Advance! Bespoke Battlefield Tours

Battlefields tours - Normandy - DDay - World War 1 - WW2

We have a wide range of bespoke battlefield tours available including Ypres, Somme, Verdun, Vimy Ridge and Meuse Argonne from World War I; D-Day landings, Normandy campaigns, Operation Market Garden, Hürtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, Vosges and Provence, Montecassino, and The Gothic Line from World War II.

Other campaign tours include The Waterloo Campaign, the American Civil War and the Hundred Years War including the Campaigns of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.

If none of our named tours are exactly what you are looking for our team is always keen to research something new, and welcome the challenge of conducting new tours, for forgotten wars, to unsung places. There are only a few, practically, unreachable locations.

How We Operate at Advance! Bespoke Battlefield Tours

We specialise in designing totally flexible bespoke Battlefield Tours which are entirely tailor-made to your individual requirements, giving you total freedom in deciding:

- where you want to go, whether it be mainland Europe or further afield
- what time of year you want to travel
- how long the tour will last
- what type of accommodation you would like to stay in
- your pick-up and drop off locations
- and anything else you may require to make your trip a memorable one

This tailor-made service is especially suitable for individuals, families and small parties of friends who prefer to travel independently rather than as part of a large group. So often with tours you are herded on and off a coach with only a limited time to see and experience the places you want to visit.

By booking with us you will be visiting places of special interest and locations off the beaten track where the large groups never go (as well as the main sites).

You will have the same knowledgeable guide throughout your trip. Perhaps you wish to follow the footsteps of a family member, looking at where he served, fought and now lies buried. You may have a specific interest in a unit or formation or you may have seen a film or documentary which you were captivated by and want to find out more. We can also set aside time for you to explore on your own or simply to relax. You may also have a member of your party who is not interested in battlefields and would rather do something else such as visit gardens, historical buildings or just shop - this we can also arrange.

Personal Profile of Tim Pritchard-Barrett (Major, Retired)

Tim followed his family tradition and was commissioned into the Welsh Guards in 1974, where he served in every theatre upon which the regiment partook for nine years.

He has served for a total of 29 years. After the "regular" army Tim continued with the Territorial Army; - (similar to the US National Guard), in The Queens Own Yeomanry (A cavalry regiment in the role of deep penetration, armoured reconnaissance) up to the appointment of Squadron Leader but later as a staff officer, second in command and training officer for other regiments.

His experiences in the military have included both operational command and staff appointments. He been a member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides since 2007, and holds Badge number 71.

Widely experienced and well read, as a professional Battlefield Guide, Tim has led many dozens of tours across Western Europe; (the majority, small business and personal tours) for 17 years throughout The Hundred Years War, The Wars of the Roses, The English Civil War, The 'Scottish' Wars, The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-14), Revolutionary (1792-1802) & Napoleonic (1802-1815) including the Peninsular War (1808-14) and Waterloo Campaign (1815), Franco-Prussian (1870-1), First and Second World Wars in Europe, (amongst other British & European wars).

New Additions recently added are the mystical secret Suffolk coast's military heritage and the vast array of USAAF 8th Air Force Bases across East Anglia with the "Masters of the Air" Series having been on Apple TV. Further to that is the full campaigns of the Peninsular War conducted by Sir Arthur Wellesley/Duke of Wellington again numerous French Marshals across Portugal, Spain and Southern France between 1808 & 1814.

The Wars in the East of North America are familiar, if less often trodden. (King William's War (1689-97), The French & Indian War (1756-63), The Revolutionary War (1775-1783), The War of 1812 (1812-14) and The American Civil War (1861-65).

Recently the majority of tours have been for the most part:
- The Waterloo Campaign in 1815.
- The Franco Prussian War - first month, August 1870.
- 1st World War on the 'Western Front' from the Belgian coast at Nieuwpoort through Ypres, Arras, The Somme, Cambrai, Le Chemin des Dames, Mons, The Marne, Champagne, down and including the great French battle of Verdun and The US AEF at St Mihiel and the Meuse Argonne; with everything British, French and American in between, but not forgetting a German angle for greater understanding and clarity.
- For the 2nd World War throughout North West Europe both in 1940 & 1944-45 and Italy from 1943-5. Particularly The Retreat to Dunkirk, D-Day & Normandy, Operation Dragoon (South of France), Operation Market Garden, The Siegfried Line & Hüertgen Forest, The Battle of the Bulge, clearing to and crossing the Rhine.

These tours have consistently reviewed Politics, Strategic aims, Operational Requirements, Ego, Command, Control, Intelligence (Gathering, Interpretation, Analysis & Dissemination), Leadership, Morale, Training, Weaponry, Logistics, Ground and Conditions. Most of all, to ensure a clarity of message and understanding to the tour participants, no matter their previous knowledge.

As Tim's mother is an American from South Carolina he is able to sit on the fence during most trans-Atlantic arguments. It was as a small boy in the Carolinas that started a fascination with the American Civil War, before recognising both his British and American family military heritage. (Do ask).

Always keen to research something new, Tim welcomes the challenge of conducting new tours, for forgotten wars, to unsung places.

Nothing is Too Much Trouble

In the contact us section of the website simply fill in the email form to provide us with a few essential details. We will then give you a draft itinerary with provisional costings for your approval. Once this has been agreed we will give you a comprehensive agenda and definitive prices.