Personally guided tours of the battlefields of the Great War 1914-18
with Jonathan Nicholls

Jonathan Nicholls in his library

Thirty-five years of experience
Jonathan Nicholls is an independent guide to the battlefields of the Western Front 1914-18, with over 35 years experience. He is now available for school tours, (CRB registered), private groups and professional tour companies.  He is in popular demand as a battlefield guide and led his first tour to the Somme in 1978 with a battlefield group formed by London Police Officers, known as the ‘Hampstead Pals’ of which he is the founder.  He also loves that corner of northern France which is so historically and emotionally connected to the people of Britain and her Commonwealth.  Canadian and Australian visitors to the battlefields are his speciality.

Jon Nicholls is recommended as a guide by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Centenary of the Great War 1914-18

On the frontline

With David Cameron’s announcement that the Centenary of the Great War, 2014 – 2018 will be a “truly national celebration”, experienced and knowledgeable guides to the battlefields of France and Flanders will be in demand.  Jon has a deep knowledge of the First World War and of the great battles that still jar our conscience today. He also operates from home as a researcher, specializing in individual soldiers and units, incorporating his extensive library and collection of private papers. Now is the time to plan your personal pilgrimage for the Centenary years 2014-18.

Arras & Hertfordshire based

Cheerful Sacrifice

Jon has held a life long interest in the First World War since his childhood. Both of his grandfathers served in the Infantry on the Western Front. He is based in Hemel Hempstead and Arras. He is the author of the highly acclaimed,  ‘Cheerful Sacrifice The Battle of Arras 1917’ (Pen & Sword 1990) which is still in print (Amazon & other good bookshops) and has gone to nine editions. It is the definitive account of The Battle of Arras 1917, using the original stories of many veteran soldiers whom he sought out in the 1970s and 1980s. He is honoured to have known personally, over 300 veterans of the Great War, several of whom, accompanied him to France when researching for his book in the early eighties and with whom he became close friends. Consequently, his expert narrative on the battlefields is littered with unique soldiers’ stories and colourful anecdotes, some sad, some bloody, many funny. Quite simply, the British Army at war.

He is a retired Metropolitan Police Officer and also works as a musician (see Mixed Feelings) when not on the battlefields.  He is an original member of the Western Front Association (10) Gallipoli Association and a Friend of the Imperial War Museum.

Major 1914-18 battlefields covered:

Newfoundland Park Memorial, The Somme

• Ypres Salient
  • 1^st battle of 1914
  • 2^nd battle of 1915
  • 3^rd battle of (Passchendael) 1917
  • 4^th battle of 1918
• Mons & Le Cateau (August 1914 & November 1918)
• Loos, Aubers Ridge & Festubert (1915)
• Verdun (1916)
• Somme (1916 & 1918)
• Arras  (1917 & 1918)
• Cambrai (1917 & 1918)
• Australian Battlefields
• Canadian Battlefields

Other historical British battlefields which can be visited en-route to the Western Front, include Agincourt, Crecy, Amiens, Waterloo, Wormhout, Cassell, Calais (1940).