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The Old Contemptibles

This tour follows the story of 'The Old Contemptibles', the British army who fought in France and Flanders in 1914. A senior German commander had called them a 'contemptible little army' - but it was a title they turned to their advantage with pride.

Holiday Itinerary

5-Day Break

• Day 1 – Travel from your local joining point to your hotel in Ypres or Mons for a four night stay.
• Day 2 – Mons. We begin our included tour at Mons to see where, for the British, the opening shots of the war took place in August 1914. We see the memorial at Casteau and visit the bridge at Nimy where the Royal Fusiliers were awarded the first two VC's of the war. We follow the Middlesex Regiment at Obourg then see the excellent War Museum in the centre of Mons. After lunch, we pay our respects to the dead of both sides at St. Synphorien Cemetery. The day ends at Elouges and Audregnies, studying a British cavalry attack and seeing where the Cheshires and Norfolks fought.B
• Day 3 – Following the Retreat. Returning to Mons, we look at the Retreat From Mons, following an actual route used in August 1914. Crossing into France, we look at the Guards action at Landrecies, and then the last stand of the Royal Munster Fusiliers at Etreux. Lunch on the battlefield, along with a visit to the 2nd Suffolks Monument. We then see the town of Le Cateau, the British Cemetery, and follow the line of the battle across to the vital left flank at Esnes, seeing the battlefield cemetery and the château.B
• Day 4 – First Battle of Ypres. Full-day included excursion looking at the First Battle of Ypres and seeing the ground around Gheluvelt. Optional lunch at the superb Hooge Crater Museum, then via Zillebeke Churchyard to the Messines Ridge, with its London Scottish Memorial and War Museum. At Ploegsteert we discover how the war became static and trenches were dug and see the ground where the Christmas truce took place. We end the day at the Menin Gate in Ypres with the Last Post Ceremony before returning to our hotel.B
• Day 5 – Ypres. Time this morning in Ypres perhaps to visit the 'In Flanders Fields' Museum, then homeward boundB

B=Breakfast Br=Brunch L=Lunch D=Dinner