Forgotten Battlefields of WW1


5 days from £599pp

About the tour: Forgotten Battlefields of WW1


Tour Introduction

The battles of 1915 and the fighting at Arras and Cambrai in 1917 are important but often forgotten battles of WW1, this tour helps explain their importance and take us off the beaten track. We begin in Northern France looking at the Battles of Fromelles where we see VC Corner and Pheasant Wood Cemetery. We'll also take an in-depth look at the Battle of Loos visiting the site of the Hohenzollern Redoubt before we move on to pay our respects at the Loos Memorial to the Missing. Our final day is spent learning about the battles of Arras and Cambrai, and spending time at the Tank Museum in Flesquières.

Tour Includes


  • 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
  • Specialist Battlefield Guide
  • Convenient local joining points
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(Deposits from £50pp)

Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -

  1. Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
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  3. Send payments via cheque.
  4. Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.

Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.

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Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Local departure by coach, then to our hotel in Bethune, where we stay for four nights.

Day 2 - Loos

Today we look at the Battle of Loos in September-October 1915. We visit the site of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, seeing Quarry Cemetery and the 46th (North Midland) Division Memorial.

At St. Mary’s Cemetery, we examine the story of Rudyard Kipling’s son, Jack, seeing what may be his grave, we will then then visit Le Rutoire Farm.

In the afternoon we visit Vermelles, see the Loos Memorial to the Missing and Dud Corner Cemetery. The day will end at the Lens 14-18 Museum which commemorates the fighting in this region of northern France.

Included meals: Breakfast

Loos Memorial & Dud Corner Cemetery

Loos Memorial & Dud Corner Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Loos Memorial & Dud Corner Cemetery
  • Quarry Cemetery

Day 3 - Fromelles

We begin with an in-depth look at the Battles of Fromelles. We see VC Corner Cemetery and the Australian Memorial Park, a 1915 British Memorial. We will also visit the Fromelles Museum and Pheasant Wood Cemetery, which was created after the discovery of a mass grave here, many years after the war.

Lunchtime is spent in Bethune. In the afternoon we visit the Le Touret Memorial, see the Indian Corps Memorial at Neuve-Chapelle and the Portuguese Cemetery, remembering this often forgotten ally.

We end at Givenchy, where we look at the war underground and remember Yorkshire Tunneller Hero, William Hackett VC. Hackett was the only tunneller to be awarded the Victoria Cross, and we will be seeing where his action took place and visiting the memorial.

Included meals: Breakfast

Indian Corps Memorial

Indian Corps Memorial (5)

Key Visits

  • Indian Corps Memorial
  • Pheasant Wood Cemetery
  • VC Corner Cemetery
  • Le Touret Memorial
  • William Hackett VC Memorial

Day 4 - Arras & Cambrai

Our final day is spent on two of the battlefields of 1917. We start in the Arras area and see the memorial to the Hull Pals at Oppy, then follow the story of the Royal Naval Division at Gavrelle.

In Roeux we see a German bunker and then look at a disastrous cavalry attack and the role of Newfoundland troops at Monchy-le-Preux.

Following lunch in Arras, we see the Arras Memorial to the Missing, and then follow the road to the Cambrai battlefield where tanks were used in November 1917.

We see the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing, visit the new Tank Museum with an original Mark IV tank recovered in 1998, and end on the Flesquières Ridge Battlefield.

Included meals: Breakfast

37th Division Memorial Monchy le Preux

37th Division Memorial Monchy-le-Preux (5)

Key Visits

  • Arras Memorial to the Missing
  • 37th Division Memorial Monchy-le-Preux
  • Cambrai Memorial to the Missing
  • Tank Museum, Flesquières
  • Memorial to the Hull Pals

Day 5

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Specialist Battlefield Guides

All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.

Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.

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Hotel

You will stay for four nights at the 3-star Ibis Styles Bethune Bruay.

Ibis Styles Bethune Bruay

Ibis Styles Bethune Bruay

Hotel Features

Room Features

Travel Options

All our coaches and transfer vehicles operate a 'no smoking on board policy'. The use of electronic cigarettes is strictly forbidden.
In the interest of fellow guests, do not take hot food or ice cream on board.
alcohol can only be taken on board our vehicles at the discretion of your driver.

When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.

Silver Service Coach

Silver Service, refreshments
Silver Service, lounge
Silver Service, entertainment

Silver Service Features

  • Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
  • Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
  • Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
  • Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
  • Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
  • Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
  • With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
  • Onboard toilet

Silver Service Seating Plan

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Travel Extras

With an overnight stay or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...

Join coach at Interchange

Join your tour coach at the interchange.

On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.

Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.

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