At the start of the Great War in August 1914 it soon became clear that Great Britain’s existing Regular Army and Territorial Reserves would need a huge injection of manpower to fight a Continental or Global war.
Volunteers in their hundreds of thousands responded from the Home Countries to form ‘Kitcheners New Armies’ but the call was also answered from more distant shores, India, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the British Empire. How were these new troop formations raised, trained, transported and used in battle on the Western Front? Where did the troops fight? What was the cost? Each nationality claimed to have the best and bravest soldiers and each was willing to make huge sacrifices to support the ‘Mother Country’. This schools battlefield and education first world war tour invokes the spirit of a generation of young idealists and adventurers, who travelled across the globe for a cause they believed in - and died for. Empire Troops on the Western Front is one of several themed Holts WW1 Schools Battlefields and Education tours. School trips can be arranged in both the Somme and Ypres Salient to cover other specialist themes including First World War Poets, Pals Battalions, Medics Vets and Padres, and Geography. These school battlefield tours can be tailor made to suit your requirements, and can be from one to three days. |
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If you have any questions or would like to get a quote, click here for the on-line enquiry form. If you prefer click here to go to the contact page where you can download a fax-back form. |
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| Day 1 | Travel to Folkestone. The GURKHA museum and Shorncliffe military cemetery. Tunnel or ferry to Calais. Ypres (Hostel one night) and ‘The Last Post’ at the Menin Gate. | |
| Day 2 | The CANADIANS and the gas attacks of April 1915. Tyne Cot CWGC cemetery. Langemarck German cemetery. NEW ZEALAND at the battle of Messines Ridge 1917. Sanctuary Wood preserved trenches and museum. Travel south for the CANADIANS at Vimy Ridge. Hotel/ Hostel Somme or Arras. | |
| Day 3 | ‘The Empire on the Somme’ 1916. The AUSTRALIANS at Pozieres. The SOUTH AFRICANS at Delville Wood. The NEWFOUNDLANDERS at Beaumont Hamel. Ayette CWGC cemetery for the CHINESE and INDIAN soldiers. The tour will finish at the Thiepval memorial to the missing of the Somme battle. |
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| NB. Guided tour throughout |