Details are attached of a tour that has been arranged of the Somme, in the centenary year, 2016. This is for local people and it is hoped that the Mayor and Mayoress will be part of this tour.
ABOUT THE PROPOSED TOUR
This three-night tour of the Western Front will look at the role of the Accrington Pals in
the Great War, particularly the Battle of the Somme. It will provide a chance for family
members to visit sites associated with loved ones while also looking at the wider
background to the conflict. We will be staying in comfortable 3 star hotels in the
famous towns of Ypres and Arras, and travelling by luxury coach.
The Guide on our tour will be Historical Trips co-founder and director Nigel Jones,
author of 'The War Walk: A Journey along the Western Front'. Nigel's father Frank
Jones served on Haig's staff as a shorthand writer during the war, and his uncle,
Rifleman Ernest Jones, was killed near Ypres, aged 18 in 1915. Nigel has been visiting
the battlefields since childhood, and is an authority on the Great War. We would, of
course, also welcome your own input and any expertise your members undoubtedly
have on the Accrington Pals in particular.
KEY FACTS
Price per person (based on a couple sharing a room) - £475
Single person supplement - £75
The tour price includes:
• Coach from and back to Accrington
• All museum fees
• 3 nights hotel accommodation in 3 star hotels
• Breakfast and dinner
To add an extra day (4 nights accommodation) please add £100 to these costs.
ACCOMMODATION
Ypres – Eg. Novotel
Arras – Eg. Hotel l'Univers
ABOUT HISTORICAL TRIPS
Historical Trips was founded by Michael Ivey and historians, Nigel Jones and Roger
Moorhouse. We specialise in organising WWI and WWII battlefield tours. Nigel Jones
is a recognised authority on the First World War and has guided many tours to the
WWI battlefields. His classic book, ʻThe War Walk: A Journey along the Western
Frontʼ, is useful background reading.
FINANCIAL PROTECTION
Historical Trips is a member of the Travel Trust Association (number U8438) and has
an ATOL Licence (T7382). All tour bookings receive 100% financial protection.
PROVISIONAL ITINERARY
The itinerary below is provisional and can be changed to suit. We can add requests to
visit other sites of interest to those travelling as we receive them. The itinerary can be
fleshed out with an extra day to incorporate more time on the Somme and a visit to
Cambrai and the excavated British tank, ʻDeborahʼ.
June 29
Our coach will leave Accrington at 9.00am for the journey to the channel tunnel. En
route we stop for lunch before making the Channel crossing. Nigel Jones will give an
introductory lecture on board the coach called ʻThe Coming of the Great Warʼ. We
arrive in Ypres in the early evening, check into our hotel and attend the ʻLast Postʼ
ceremony at the MENIN GATE MEMORIAL. We then return to our hotel for dinner.
July 30
We check out of our hotel and visit the IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSEUM, Ypres. We
then drive towards Arras making pit stops at PLOEGSTEERT ('Plug Street') and OPPY
WOODS where the East. Lancs Regt (aka Accrington Pals) were in action. We have
lunch and check into our Arras hotel. We will visit the Underground Warfare museum
at WELLINGTON QUARRY in the afternoon and return to our hotel for dinner.
July 1
We rise early for breakfast and drive to SHEFFIELD PARK MEMORIAL at SERRE to
be in position in a preserved front line trench by 7.30am, 100 years to the second after
the Pals went over the top to launch their attack on the fortified village of SERRE. We
lay a wreath at the ACCRINGTON PALS MEMORIAL and en route we stop at AYETTE
(cemetery) and COLINCAMPS village where the Pals were billeted as they marched
towards the Somme. Later in the morning we present the Pals' Roll of Honour to the
Mayor of Serre. We have lunch at Ocean Villas Cafe, AUCHONVILLERS, and visit the
excavated trench in the cafe's back garden. After lunch we tour the Somme battlefield
including NEWFOUNDLAND MEMORIAL PARK, THIEPVAL MEMORIAL and
LOCHNAGAR CRATER. We return to Arras for dinner at our hotel.
July 2
We depart our hotel for the return trip to Accrington, stopping for lunch and arriving
back in Accrington in the early evening
Bookings are being taken by Nick Collingridge at Mercer House, so if you would like to book, contact him
- Email - mercer1842@hotmail.co.uk
- Tel. 01254 659427
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