Tommy Atkins Tours

01/07/2024

Remembering those brave souls who went 'Over the top' on this day in 1916 at the opening of the battle of the Somme.

Walk in their footsteps with us on a personalised tour experience.

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20/06/2024

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LANCE CORPORAL
CHARLES FREDERICK BELL
Service Number: S/17522
Regiment & Unit/Ship
12th Bn.
Died 02 February 1918
Age 24 years old
Buried or commemorated at
LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY
Son of Charles Richard and Alice Bell; husband of Cicely Florence Bell, of 22, Arundel Square, Barnsbury, London.

Such a moving tribute from his wife

His wife was Cicely Florence (nee Rockley). The child was his daughter, Ivy, born 5 months after he died. Cicely’s brother died a few months after her husband. She never remarried and lived to be 89.

18/06/2024

Remembering the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, fought on this day in 1815. The Allied victory changed the face of European history.

'The nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life', said the Duke of Wellington.

Visit the site of the battle with us.

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14/06/2024

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04/06/2024

Tomorrow night, 5th June, on BBC1 at 8.30pm, the Tribute to the Fallen from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Bayeux in Normandy.
There will be DDay veterans, readings and music before the centrepiece illumination of each of the 4600 headstones within the cemetery.

It's sure to be an inspiring and emotional commemoration which the team at the Commission have worked tirelessly to create.

Make sure you tune in.

Afterwards, get in touch so that we can create a personalised tour experience for you and your party to visit these historic places.

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30/05/2024

As we draw near to the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, it's appropriate to remember the sacrifice of the service personnel who stepped into the unknown on 6th June 1944.

Join us for a personalised tour of the cemeteries, monuments and battlefields of the area.

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https://fb.watch/so7qc10YZc/

06/05/2024

A selection of photographs from a recent tour to the Somme and Ypres salient

If you would like a free quotation for a personalised tour experience, including free research into your family's military history, please get in touch.

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04/05/2024

The Le Paradis massacre was a World War II war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a time when troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region during the Battle of Dunkirk.

Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, had become isolated from their unit. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of Le Paradis. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans led them across the road to a wall where they were murdered by machine guns. Ninety-seven British troops were killed. Two survived with injuries and hid until they were captured by German forces several days later.

After the war, Knöchlein was convicted of his role in the massacre by a British military court, with the two survivors acting as witnesses against him. For ordering the massacre, Knöchlein was sentenced to death. He was executed in 1949.

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25/04/2024

In proud remembrance and respect to those who gave their all.

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31/01/2024

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A group of Royal Fusiliers marching cheerfully towards the front lines around Arras in November 1916. On 18th November, they attacked Munich and Frankfurt trenches from their positions at Muck trench and achieved their objectives. However, the supporting attack by the 32nd division failed and the 10th battalion was forced to retire. The war diary describes the ground as being in a very bad state due to frost and snow.

The 10th (Service) Battalion, nicknamed the "Stock Exchange Battalion" and "Stockbrokers Battalion", of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment was formed in August 1914 when 1,600 members of the London Stock Exchange among others enlisted upon the outbreak of war.
The Battalion was raised as part of Lord Kitchener's 2nd 'New Army' and landed in France on July 30, 1915. The Battalion would go on to see action in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, suffering heavy losses, the Battle of Arras and Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, and the German Spring Offensive and Hundred Days Offensive in 1918.
By the end of the First World War the Battalion had suffered 742 deaths and missing among thousands more wounded.

18/01/2024

Railway Dugouts Cemetery is 2 Kms west of Zillebeke village, where the railway runs on an embankment overlooking a small farmstead, which was known to the troops as Transport Farm. The site of the cemetery was screened by slightly rising ground to the east, and burials began there in April 1915. They continued until the Armistice, especially in 1916 and 1917, when Advanced Dressing Stations were placed in the dugouts and the farm.

They were made in small groups, without any definite arrangement and in the summer of 1917 a considerable number were obliterated by shell fire before they could be marked. The names "Railway Dugouts" and "Transport Farm" were both used for the cemetery

The advanced dressing station was often within range of enemy artillery and the haphazard method of many of the burials indicates that they were hurried and subject to fire. On some occasions, shell craters were used for expediency.

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18/01/2024

A handful of photos from our snowy visit to the Ypres salient this week.

Despite the cold weather, the Last Post ceremony is meticulously observed and remains an inspiring event.

The beautiful cemeteries that populate the landscape look even more tranquil with a dusting of snow.

Join us for a personalised tour experience of your own. We cater for parties from individuals to groups of 16. We can also research your ancestor's military history as part of our service.

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21/12/2023

Our tour experiences take in many of the sites of the CWGC cemeteries and we also research the history of our customers' ancestors as part of our service.

Let us arrange a personalised tour for you and yours.

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View our new documentary on the work of the CWGC and how we commemorate the fallen across the globe for current and future generations.

03/11/2023

WIth our thoughts turning to Remembrance Day events and parades to recall the sacrifices of a generation of service personnel, it's a good time to consider arranging a personalised tour to the battlefields, monuments and cemeteries where they served.

Please get in touch for a free, tailor made tour experience quote which will include research into your family's military history, as well as visits to where they served, fought or fell.

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25/10/2023

Happy Agincourt day!

One of the greatest victories against the odds in military history.

Join us for a visit to the site of this legendary battle on this day of Saint Crispin, 1415.

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21/10/2023

Happy Trafalgar day!

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01/10/2023

Another glorious day touring the Somme with a great party of chaps from Bristol.

We've taken in a range of visits, including Hawthorn ridge, Thiepval memorial, Beaumont Hamel, Newfoundland memorial park, Devonshire trench, Bazentin le petit and Albert.

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30/09/2023

A selection of photographs taken on the tour we are currently enjoying with a fantastic group from Bristol. Today we have visited a range of stunning cemeteries, monuments and places of interest.

They include Ramparts cemetery, Saint George's church, the condemned cell and ex*****on post at Poperinghe, Essex farm cemetery, Artillery Wood cemetery, Yorkshire trench and hill 60 museum.

Why not join us for a personalised tour for your own group and interests?

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21/09/2023

"Out of ammunition. God Save the King" was the last message from the British Paratroopers holding the Northern side of Arnhem bridge before their final positions were over run.
Fighting stopped in the early hours of 21st September 1944 after intense fighting between the British and Polish paratroopers under Colonel John Frost and II SS Panzer Corps, which ended up bringing tanks up to fire point-blank into British positions.
Refusing to surrender, less than 350 British paratroopers survived, most being captured only after being wounded.
5 Victoria Crosses were awarded to soldiers who fought in the battle.
See where they fought on a personalised tour with Tommy Atkins Tours

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05/09/2023

A unique place in British military history. The cemetery contains the graves of the first and last British soldiers to be killed in World War One , as well as the grave of the first Victoria Cross winner of the war, who lies alongside the officer who led the platoon to reinforce his position at Nimy bridge.

Private John Parr L/14196 4th bn Middlesex regiment, KIA 21st August 1914 lies opposite Private George Edwin Ellison L/12643 5th Royal Irish Lancers KIA 11th November 1918.

Lieutenant Maurice James Dease VC,MID of 4bn Royal Fusiliers lies next to Lieutenant Joseph Frederick Mead, 4bn Royal Fusiliers.

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05/09/2023

On our travels today, we are privileged to find ourselves at the site of the first Victoria Crosses awarded in World War one to Lt. Maurice Dease and Pvt. Sid Godley of the 4th battalion Royal Fusiliers.

On 23 August 1914, at Mons, Belgium on the Mons-Condé Canal, Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Sidney Godley were manning the machine gun after the previous crews were either killed or wounded. When Lieutenant Dease had been mortally wounded and killed, and the order to retreat was issued, Private Godley offered to defend the Nimy Railway Bridge while the rest of the section retreated. Godley held the bridge single-handed under very heavy fire and was wounded twice. A shell fragment ("shrapnel") entered his back when an artillery shell went off near him, and he was wounded in the head by a bullet. Despite his injuries he carried on the defence of the bridge while his comrades escaped. His citation read: "For coolness and gallantry in fighting his machine gun under a hot fire for two hours after he had been wounded at Mons on 23 August".

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04/09/2023

We don't mind admitting that this particular entry into the book of remembrance brought a tear to our eye.

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04/09/2023

The Wormhoudt massacre (or Wormhout massacre) was the mass murder of 81 British and French POWs by Waffen-SS soldiers from the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hi**er during the Battle of France in May 1940.

A very sobering and thought provoking place to visit.

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23/08/2023

Aug 23 1914 During the Battle of Mons, British soldiers reported phantom bowmen from the Battle of Agincourt protecting them from advancing soldiers of the Imperial German Empire. The illustration of The Ghostly Bowmen of Mons was by Amédée Forestier, published on Nov 29 1915 - Illustrated London News

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07/08/2023

A moving video of one of our tour groups from Bradford, West Yorkshire visiting the Ypres salient, Somme and Agincourt in July 2023.

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Homemade video compilation of the Bradford based group "They Shall Not Grow Old" from their trip to The Somme in July 2023

24/07/2023

If you have ever considered a personalised tour experience to the monuments and battlefields of Europe, it isn't too late to enjoy your own tailored visit with Tommy Atkins Tours. We still have some limited availability for this Summer.

We will research your family's military history and take you to the places where your ancestors served, fought or fell.

From individuals to groups of 16, we can take you on an inspiring, emotional and unforgettable journey to the famous sites of battles, sacrifice and remembrance.

Get in touch for a free quote;
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www.tommyatkinstours.com

14/07/2023

On this day in 1916, Leonard Bowler of Barwell Leicestershire, rose from his starting position to the north of Mametz wood with a bayonet fixed to his Lee Enfield rifle and charged the German trenches at Bazentin-le-petit in Picardy, France, along with 4000 other lads of the Leicestershire regiment.

His 8th battalion was tasked with storming and taking ASTON and VILLA trenches on the extreme right flank of the enemy line. Machine gun fire from emplacements at Contalmaison Villa decimated the 8th's advance and many of his mates were cut down, including his commanding officer Lt-Col Mignon.

Undeterred, the remainder of the 8th pressed forward and took their objectives with bomb and bayonet, holding on against constant counter attack until relieved on 17th July. Only one prisoner was taken, a delirious German soldier whose legs were both broken and could neither run nor fight. All other enemy occupants of the trenches fell to the Leicesters, who were furious at having seen their mates and commanding officer mown down during the assault.

The Leicestershire regiment, 110th brigade, of the 21st division, had executed their battle orders and cleared the enemy from its positions, pushing them into retreat.

Walk with us in the footsteps of heroes.

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04/07/2023

A brief selection of some of the memories we enjoyed with our customers on a tour to Ypres and the Somme this week.

An inspiring few days in superb company.

Let us create a personalised tour experience for you.

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02/07/2023

Remembrance service at Ulster tower to commemorate the charge of the 36th Ulster division on the first day of the battle of the Somme.
In the words of the historian Martin Middlebrook :

The leading battalions (of the 36th (Ulster) Division) had been ordered out from the wood just before 7.30am and laid down near the German trenches ... At zero hour the British barrage lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and, without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they rushed the German front line ..... By a combination of sensible tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many, the capture of a long section of the German front line, had been accomplished.

Of the nine Victoria Cross medals awarded at the battle of the Somme, the Ulstermen won four

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01/07/2023

Remembering this day in 1916.

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