World War I Podtours
Visiting Flanders Fields
2008 sees the 90th anniversary of the last year – and armistice - of the Great War. Yet though it's far in the past, visitor numbers to the front now are greater than ever before.
Whereas in the past visitors have been, in the majority, enthusiasts of the subject, historians and those with either family or military connections, more and more now are visitors who being near to the areas, decide to take a side trip for a few days to satisfy a casual interest, to try and track down some of the sites mentioned in a relative’s diary, or of course the grave of an antecedent. To date they have needed to either take a group tour or make their own way, often missing sites they would have found of great interest either because they didn’t know of them, or ran out of time .
Our audio tours of the Ypres Salient have been drawn up by Jon Halperin, a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides who regularly takes visitors around the Great War sites in Belgium and France. His audio tours draw on his personal experiences as well as a wealth of historical evidence. Prepare to be moved as we visit the places where men fought and died.
The Ypres Salient podtours are designed to be used as self-drive visits. Each of the two tours will probably take about a day, including driving time and some tine to look around. But we do recommend you don't listen and drive at the same time.
The Ypres Salient - the major sites
Highlights of the tour:
- The only German cemetery on the entire Salient, at Langemarke
- Tyne Cot Cemetery, and a memorial to the Australians who were used as shock troops to take the ridge here
- Learn how screw pickets made the soldier's life easier - and made a fortune for the industrious Swiss
We visit Sanctuary Wood, Hooge, Polygon Wood, Tyne Cot, Langemark, and Essex Farm. A map and full directions are included with the audio file for the tour.
Price: £5
The Ieper Salient - Supplementary tour
This tour visits Poperinge, Mount Kemmel, Ploegsteert, Messine, St Eloi, and Hill 60. If you only have a single day, we recommend you take the other tour - but if you have a whole weekend, this tour will add to your understanding of the area.
Highlights of the tour:
- Talbot House in Poperinge, 'Toc H' to the soldiers, where Rev 'Tubby' Clayton founded a club and chapel in memory of his friend Gilbert Talbot, killed at Hooge.
- Memorials to Irish soldiers, who even though fighting for their own independence from Britain at the time, fought on the British side in the Great War.
- German trenches where Hitler is said to have served - a glimpse of the 'other' side.
Price: £5
Ieper Walking tour - free download
This tour shows you the town of Ieper, or Ypres, which was almost completely destroyed in the First World War, but has been rebuilt in fine Flemish style. We make our way from the fine Cloth Hall, a reconstruction of the Gothic building, to the Menin Gate where the missing dead of the Great War are commemorated.
Download the MP3 file to listen.
Testimonials
“Jon Halperin is a jewel... we had the most informative tour possible. .. We covered the South African, Australian, Newfoundland, Scottish, French And British areas of action along with Jon’s outstanding knowledge of every event. ..To Dave and myself, Jon did an impossible feat. He kept our wives interest at a very high level to the degree that they forgot about shopping.”