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Outstanding.

The tour was exactly as
described in the brochure, in
every way. Just great, as always.

I just wanted to let you know what a
wonderful time we had
on the Normandy tour. I have listened to my mother talk about my uncle
and where he died ever since I can remember. It meant
so much to be able to visit him with her. She'll never forget
it and neither will I. In fact
I have already started saving
for the next one.
Can't make a trip?
Want photographs of a Grave, Memorial or Battlefield site?
Contact Ian at the War Research Society Headquarters. |
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World War II Battlefield Tours 2009
The tour list gives the full index of all of our
battlefield tours, pilgrimage tours and war graves tours for both World
War I, World War II and other notable battles and conflicts. Expanded
details of all battlefield tours are also available in our brochure, contact
us for a copy.
World War 2
Dunkirk, Ypres and the V2 Rocket Sites
Dover Castle, Underground Hospital and Dunkirk Control
Centre
29th May – 1st June
4 Days, 3 Nights
£435.00
This tour offers an unusual mixture of First and Second World War. It
starts with visits to Wormhout and Esquelbec, where we cover the infamous
story of the massacre on the road to Dunkirk. Followed by a visit to the
Memorial erected by the Dunkirk Veterans Association beside the site of
the massacre, and the cemetery where many are buried. We also visit Creton
Farm, at Le Paradis, scene of another massacre by the German SS troops,
of 97 soldiers of the Royal Norfolk and other Regiments, seeing the poignant
memorial erected to them, and visiting the village cemetery where they
are buried.
We will be visiting the Dunkirk Cemetery and
Memorial to the Missing, where we will have our Service of Remembrance,
followed by a visit to Dunkirk and De-Panne to see the Beaches and Memorials.
We will visit the V2 Rocket Bases at the La Coupole
and Eperlecques, before making our way across to Belgium, to visit the
First World War Battlefields. We will also be making Special Visits during
the day, and at 8.00 p.m. we will be attending the Last Post Ceremony
at the Menin Gate in Ypres. On our final day we will return to the Port
of Calais and our crossing back to England, where we visit Dover Castle,
the Secret Wartime Tunnels, the Underground Hospital, and the Control
Centre from which the evacuation of Dunkirk was controlled.
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World War 2 The Cockleshell Heroes
Operation Frankton
1st – 5th October
5 Days, 4 Nights
£585.00
In 1942 ‘Operation Frankton’ was put into effect, when a group of Royal Marine Commandos were set the task of canoeing some seventy miles up the river Gironde and, by placing limpet mines on the ships in Bordeaux harbour, destroying as many ships as possible, before making their way overland to Spain. Of the twelve men who set off in the canoes on the raid only two managed to complete the mission and safely return to England, the rest either being captured and executed or drowned.
On this tour we cover the story, visiting the area where they were dropped by the submarine HMS Tuna, and follow the route taken by Major Hasler and Marine Sparks, the site of their action and their escape route. We also see the poignant memorials to those who were caught and executed and visit the excellent French Resistance museum in Bordeaux.
This tour flies to Bordeaux where it is met by our local guide and transport. The air flights are ATOL protected by the Civil Avaition Authority, as we act as agent for licenced tour operators: Complete World Travel, ATOL 5457.
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World War 2 Famous Raids Tour, Dieppe, Brunevala and Amiens Prisons
with a visit to La Coupole V2 Rocket Site
24th – 28th April
5 Days, 4 Nights
£530.00
The first full day of this tour is spent visiting the scene of the abortive and costly Canadian Raid on Dieppe on the 19th August 1942. We shall inspect the Red and White Beaches in front of the town and then visit the sites of the German Batteries above it. We then go on to view the beaches at Berneval and Quiberville where British Commandos covered the flanks of the main attack. It will also be possible to make Special Visits to the cemeteries in the area.
We will then make the short drive to St. Valery-en-Caux where the 51st Highland Division was forced to surrender to General Rommel on the 12th June 1940. Bad weather combined with German airpower prevented the Royal Navy coming to the rescue of the Division. We continue on to the scene of the famous Bruneval Raid at the secret Radar Station.
The next day we cover the epic attack on Amiens Prison (Operation Jericho), led by Wing Commander Pickard, to release the resistance workers incarcerated there. We will see the bomb damage to the walls, Pickard's crash site and last resting place, and follow the story of the escapees through the Somme Region.
Before our afternoon ferry on the final day we will visit the V2 Rocket site at La Coupole at St. Omer.
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World War 2 Normandy Beaches 65th Anniversary Tour
Operation Overlord
4th – 8th June
5 Days, 4 Nights
£530.00
The first day of this tour is spent travelling to our hotel in Normandy. The next day covers the American involvement, visiting, Utah and ‘Bloody’ Omaha Beaches, Ste. Mere Eglise (with its famous Church on which US Paratrooper John Steele landed), Pont Du Hoc (where Col. James Rudder and his Rangers scaled the sheer cliffs), and visit the very poignant American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.
We spend a day covering the British and Commonwealth landing and dropping zones, visiting, Arromanches, Gold, Juno, Sword, Beaches, following the advance inland. We also visit Bayeux Cemetery and Museum, Pegasus Bridge, Café Gondree (first house liberated) and Ranville. On the 6th June we attend the Airborne Service of remembrance at Ranville Cemetery.
The following day we depart for a tour of the southern Normandy Battlefields, visiting Vimoutieres, the Falaise Pocket, Hill 112 and Merville Battery. On route back to our ferry at Calais, we cover the action of the Engineers at Troarn Bridge.
The tour offers opportunities for Special Visits to any cemetery in the Normandy area.
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World War 2 St Nazaire Combined Operations Raid and Normandy Beaches visit
'‘The greatest raid of all’ – a popular tour, once again led by Peter Lush from The St. Nazaire Society
23rd – 27th July
5 Days, 4 Nights
£530.00
On our first day we travel from the UK to our Hotel in Rouen. The next
day sees us en route to St Nazaire and the scene of one of the most daring
Combined Operations Raids in history here a small, lightly
armed force took on the might of the German coastal defences and succeeded
in ramming HMS Campbeltown, loaded with explosives, into the Normandy
Dry Dock gates whilst the Commandos stormed ashore and destroyed the pumping
stations and winding gear, rendering the dock inoperable for the rest
of the War.
We will visit the submarine pens and take a guided
tour around a submarine. We'll visit the Eco Museum and walk the ground
covered by these brave men, with a detailed description of each part of
the raid and its objectives. We'll visit several cemeteries in the area
containing graves of the men who did not return – including graves of
those lost in the sinking of the HM Troopship Lancastria in 1940.
We return via Normandy for a day visiting the
British and Canadian landing beaches of Gold, Juno, Sword and Arromanches,
and other places of interest. One night will be spent in Rouen, two
in St Nazaire and one in Normandy. Special Visits are possible in
Normandy, Rennes and St. Nazaire areas.| BACK TO TOUR LIST | BOOKING FORM | TO TOP | WORLD WAR II
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