We are absolutely delighted to announce the details of the first six Virtual Battlefield Tours, commissioned exclusively for Western Front Association members from Battle Guide Virtual Tours. As previously described, these are 'immersive', interactive 'virtual' tours combining modern technology with original and current audio and video content to give you the next best thing to actually visiting the battlefields themselves.
Whilst most who focus on the early actions of the BEF concentrate, with some justification, on Smith Dorrien's II Corps, the 27 August saw a determined and costly stand by men of the 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers, a detachment of the 15th Hussars and a section of 118th Battery RFA. This small force, acting as the rearguard for Haig's I Corps, fought on throughout the day against the overwhelming numbers of the German X Reserve Corps. Despite bridges being blown and their eventual encirclement, their stoic resistance would earn the respect and admiration of their comrades and opponents in equal measures, this virtual battlefield tour will follow their defence from the initial contact on the crossroads at Chapeau Rouge to the orchard just outside Etreux where they made their fateful, final stand.
Please note that this Tour is now fully booked. You may still register your interest in it but will be placed on a waiting list in case anyone drops out. If you are already registered on this Tour, please let us know straight away if you will be unable to attend so that we can offer your place to the next person on the waiting list.
How do I join one of these Virtual Tours?
Due to technical limitations (bandwidth), we are restricted to 60 members per tour. To be fair to all our members who may wish to join a tour, we are initially restricting applications to one tour per member. Depending upon the demand, there may be an opportunity to apply for a further tour later.
Applying to join a tour will be a two stage affair: Registration and then Payment.
Firstly, you'll be invited to register for a tour. This will allow us to allocate places to the first 60 applicants for each tour; to create a waiting list if any tour is over-subscribed; and to invite further applications for any tour which is under-subscribed.
The link to register for your chosen tour is here REGISTRATION OF VIRTUAL TOUR
Remember it will be strictly 'first come first served' with each member only being able to register for one tour, and only the first 60 registrations being taken for each tour. Make sure to use the same email address as the one you are registered with at the WFA.