Valmai Holt awarded MBE in New Year Honours

6 January 2026

Valmai Holt has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to military history and war commemoration.

The award recognises the pioneering work that Valmai and her late husband, Major Tonie Holt, undertook over several decades. Together they established Major & Mrs Holtʼs Battlefield Tours in the late 1970s, the first such tours available to the general public, and authored nearly 30 books on battlefields and military history.

Major Tonie Holt died on 5 September 2024 aged 91. Valmai has said she regards the honour as belonging to them both: “We worked constantly together on our services to military history and war commemoration, being the first to offer battlefield tours to the public.”

The coupleʼs journey into battlefield touring began unexpectedly. While living in Malvern, Valmai purchased a collection of First World War postcards at auction. Their fascination with these cards led them to write their first book, Till the Boys Come Home: The Picture Postcards of The First World War, published by Macdonald & Janes. When Purnellʼs Military Book Club offered the book to its members, the manager asked whether the Holts might lead a battlefield tour to help retain subscribers. Despite having no experience in tour organisation, they agreed, and Major & Mrs Holtʼs Battlefield Tours was born.

What began with tours to Ypres, the Somme and Normandy expanded over the years to include destinations across Europe and beyond, from Gallipoli and Verdun to the American Civil War battlefields and the Far East.

Their contributions extended beyond tours and publishing. The Holts supported numerous battlefield heritage initiatives, including the Welsh National Memorial at Ypres, inaugurated in August 2014. They are Life Members of the Last Post Association in recognition of their work in the Ypres Salient.

Holt 20251229 2 — Valmai and Tonie visiting Ypres, outside the old Salient Museum with its curator, Albert Beke, in 1981. (Photo: Eric Flamand)

Valmai and Tonie attended the WFAʼs East Kent Branch and were Honorary Members of the Guild of Battlefield Guides, recognised for their significant contribution to the study, practice and development of battlefield guiding.

The Western Front Association congratulates Valmai on this well-deserved recognition.