Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours

19/12/2024

From our brilliant historian Pete Smith. Thanks for a great year of touring Pete!

I’ve just completed my last tour of the year for Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours, and what a cracker it was. Two days following in the footsteps of No.365 C.Q.M.S. Charles Strelein, 1st Australian Tunnelling Company.
I concentrated on his time spent serving as a Sapper on the Salient around Ypres in 1917, including the notorious Hill 60. We also payed our regards to his comrades who rest in some of the many Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries and also those commemorated on the Menin Gate. Sapper James Park the Company Bugler was killed by a shell whilst unloading rations at their advanced billets beside the Lille Gate, his mate William (Little Bill) Mutch was hit in the stomach by the same shell and died at a casualty clearing station, they were remembered by their comrades as “well liked” and “one of the best”.

Thanks to all the team at Mat McLachlan for a great year and making everything run so smoothly, I look forward to meeting next years clients.
I would also like to thank all the team at the Albion Hotel Ieper for all they do above and beyond to ensure both my clients and myself are superbly looked after, I would highly recommended the Albion if you are visiting Ypres.

19/12/2024

Sad news today that Bernard Delattre, the former mayor of Pozieres (site of Australia’s most costly battle), has passed away. He’s in the centre of this photo, taken a few years ago at Le Tommy Cafe.

08/12/2024

We were delighted to support the Red Poppy Ball this year - and congratulations to the winner of our tour on the Western Front! RSL LifeCare does brilliant work. Please support them if you can.

02/12/2024

Explore the D-Day battlefields on our luxury Normandy river cruise. Departing Paris in June and September, 2025, spend 8 days cruising the Seine River and discovering the jewels of northern France. You'll be accompanied by an expert WW2 historian, who will guide you around the American and British D-Day beaches and bring the history of D-Day to life. Visit https://battlefields.com.au/d-day-river-cruise-2025/ for full details.

02/12/2024

From our historian Pete Smith in the Somme: The road and a garden in the centre of Beaulencourt appear to have fallen into what was almost certainly a large German dugout.
It’s going to be a big engineering job as the subsidence is quite extensive beyond the hole.

22/11/2024

If you are travelling to Europe in 2025, don't miss the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs. Our Western Front Explorer Tour departs weekly, and is the only Australian tour that begins and ends in Paris. Spend four days exploring the Australian battlefields in the Somme, Ypres and Flanders, escorted by the best Australian historians and staying in the heart of the battlefields. More information: https://battlefields.com.au/western-front-tours-2025/

11/11/2024

Former private Richard Norden has received the Victoria Cross for gallantry in Vietnam in 1968. Pte Norden had originally received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but it was upgraded to the VC this week. Richard Norden died in a motorcycle crash in 1972 while serving with the ACT police.

05/11/2024

Planning a trip to Europe? Join one of our Explorer Tours and spend four days visiting the Australian battlefields in France and Belgium. The only Australian tour that begins and ends in Paris! Departs weekly.

Our most popular Western Front Tour! This 4-day tour provides the perfect opportunity to explore the Australian battlefields of the Western Front. BOOK ONLINE

15/10/2024

A great highlights video of the experience on our D-Day Normandy & WW2 River Cruise - we have two departures in 2025 to choose (June & September) from sailing round trip from Paris https://battlefields.com.au/d-day-river-cruise-2025/

https://youtu.be/Kw8WtPwRqOs

This week-long cruise aboard the AMADEUS Diamond, which begins and ends in Paris, combines what is probably the most romantic city in the world with a fascin...

11/10/2024

JOIN ME IN FRANCE IN 2025! My Signature Tour to the Western Front returns in August 2025. Beginning in Paris on August 30, we will visit all the Australian battlefields of the Somme, Ypres Salient and French Flanders.

This is the only tour I will lead to the Western Front in 2025, and it will sell out fast! Please call us on 1300880340 or visit https://battlefields.com.au/western-front-signature-tour-with-mat-mclachlan-2025/

See you in Paris!

09/10/2024

Four soldiers who received the Victoria Cross gather together in France in 1966, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. (From left: Rev Arthur H Procter, Thomas Adlam, Theodore Veale and Fred Edwards) Credit: https://x.com/exraf_al?s=21&t=YzLhIqFth8HiCVOJe4Yrmg

04/10/2024

Controversial history: the 1815 Museum at Waterloo displays the skeleton of a soldier who died during the battle, complete with the musket ball that killed him. What do you think?