Tour 2 – Two-day tour of the Somme 1916 Battlefields

Itinerary Day One

• The Thiepval Memorial to the missing and Interpretive Centre

Our tour begins in the Interpretive Centre to put into context the Battle of the Somme during the Great War. Following this we will visit the impressive Thiepval Memorial to the missing which contains over 72,000 names of the fallen who have no known grave, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

• The Hawthorn ridge mine and the famous Sunken Lane

One of the most famous historical places to visit on the Somme is the Hawthorn ridge mine. This mine was detonated 10 minutes before the start of the Battle of the Somme and was filmed by Geoffrey Malins.

• The Ulster Tower Memorial

This Tower is a replica of a tower near Belfast in Northern Ireland which overlooked the former training ground of the 36^th Ulster Division. The Memorial represents the heroism of this Division on July 1^st 1916.

• Sheffield Park Memorial

Discover the story about the Pals Battalions and the fate they met on July 1^st 1916. Shallow trenches are still evident in front of the copses and you can really see the ground that they heroically fought over.

• The Newfoundland Memorial and preserved WW1 trenches

An impressive set of British and German trenches remain from the battles of the Somme. Here you will hear the tragic story of what happened to the Newfoundland Regiment on the 1^st July 1916 as we walk the battlefield and also the success here in Autumn/Winter of 1916 with the 51^st Highland Division.

• Fricourt German cemetery

Finally we will head to the German cemetery at Fricourt which contains over 17,000 graves. This is where the famous German air ace, the Red Baron, was laid to rest after the war until 1925, when his brother Bolko had him re-interred in Germany.

Itinerary Day Two

• The Lochnagar mine crater

This was the largest crater to be blown in the Great War and serves as a reminder of the Great War.

• The Devonshire military cemetery

Discover the fate of the Devonshire’s on July 1^st 1916 where ‘The Devonshires Held this Trench, The Devonshires Hold it Still’.

• The South African Memorial and Museum

Heading east, one of the main woods is Delville Wood or more widely known as ‘Devil’s wood’. Within the wood is the South African Memorial and excellent museum dedicated to those South African’s who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. Remaining within the wood close to the memorial is the only surviving tree, a hornbeam, from the battle in 1916.

• Pozieres military cemetery, the Windmill and the Tank Memorial

Pozieres sits on the highest point on the old Somme 1916 battlefield and was heavily fought over. 23,000 Australians became casualties in taking Pozieres heights in just under six weeks of fighting. The debut of the tank in world history took place near here.

• The Ulster Tower Memorial and tour of Thiepval Wood and trenches

This Tower is a replica of a tower near Belfast in Northern Ireland which overlooked the former training ground of the 36^th Ulster Division. The Memorial represents the heroism of this Division on July 1^st 1916. We will be taken on a tour by the custodian of the Ulster Tower Memorial to visit the reconstructed trenches and dugouts.