The Somme - Locations Visited |
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 Newfoundland Park - this preserved battlefield is the site of the assault by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment which was virtually destroyed as it attacked the German lines at "Y" Ravine. General de Lisle, the 29th Division's Commander stated, in a message to their Prime Minister: "It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour, and its assault only failed of success because dead men can advance no further". The opposing trenches remain and the ground still bears the scars of shell-fire. |
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| Ulster Tower - commemorating the 36th Ulster Division, the Tower stands on what was the site of the Schwaben Redoubt on the German front line. |
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| Thiepval Memorial to the Missing - largest memorial of its kind; Thiepval commemorates the 74,000 men who died on the Somme and who have no known grave. |
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| "Mash" Valley - in this valley on the north side of the Albert-Bapaume road, the 2nd Middlesex Battalion sustained over 500 casualties as they were assailed by machine-guns from La Boisselle and Ovillers. |
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| Lochnagar Crater - 90,000 lbs of explosives set off under the German lines created a crater 90 feet deep. From this position, the ground over which the Tyneside Irish Brigade advanced at a cost of nearly 3,000 casualties can be seen. |
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| Dartmoor Cemetery - contains the oldest British casualty of the war, a father and son, a VC and a soldier "shot at dawn". As such it reflects a range of First World War experiences. |
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A typical 1-day itinerary |
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| Pick-up from school at 06.30 hours and travel by executive coach/cross-channel ferry to Calais. Battlefield tour followed by return to Calais for early evening ferry to UK returning about 21.30 hours. |
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| Itineraries can be tailored to your requirements but please note that this is an arduous tour and schools in the North should think in terms of a 2-day itinerary. Contact us now by clicking here. |