Secret Army: Belgium in World War 2
About the tour: Secret Army: Belgium in World War 2
Tour Introduction
On this fascinating tour, led by Head Battlefield Guide Paul Reed and WW2 author Dr Victoria Humphreys, we look at the story of Belgium in the Second World War and the so-called ‘Secret Army’, the Belgian Resistance, which was immortalised in the 1970s BBC Drama of the same name. With readings and history at all the main sights we bring this period of the Second World War to life.
Tour Includes
- 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast & 2 evening meals
- Specialist Battlefield Guides
- Local joining points
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone 01709 385 624, you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -
- 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.
- Send payments via online banking.
- Send payments via cheque.
- 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.
Tour Itinerary
For customers living outside of the UK, if you want to make a booking you will need to provide a UK postcode on our online booking system. If you are not able to provide a relevant UK postcode then you can enter the postcode for London Victoria Coach Station – SW1W 9TP. You should then be able to proceed to complete your booking.
If you do encounter a problem then you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who will be happy to help.
Please Note : After completing your booking, a member of our Customer Service team will be in touch to make sure everything is okay.
Either e-mail our Reservations Department or call on 01709 830 333 and they will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
Day 1
Local departure by coach, then to our hotel in Belgium where we stay for four nights.
Day 2 - Holocaust in Belgium
We begin our tour with a look at the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany and how the Holocaust affected the population in Belgium, and we travel to Fort Breendonk for an included visit. A nineteenth-century defensive fort, it was used by the Germans as a detention and later Concentration Camp, with over 3,500 prisoners passing through it. We have plenty of time to explore the site and hear the moving stories of those held here. In the afternoon we visit Kaserne Dossin. A former army barracks, thousands of Jews were deported to Death Camps from here during the war. It is now a national memorial and museum site to the Holocaust in Belgium, and we have an included visit to the museum of genocide and remembrance now opposite this site.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Fort Breendonk (7)
Key Visits
- Fort Breendonk
- Holocaust Memorial, Fort Breendonk
- Occupation Memorial, Fort Breendonk
- Kaserne Dossin
- Holocaust Memorial, Kaserne Dossin
- Holocaust Museum, Mechelen
Day 3 - Battle of Belgium 1940
Today we look at the Battle of Belgium in May 1940 leading up to the Belgian surrender, seeing the 1940-45 Museum close to the battlefields near Charleroi. After lunchtime in Dinant, we travel to Bruly where we visit the unique chapel and memorial to the local Resistance Group and see the ‘Hitler Bunker’ where Adolf Hitler sheltered during the Battle of France and which is now a museum to the Belgian Resistance and Escape Lines, seeing a reconstructed Resistance post and visiting the church used by the Germans to draw up the terms of the Armistice in France in June 1940.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hitler Bunker, Bruly (6)
Key Visits
- Dinant
- Hitler Bunker, Bruly
- Resistance Headquarters, Bruly
- Resistance Memorial, Bruly
- Musée Souvenir 40-45
Day 4 - Belgian Resistance
We travel to Leuven area and visit Heverlee War Cemetery to look at the fighting in this area and the role of the RAF, and then examine Resistance in Leuven seeing the Resistance Memorial there and having lunchtime in Leuven. We then continue to Brussels visiting the Brussels Town Cemetery and ‘Secret Army’ Memorial. We then have a walking tour of central Brussels looking at locations connected to the BBC ‘Secret Army’ series. Starring Bernard Hepton, the series told the story of a Brussels café at the heart of the local resistance cell. We visit the actual café used in the series and walk to some of the key sites which feature in the series, linking the fiction with the real stories of WW2. We end the day with free time in Brussels in the evening, where we have time for an evening meal, before returning to our hotel.
Included meals: Breakfast
Heverlee War Cemetery (6)
Key Visits
- Secret Army locations, Brussels
- Leuven Resistance Memorial
- Brussels Town Cemetery
- Secret Army Memorial, Brussels
- Heverlee War Cemetery
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.
Hotel
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
All hotel rooms benefit from private bathroom facilities.
Some hotels have tea and coffee making facilities. Please check the tour pages for more information or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333
Most hotels have a lift, please call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 for more information.
Some hotels have ground floor rooms. Please email for information on individual hotels or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333.
Your hotels will supply towels in your room.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
Travel Options
Departure times given for each region are approximate. Please check your travel documents to confirm the actual timings.
Front row seats can be reserved for £14pp (up to 6 days duration), £22pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £25pp (9 days duration and over) on all European tours. In addition to this seats on the second row can be reserved for £7pp (up to 6 days duration), £14pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £15pp (9 days duration and over). This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys to/from the U.K. port. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
We guarantee that all passengers on the same booking will be seated together on the main tour coach. Seats on the transfer coaches to and from the U.K. port are not allocated.
Hot and cold drinks are served on the main tour coaches. Prices are approximately £1 or 1.25 Euro per drink. Prices will be confirmed by the driver. Drinks may also be served on the transfer coaches but this is not guaranteed.
Transfer vehicles are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure and will depend on where passengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
All main tour coaches have on-board toilets. Transfer vehicles to and from the U.K. port may not have on-board toilets. When non-British coaches are used on transfers and tours (air holidays only) an on-board toilet may not be available. However, comfort stops will be made during long journeys.
All coaches feature air-conditioning. Should the air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare-paying passenger per tour.
Depending on the location of your pickup point, you may be picked up by coach (not necessarily the on you are touring on), minibus, taxi, National Express or Megabus service. You may then be taken to another centralised pickup location or service station. We operate a passenger interchange at Folkestone Services, where you will meet the tour coach you are holidaying on and then continue on with your outbound journey. Similarly, on the way home, you may also change transfer vehicles at another location, to take you to your final drop off point.
One medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full. We may refuse to carry larger or heavier cases. Hand luggage can be stored in the overhead racks aboard the coach.
It could be either - This will be confirmed in your travel documents.
When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.
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
+ Find out moreJoin your tour coach at the interchange.
On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Folkestone 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.
