01 November 2024 20:00
The Ypres Battlefield Trip
For 2025 we have decided to join forces with our good friends, the Hertfordshire Constabulary Great War Society again, and run another trip together. We toured with them in 2023 and many of us have done so before, and since, as individuals, and their members often attend our talks.
Why not join us when we visit the battlefields and ‘key’ sites of the Great War in and around Ypres, Belgium, for our three-day, two-night trip between Fri 5th and Sun 7th September 2025.
We think this will be a great trip and we hope that you can join us. Reservations will be on a first come, first served basis and your booking must be made and the small deposit paid before 1st November 2024, so please book ASAP.
If you have any questions about the trip which are not answered by the details or links provided here, or if you prefer to pay by cheque or PayPal, contact jontywild@hertsatwar.co.uk.
Brief details appear below, and more details can be seen, and documents downloaded via the following links:
Register your interest by emailing the completed booking form to hertsgreatwar@virginmedia.com (copying it to jontywild@hertsatwar.co.uk):
- Booking Form - PDF version - for completing, scanning and submitting by email
- Booking Form - Word version - for completing digitally and submitting by email
Please ensure that you read the Terms and Conditions of Travel (see *1) and the associated Liability Insurance and the important notes appearing below, after the brief details of the trip.
The 2025 Battlefield Tour Overview:
The 2025 Battlefield Tour will be based around Ypres - a must see (and must return to) area for all those interested in the Great War.
It will be a three-day, two-night trip between the 5th and 7th September 2025. We will learn of actions and personal stories from the infamous Ypres Salient, which Winston Churchill referred to when he said: “a more sacred place for the British race does not exist in all the world”.
Included in the many ‘special’ visits we will make are the following (see itinerary for full details):
- Lijssenhoek cemetery – the second largest British Cemetery, where so many who died of wounds on their way back to England are buried.
- Poperinghe - where the ‘no rank’ soldiers' rest and recreation centre named Talbot House can be found, as well as the condemned cell (shot at dawn).
- Essex Farm Cemetery - of John McCrae and “In Flanders Fields“ fame.
- Tyne Cot Cemetery – the largest British cemetery anywhere.
- St Julien – our Hertfordshire Regiment Memorial.
- Ploegsteert 14 - 18 museum
Also included in the price are:
- Travel by executive coach, crossings by ferry - the Eurotunnel is now prohibitively expensive for coaches.
- Accommodation at the Novotel Hotel in Ypres – convenient for Menin Gate and the many bars and restaurants (and the chocolate shops!). I have visited most of these in the twenty odd visits I have made to Ypres and I am already booked on this trip!
- All breakfasts (meal voucher for ferry), two out of three lunches.
- Kazmatten microbrewery visit.
Cost:
We are planning to provide this trip at:
£450 per person sharing a room - Twin or Double
£550 per person in a single room
Paid up HAW members(*2) can receive a discount – see booking form.
Important Notes:
Please note to avoid confusion, the Hertfordshire Constabulary Great War Society (HCGWS) will take the lead in bookings and general organisation, and therefore, all booking related correspondence should go to them in the first instance via hertsgreatwar@virginmedia.com. However, to help us liaise, please copy all booking related emails to jontywild@hertsatwar.co.uk.
The terms and conditions which will apply to the trip can be read and downloaded if required via “Terms and Conditions” you should read these. You will find that they are very similar to those of the Herts At War Project, but I would like to draw your attention to the following:
- Deposit and payment by 1st November 2024: We recognise that the departure date is some time off, but the early deposits will enable us to make bookings and give us the best chance possible of preventing any cost increases to the prices advertised.
Be reassured that, at this time, you are only expressing your serious interest in going, and that we will warn you before the deposit becomes non-refundable – this is likely to be early in 2025 when further payment may be due. In addition, after that date, if you have any serious unforeseen issues which prevent you from travelling, we will do our best to find a way of returning as much of your money as possible and, of course, you may have the opportunity to recover money from your own travel insurance.
- PASSPORTS: Since BREXIT the dates of passports used in Europe have become much more important and so you will need to ensure that the passport you hold in September 2025 is:
- Current
- Must have been issued after 05/09/2015
- Must not expire before 08/12/2025
It is also worth noting that although not currently required, by the time we go we will almost certainly need to have the new Europe ETIAS travel authorisation. This should be relatively simple to do (by then!) and we will help you through this process nearer the time.
Referencing Terms and Conditions (*1):
- 4 - Price Change: both organisations will do all that we can to avoid price increases, but if other parties, e.g. the hotel or ferry increase their costs to us, we may need to pass them on.
- 7 – Insurance: You will see that insurance must be obtained in order to travel. HAW strongly recommend that you ensure that your cover not only meets the trip requirements, but also your personal requirements and covers any non-refundable costs - should you decide to cancel for any reason, and repatriation - should that be necessary through illness or injury etc.
*1 When returning the booking form and paying the deposit, you will be deemed to have read, understood and agree to the Terms and Conditions for the trip and that you agree to the Herts Constabulary Great War Society (HCGWS) and Herts At War Project (HAW or HAWP) keeping your personal data.
*2 Existing members (at the time booking or before final payment taken) can claim a discount of £10.00 (single member - each) or £7.50 (joint member £10 – travelling alone or £7.50 each - both travelling) To join visit Membership. Membership.
If, after reading the notes and visiting the links above, you have any further questions, email jontywild@hertsatwar.co.uk.
To secure your place on this excellent trip please email the booking form and pay the deposit.