WWI LITERATURE LOCATION GUIDE

Exceptional Tours Expertly Delivered

Our location guide offers you information on the range of visits available in and the Somme. All visits are selected with your subject and the curriculum in mind, along with the most popular choices for sightseeing, culture and leisure in the area.

The information in your location guide has been provided by our partners in Ypres and the Somme who have expert on the ground knowledge of the area, combined with advice from education professionals so that the visits and information recommended are the most relevant to meet your learning objectives.

Making Life Easier for You

This location guide is not a catalogue of opening times. Our Tour Experts will design your itinerary with opening times and location in mind so that you can really maximise your time on tour.

Our location guides are designed to give you the information that you really need, including what are the highlights of the visit, location, suitability and educational resources. We’ll give you top tips like when is the best time to go, dress code and extra local knowledge.

Peace of Mind

So that you don’t need to carry additional money around with you we will state in your initial quote letter, which visits are included within your inclusive tour price and if there is anything that can’t be pre-paid we will advise you of the entrance fees so that you know how much money to take along.

You also have the added reassurance that, WST is a member of the STF and our featured visits are all covered as part of our externally verified Safety Management System.

WST’s WWI Poetry Guides Accompanying your students on arrival to departure from the region, our hugely knowledgeable WWI experts will truly enhance learning and deliver fascinating information relevent to the key poets at each site you visit. Benefits include; + Pre-trip contact with you to ensure your objectives and itinerary are perfect for you. + A wealth of information delivery allowing you more time to focus on your students and enjoy the sites. + Evening talks/discussion sessions with your guide are possible in hotel meeting spaces to enhance the educational aspect further. + Free pre trip resources encouraging students to research local soldiers who fought, which the guides will then address on your trip

Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg and Edward Thomas, Alexander Robertson, David Westcott Brown Sites;  Sanctuary Wood  Newfoundland Park  Thiepval Memorial  Joncourt, Ors and Arras cemeteries and memorial Scroll down for more detailed site information

Siegfried Sassoon Sites;  Menin Gate  Arras  Fricourt  Mametz & Danzig Alley Cemetery Scroll down for more detailed site information

John McCrae Sites  Tyne Cot Cemetery  Essex Farm Scroll down for more detailed site information

YPRES SALIENT VISITS

Sanctuary Wood & Hill 62 One of the few places on the Ypres Salient Battlefields where an original trench layout can be seen in some semblance of what it might have originally looked like. Original equipment from the battlefield site and photographs can be viewed in the museum.

Croonaert Wood (Bayernwald) Taken by German troops in 1914 a system of trenches was constructed. A group of volunteers and military archaeologists later re-dug the trench system as it had been in 1915. You can now visit these preserved German trenches and follow the information panels describing life on the front.

Essex Farm Cemetery & Dressing Station The area that was once used as an advanced dressing station is now the final resting place for 1200 men who lost their lives in the First World War. Whist stationed at Essex Farm in May 1915 John McCrae wrote the famous poem ‘’.

Hill 60 & the Caterpillar Crater Hill 60 suffered an extremely turbulent history throughout the war, changing hands several times. Today you can see the preserved battlefield and the remains of two of the mines blown at the beginning of the Battle of Messines. This is also the final resting place for countless soldiers buried somewhere beneath its grassy foundations.

In Flanders Fields Museum Located in the centre of Ypres this interactive museum allows visitors to follow the story of the war through personal testimony, exhibitions, videos & imagery.

Langemark Cemetery The final resting place of over 40,000 German soldiers.

Menin Gate Ceremony The largest memorial to the British and Commonwealth soldiers, whose graves are unknown. Every day at 8pm, the Last Post Ceremony takes place at the Menin Gate. This is an incredibly moving experience.

Passchendaele Memorial Museum The memory of this battle is kept alive through interactive exhibitions, images and movies, which allow you to follow the story of a soldier in the 40th Australian Battalion.

St Georges Church This memorial church houses commemorations to many fallen soldiers in the form of plaques adorning the furnishings and commemorative stained glass windows.

Tyne Cot Cemetery The largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world with 11,956 soldiers buried here, many unnamed. There also panels naming 34,888 missing soldiers.

SOMME VISITS

Newfoundland Memorial/ Beaumont Hamel Located near Beaumont Hamel, this is one of only a few sites on the Western Front where the ground remains largely untouched since the end of the First World War. The site is also a memorial to all the Newfoundlanders who fought in the First World War, most particularly those who have no known grave.

Thiepval Memorial & Visitor Centre The largest and one of the most emotive memorials to the missing from any war in which British soldiers died. There are over 72,000 names on the stone piers. The visitor centre has an excellent exhibition charting all the key events of WW1.

1916 Somme Museum This museum follows the soldiers into the trenches of the 1916 offensive. Visitors can experience the harsh daily life of the troops via a series of tunnels.

Lochnagar Crater Created after a mine explosion on 1st July 1916, his is the largest surviving crater on the Western Front.

Ulster Tower The Ulster Tower is a memorial to the men of the 36th Ulster Division and is close to the site they attached on 1st July 1916.

Vimy Ridge This Canadian National Memorial site gives daily guided tours through the network of tunnels and trenches that were the scene of fighting in 1917.

Wellington Quarry - Arras After descending 20 metres in a glass elevator, you enter this strategic network of tunnels that were key in the Battle of Arras. This site was recently renovated and offers a superb audio guided tour.

Albert - Guided evening ‘Life behind the Lines Walk’ Your expert guide will take you on an informative and enjoyable early evening walk around Albert, sharing their knowledge of the lives of soldiers who were based in this area during the war