HISTORIANS, BATTLEFIELD GUIDES,
GUEST SPEAKERS,TOUR MANAGERS…………

Ian Knight is a leading authority on the 19th century Zulu Kingdom and the Anglo Zulu War. He has written more than 20 meticulously researched books on the subject and been involved in numerous TV documentaries. Ian has been visiting Zululand for more than 25 years, walking the battlefields and studying Zulu culture and battle tactics as well as the actions of the Zulu War. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, and Honorary Research Fellow of the Natal Museum and Vice President of the Anglo Zulu War Society

Colonel Peter Knox OBE was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1968 and travelled widely during his thirty-year career in the Army. A keen student of military history, he has researched and conducted battlefield tours in northwest Europe, the Peninsular and the Crimea. He aims to bring the battlefields alive, using personal accounts of those who fought there. He is a trustee of the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum, Chairman of The Crimean War Research Society and a member of the British Commission for Military History.

Hugh Bicheno read history at Cambridge and was awarded a First Class Honours degree. He is totally fluent in Spanish, and can get by in Italian and French. He served with MI6 before becoming a kidnap negotiator, based in Miami. Since returning to England he has devoted himself to writing about the politics and the cutting edge of conflict. His books include Gettysburg (2002), Midway (2002), Crescent and Cross: the Battle of Lepanto 1571 (2003), Rebels & Redcoats: the American Revolutionary War (2003), Razor's Edge: the Unofficial History of the Falklands War (2006) and Vendetta: High Art and Low Cunning at the Birth of the Renaissance (2008). He is currently writing a book about the Elizabethan Sea-Dogs. His website is at: http://www.hughbicheno.co.uk

Dr Michael Jones developed his love of history at Bristol University, and his interests range from the Middle Ages to the Second World War. He is the author of Bosworth 1485 - Psychology of a Battle and a battlefield guide to Agincourt. Mike has taught history at Glasgow University and Winchester College and now works freelance as a writer and presenter. He has been guiding tours for over 20 years and his particular interest is in battlefield psychology - inspirational leadership, the nature of courage and what inspires men to fight against the odds. His recent books on World War Two’s eastern front: Stalingrad, Leningrad and The Retreat - the German retreat from Moscow - use much new testimony from German and Russian veterans, and have received critics’ praise and wide readership.

Dr Graham Dunlop served for 32 years in the Royal Marines, commanding the Special Boat Service and 40 Commando RM. He served on operations in the Mediterranean, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Bosnia/Herzegovina. He is now a crisis management consultant in the nuclear industry, lecturer and battlefield tour guide. He is the author of Military Economics, Culture and Logistics in the Burma Campaign 1942-1945 as well as several published articles and essays on military history. He is a member of the British Commission for Military History and the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

Simon Jones worked as a museum curator for 16 years, initially at the Royal Engineers museum and has a deep knowledge of their work during the First World War; he is the author of books on gas warfare and tunnelling and appeared on television documentaries on these subjects. Simon created a new museum for the King’s Regiment in Liverpool before becoming a free lance historian, writing and lecturing on the First World War. Simon is a member of the British Commission for Military History and the Centre for First World War Studies at the University of Birmingham.

Michael Orr is a military historian who for many years taught in the War Studies Department at RMA Sandhurst and was a senior lecturer in the British Army’s Soviet (later Cold War) Studies Research Centre. He is Secretary General of the British Commission for Military History and an experienced and enthusiastic guide to the battlefields of the Western Front and the Second World War.

John Lee is well known as a writer, lecturer and guide to the battlefields of the American Civil War, the Napoleonic Campaigns and in particular, the operational history of the First World War. He is a member of the British Commission for Military History, an Honorary Research Associate of the Centre for First World War Studies at Birmingham University, and a rank and file member of the Western Front Association, the Gallipoli Association, the Army Records Society, and the Haig Fellowship. His study of General Sir Ian Hamilton was described as ‘a model of military biography. His most recent bookis 'Gas Attacks: Ypres 1915'. In 2010 Palgrave will publish Celia and John Lee’s new book, “The Churchills: A Family Portrait”.

Group Captain Mike Clegg BA MIMgt first became interested in archaeology when he participated in an underwater survey of the Roman Harbour in Sabrartha in Libya. Postings in Malta and Naples enabled him to visit many sites around the Mediterranean and he was a founder member of their Naples International Archeological Society, undertaking tours, lectures and excavations. Mike has a First Class Honours Degree and a Diploma in Classical Studies. Mike is a NDFAS lecturer and leads tours to many areas of the classical world and has been a very popular Holts guide for many years.

Alan Wakefield has made many research visits to the Salonika battlefields with the willing assistance of local historians and the help of many who live in the area. He has written a fascinating book on the campaign, with Simon Moody, ‘Under the Devils Eye’ and has in depth knowledge of the campaign and the terrain. Alan is Chairman of the Salonika Campaign society, and a member of the British Commission for Military History, the Society for Army Historical research, the Western Front Association and the Gallipoli Association. He is a curator in the photographic archive at the Imperial War Museum.

Colonel Simon Doughty was commissioned into The Life Guards in 1976 and retired from the Army in July 2009, having served in England, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, and Holland. He has always had a great interest in history, particularly military history. He is a graduate in War Studies, a member of the Army Records Society, the Society of Army Historical research, and the British Commission for Military History. Simon has recently joined Holts Tours as the Tours Director.

Lieutenant Colonel Howard Holroyd was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1962 and served in the York and Lancaster Regiment and the Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Thereafter he served in Germany, United Kingdom, Swaziland, Cyprus, Libya, Aden, Jamaica and Northern Ireland and was attached to the Malaysian Army serving with them in Indonesia, Thailand and Laos. In 1987 he took voluntary retirement and joined Holts Battlefield Tours, leading tours to North West Europe, USA, China and the Philippines. In 1990 he joined P & O as Manager of Stockholders Affairs where he continued to lead military history tours.

John Grimwood joined the Royal Air Force age 16 and travelled round the World for 38 years as an Air Loadmaster and Helicopter Crewman. His interest in leading tours began by taking RAF Squadrons back to their Great War Airfields and history. John returned to his roots in Kent and joined Holts in 1999. Now working on a freelance basis he covers a variety of tours including WW1, WW2, Aviation and American Civil War. John and his wife Mary now live in the old Royal Marine School of Music barracks in Walmer.

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Pugsley, D Phil is a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is an authority on the First World War, the Mediterranean Campaigns of the Second World War and an enthusiastic and entertaining battlefield guide. His publications include the ANZAC Experience, Gallipoli, the New Zealand Story and the magnificent History of the Royal Military Academy.

TOUR MANAGERS – some of the people you may meet this year

Sue Butler – for many years Holts Operations Manager, Sue has a great knowledge of the First World War and is friendly and very efficient. It is great to have her still with us.

Julia Hayward – Julia’s experience as a teacher helps her to keep lots of balls in the air at once and her calm, friendly personality enhances many tours.
Mary Lyons – A veteran of many tours, Mary is a great ‘people person’ who loves working with you (and often her husband, John) on a wide variety of tours.
Russell Moxley – has a great love and knowledge of the history of the two World Wars. He is calm, friendly and keeps all the cogs turning smoothly.
Andrew Poole – served for many years with the RAMC, now runs the ‘Corporate’ side of the Submarine Museum. A keen military historian he loves his tours with Holts and is very popular.
Isobel Swan – after 20 years with Holts, Isobel is now a consultant, who has the great pleasure of sometimes travelling on tour with you.
You may also meet on tour Monica Clegg, Dee Pugsley, Diane Smith and Maureen Meakin
LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST …….OUR NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR, PAUL ADAMS HAS A GREAT LOVE FOR THE HISTORY OF MANY PERIODS AND COMES ON AS MANY TOURS AS HE CAN MANAGE.