 1918Second World War 1939-45Occupation of Europe (1940)Norway Campaign 1940Fall of France 1940Arras 1940Dunkirk 1940Battle of Calais 1940Operation Sealion (Seelöwe) 1940UK Home Front WW2London Blitz WW2Air War over Europe WW2Combined Bomber Offensive WW2WW2 Commando and other Raids in Occupied EuropeOperation Chariot - St Nazaire 1942Bruneval Raid 1942Operation Jubilee - Dieppe 1942Italian Front WW2Operation Husky 1943 - SicilyOrtona 1943Operation Avalanche 1943 - SalernoMonte Cassino 1944Operation Shingle 1944 - AnzioGustav Line 1944Gothic Line 1944-5Liberation of Europe (1944)Op Overlord Preparations in UK 1943-4D-Day - Op Overlord 1944Normandy Campaign and breakout 1944Op Dragoon 1944 - South of FranceLorraine Campaign 1944Op Market Garden 1944 - Arnhem Eindhoven NijmegenArnhem 1944Eindhoven 1944Nijmegen 1944Liberation of the Netherlands 1944-45Scheldt Estuary - Breskens Pocket & Walcheren 1944-5Operation Infatuate 1944 - AntwerpOp Blockbuster 1944 - Canadian drive to RhineBattle of the Bulge 1944-5Band of Brothers 101 AirborneEastern Front WW2Kursk 1943Estonia 1944Battle of Halbe 1945Fall of Berlin 1945Advance into Germany (1945)Op Plunder 1945 - Rhine CrossingOp Veritable 1945 - Reichswald ForestPost WWIICold War 1945-91Yugoslav Wars (1990s)21st CenturyAfghanistan 2001-21

Countries

AfghanistanAsiaBelgiumEastern EuropeEnglandEstoniaEuropeFranceGermanyItalyNetherlandsNorwayScotlandSicilyTurkeyUnited KingdomWalesWestern Europe

Caters For

Adult Coach GroupsBattlefield StudiesBattlefield WalksBespoke GroupClubs and SocietiesCorporate ToursCultural ToursCycling battlefield toursEvening PresentationsFamiliesIndividualsLeadership & Management TrainingLong ToursManagement DevelopmentMilitary & VeteranPilgrimage GroupsSchool GroupsSelf-drive or guided toursShort ToursSmall GroupsStaff Rides

Areas of Expertise

The Canadian Involvement in WWI and WW2
The Western Front
Dieppe 1942
Sicily 1943
The North West European Campaign 1944/45
The liberation of Antwerp and the Scheldt Campaign 1944
The Rhine Crossings
Military Law and Discipline (including specialist ‘Shot at Dawn’ tours)