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It may be said that the First Battle of Ypres began on, or around, 15 October 1914 when the 7th Division fell back from Ghent and reached the medieval Flemish town. First Ypres consisted of many small battles and engagements fought around the ridges of Ypres and the most important of these is the Battle of Gheluvelt. Gheluvelt has been largely forgotten about in the...

As a regular visitor to the Commonwealth War Grave cemeteries of the Western Front, I am asked on many occasions about the details found on the headstones of the fallen. For example, how the information is collated and also questions regarding the headstones themselves. Most Commonwealth War Grave headstones are made of Portland Stone. This is a soft stone and...

Whenever I am conducting a battlefield tour and visit one of the many cemeteries on the Western Front with a high proportion of unknown graves, I am inevitably asked if the soldiers were wearing any identification in the form of dog tags and, if so, when were the tags invented and first used. It’s not surprising to find that the Romans were one of the first armies...

Today is Valentine’s Day when you show your feelings of love. But do take a moment to remember a different type of Valentine… Rifleman Valentine Joe Strudwick was aged 15 when he died on 14th January 1916 and is one of the youngest British casualties of the Great War. Valentine Joseph “Joe” Strudwick (No. 5750) was born on Valentine’s Day,...

Earlier this year I was asked by ex-Royal Green Jacket Robert Clarke to take him to visit his father’s grave at Leopoldsburg War Cemetery. I put together a two day tour for him visiting the cemetery in Leopoldsburg as well as a tour of Ypres. On our journey Robert told me the extraordinary story of how his father was killed in action and his subsequent burial and...

Hi and welcome to the Rifleman Tours blog.  The plan is to keep you updated with World War One and Two news and also stories and findings from our battlefield tours. The coming year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the Great War later to become known as the First World War and thus proving that it was never ‘The War to End all Wars’.  Twenty five years later...