|
|
The specialists in academic tours of:
• All of Normandy 1944 and St Valery 1940
• Calais, Boulogne and the retreat to Dunkirk 1940. Dieppe and Bruneval 1942
• The Ardennes winter 1944 ( The Bulge) and May 1940, The Fall of France, Sedan 1940
• The Somme,1916. Vimy Ridge, Ypres 1915-1917, Verdun and the Americans in the Argonne 1918
• The Canadians along the North Coast to Antwerp
• Market Garden 1944 incl Nijmegen, Arnhem-Oosterbeek and Eindhoven
• Patton in Alsace-Lorraine to the Eagles Nest. The Franco Prussian War
• Rommel, the last act 1944. Berlin 1939-1945
• Crete 1941. The Tunisian Campaign 1943
• All of Italy 1943 - 1945 incl Salerno, Monte Cassino, Anzio, The Gothic Line
• A look at SOE
• Fall of Constantinople 1453
The battlefields of Europe and N Africa, which are listed above, where we take our tours, are still much the same as they were in the 1940s
when the fighting took place. Now these battlefields are marked by stark but beautiful, carefully-tended cemeteries where servicemen and women,
at the time, were laid to rest in peace.
To understand and to describe these battles requires the background and knowledge of academic, career
soldiers who have seen active service as a participants and as staff officers.
We may be tour leaders, because we are in charge of the tour, but
more important we are definitely not guides, although some of what we do is guiding – because , being academics and writers, the nature of the
information we supply is significantly different from that which tour guides usually supply - it is more detailed and based on our military
experience in every way. We are a team of senior soldiers who, between them, have been to Oxford University and have taught war studies at
the Staff College and at Oxford.
More importantly we have been IN wars and can speak from experience. We have seen bullets fly ! We have also
lived in Northern France, the Fertile Crescent and in parts of the Mediterranean and know the countryside between Normandy, Berlin, the Low
Countries, all of Italy, Crete and North Africa very well and these are our favourites: we have walked over this area many, many times in the
15 years that WarHistory1944.co.uk has been taking academic, military tours !
We can bring the past actions, campaigns to life, and we can
comment, from a practical and academic point of view, on all the interpretations of recent and also rather older accounts that you may have
heard or studied. And at the end of the day we can take you to the cultural sites and places for a really good dinner in places frequented
by the locals.
In short we will all not only look but see. We will all not only learn but understand and we will not merely enjoy our day
together but we will be moved, thrilled and enlightened, cry at times and often laugh.
So walk with us through the countryside and see the battlefields in all their detail, serious, enjoyable and sometimes
light-hearted. Our days are designed for people like you with an intellectual curiosity and an interest in seeing the 20th century conflicts
in Europe and N Africa with a desire to learn, understand and appreciate recent history The small groups remain the most important part of our
business - where discussion and a frank exchange of views and ideas are an integral part of the experience of being with us on tour.
NEPTUNE - The Sea Routes
|
Veterans - Near Falaise Normandy
|
click on the photographs to view larger images
Our parent organisation specialises in medium size groups of 15 - 20 persons which become the sort of tour that
academics and professional people want to enjoy together. The company has also set up larger groups on demand which are very
popular in the USA with the benefit of cheaper group air-fares. Over the last fourteen years War History1944 has taken on tour
many alumni groups and groups from parts of the NATO armies in Europe including students from the Staff Colleges, officer cadet
schools and battalions.
We specialise in groups from 1 to 6 people and seem to attract not only the serving and retired but also
the enthusiast, all of whom wish to understand in depth the reality of the conflicts which engulfed the world in the middle of
the 20th Century. One real attraction for both parts of the company is the ability of the client to chose his own, convenient
date - we run our tours for 361 days a year!
Morphine Pack
|
TNT Explosive Pack
|
click on the photographs to view larger images
The organisation is headed by a McGill University PhD, a nephew of Eisenhower, well known not only for his detailed,
very well researched book Stand where they fought (but also for his lectures all over the USA. He is also
one of the world's experts on the Turin Shroud). His junior colleague, Oliver Warman, was a professional soldier,
a Welsh Guardsman, ex Exeter and Oxford Universities and a former Military Assistant (MA) to the Prime Minister.
He was also, later, senior MA to the C in C Northern Army Group in Europe and taught at Annapolis before a long spell
at the Foreign Office. In what spare time he has, he is also a professional painter being a member of two Royal Societies,
the RBA and ROI. The team is completed by an officer in the Honourable Artillery Company who has a 1st at Oxford and a
Brigadier, also a Welsh Guardsman. Naturally we are proud of one of our last-season recommendations, one of which is below :
"A Londoner, whose Father was killed in Normandy four miles inland wrote in a letter that "..the tour was amazingly
enjoyable and intellectually rigourous.." which is maybe what we set out to achieve.

POLISH WAR MEMORIAL OVERLOOKING MONTE CASSINO
How to Contact Us and Costs
We have left to the end this most vital topic. Our Itineraries are meticulously planned with great attention to detail.
We aim for faultless administration on from your first encounter with us until the end of the tour. Every tour is different
because of the varying types of transport and hotels etc. In general, according to the number of people, we will agree a fee -
any other charges for transport and meals / accomodation are by arrangement between us during the planning stage. We will help
you all we can to whichever battlesite you chose to visit because we want you to come back again and again - which many of our
clients do.
Fitness - we always care for our clients. Walking is an unavoidable element of all our tours but,
having written that, we try not to walk more than a few hundred yards or so at each stop, viewpoint, because it takes up
valuable time in the day. We can cope with wheel chairs if this is a requirement at the planning stage - because such chairs
need the space in, say a van and not a motorcar. And should you come on one of our tours of, say between 6 and 26 participants
you will very likely find yourself in congenial company self-selected by a common interest in history.
We are always delighted to work in conjunction with your Travel Agent or recommend you to ours.You may be able to get us by
telephone +44 (0) 1295 680 018 or by e mail direct
objwarman@aol.com. If you get no reply within say two days do
please send-again - AOL is sometimes not quite totally reliable IF we are in say N Africa or touring on the Mediterranean shores
Fees charged - small and larger parties and Veterans are charged by negotiation during the initial stages
of your enquiry. If you do not have a vehicle one can be hired at railway Stations near the scene of conflict or Charles de
Gaulle airport – but book early and try Budget, Sixt, Avis or Eurocar, all of whom have offices at C de G and,say, Caen.
A deposit will be required to secure your tour date, after which please ensure that you have enough Euros in cash to pay
the balance of your tour. Some cash machines ration the money supply and others restrict you to 100 or 200 Euros per day so
do tell your bank that you will be in Europe. I am afraid we cannot take credit cards - this is due to the need for electronic
machinery.
If this sounds attractive, please get back to us as soon as convenient. Should you wish to decide on dates, we can discuss a
deposit. Do you know where you are staying? And, do you have a car? Do you need any help ? We will help you all we can. If you would
like to discuss any points concerning our very flexible itinerary do not hesitate to telephone Colonel Oliver Warman on
+44 (0) 1295 680 018.
We look forward to hearing from you
|
|