The Somme

In the Trenches

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Suggested itinerary

Fully guided 1-day tour

  • Serre Road
  • Auchonvillers - kit & weapon demonstration
  • Ulster Tower
  • Fricourt German Cemetery
  • Lochnagar Crater
  • Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Fully guided 2 or 3-day tours

  • Day 1: 1st July the Battle of Albert
  • Day 2: Bazentin Ridge the night attack; Delville Wood; Pozieres – the use of tanks

A Somme 1-day tour is ideal for schools wishing to gain an understanding of the battle, its consequences both on the Army and back home.

Alternatively by combining it with a visit to the Ypres or Vimy Ridge it can form part of a longer study tour.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916 was the worst day in the history of the British Army. It was to be the Big Push to win the war and it was to be the battle that would make the reputation of the Kitchener Armies.

These vast Armies of volunteers, recruited on a wave of patriotism from offices, cricket and football teams, mines and factories formed the phenomena known as the “Pals Battalions”.

By last light on 1st July 1916 some 60,000 British soldiers had become casualties, with over 20,000 killed Their losses on the day were to reverberate around Britain’s Cities, towns and villages, its effects still felt in the mid 1960s.

'The Somme Defeat to Victory'

The traditional view of the Somme is that of unmitigated disaster, horrendous casualties and a failure to adapt.

However this view is not wholly borne out by the events of that summer 95 years ago.

By following the BEF beyond 1st July through subsequent weeks and months, students will see how it developed into an army equipped to win the war.

Discover the reality of life in the Trenches

Life in the Trenches Are you planning a visit to the Battlefields of the Western Front? Well what better way is there to get inside the mind of 'Tommy Atkins' than by walking the same ground wearing his boots, tin hat, tunic & webbing and carrying a Lee Enfield Rifle.

Developing the very successful 'Show & Tell' sessions we run as part of our Christmas Truce tour, ANGLIA is pleased to offer student groups touring with us to the Somme and Ypres, a unique hands-on experience and an opportunity to get to grips with authentic Great War equipment.

These engaging sessions are led by your ANGLIA guide and will include both a short brief on the equipment on display as well as the chance for one lucky 'volunteer' to don full kit - which makes a perfect photo opportunity.

If you are interested in adding a 'Show & Tell' session to you Battlefield Tour or would like further information please contact us.


Themes

  • Causes of the Great War
  • The Western Front
  • The ‘actualities of war’ – the experience of soldiers on the Western Front
  • Kitchener’s Army – the Pals Battalions
  • The relationship between Officers and men
  • The development of warfare – tactics and technology in the Great War
  • The role of the Generals, in particular the Haig Debate
  • The impact of the Great War

 

Other options

Edexcel Option 3A
Key topic 2
For many British students of modern history the part played by the BEF in France and Flanders defines the Great War.

For students taking this Edexcel option ANGLIA is pleased to offer a tour which is designed specifically to amplify the key content of this course. It focusess on the BEF from its deployment to continental Europe in August 1914, through the stalemate and costly battles of 1916 & 1917, to the last hundred days and the advance to victory.