Frank Baldwin

Accredited Guide Number: 8

I am a freelance guide, historian and heritage professional. After retiring after ten years in the army as a Royal Artillery Officer, I became increasingly involved in interpreting and presenting battlefield heritage for the Battlefields Trust and The Royal British Legion. My interest in battlefield touring was triggered by noticing that the part of Germany in which we were training in the 1980s had been a battlefield in 1757. I had always been interested in military history and both my father and grandfather had fought in the world wars.

I was an early supporter of the Guild of battlefield Guides and been part of the validation team, responsible for assessing guides’ competence, since 2008. I instruct on courses teaching battlefield guides and a Guide Co-ordinator for the Liberation Route Europe. My clients include include small and large groups, businesses as well as educational and of all sizes

In 2012 I was elected to the British Commission for Military History. My published work includes chapters in British Army Guide to the Western Front, and articles in military history journals. I write a military history blog www.theobservationpost.com

My interest and knowledge of military history stretches from Caesar to the Cold War and my guiding experience covers much of Europe. Besides the world wars and the Napoleonic era I am also interested in the mid C19th wars between Prussia, Austria and France and the Severn Years War.

I am writing the official history of the Normandy campaign for the Royal Regiment of Artillery and have battlefield guides to Artillery on the D Day beaches and the First Day of the Somme in publication. The artillery story of both world wars is a little neglected and I offer battlefield tours to tell the artillery story under the brand www.gunnertours.com

I have been privileged to support some of the British Army centenary staff rides as a subject matter expert alongside academic historians. My clients include many military units and headquarters. I run a website offering advice to military units planning staff rides, battlefield studies or realities of war tours. www.staffrideservices.com

The links between military and business strategy fascinate me. I offer a service to help organisations to learn from other people’s mistakes using examples from statecraft and military history. www.businessbattlefields.com

I chaired the Battlefields Trust from 2008-2015 and involved in many projects to preserve, interpret and present many of the Battlefields of Britain, including the re-discovery of the battlefields of Bosworth.

Battles

AntiquityBritish Civil WarsMiddle AgesWWIWWII

Countries

AustriaBelgiumCreteCzech RepublicFranceGermanyItalyUnited Kingdom

Caters For

Bespoke GroupCollege GroupsFamiliesIndividualsLeadership & Management TrainingManagement DevelopmentPilgrimage GroupsSmall Groups

Areas of Expertise

First World War Western Front
Second World War Western Europe, Berlin and Italy
Seven Years War in Europe
Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Aerial Warfare
Artillery
Training for tour guides