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City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000
In the morning we will look at the role of London’s
Guardsmen during the Great War with visits to the
Guards Chapel and Museum and the new Flanders
Memorial Garden. In the afternoon a short coach tour
will tell the story of London during the Great War and
we will visit a Great War exhibition. You can choose
The Great War in Portraits
exhibition at the National
Portrait Gallery or the new First World War galleries
at the totally refurbished Imperial War Museum.
Whichever afternoon visit you choose the morning
stays the same with morning coffee and a lunch of
Win The War Pie included in the tour fee and the
walking will be very gentle covering no more than
1500 yards which is spread out throughout the day.
Meet our Blue Badge Guide just off Parliament
Square at 10.30am for morning coffee and biscuits
included in the tour fee in a pub long frequented by
guardsmen from the nearby Wellington Barracks and
named after the Mons Star medal won by so many
brave young guardsmen of the British Expeditionary
Force during the opening battles of the Great War.
At Wellington Barracks alongside St James’s Park we
visit the Guards Museum and whenever possible the
Guards Chapel to hear the stories of Britain’s brave
guardsmen on the battlefield and at home in Blighty.
We’ll also show you the Flanders Memorial Garden
for which soil was brought with great ceremony from
Flanders Field and which will not be officially opened
by HM Queen Elizabeth II on Remembrance Sunday.
Back to the pub for a lunch of
Win The War Pie
–
meat (or vegetarian) pie served with seasonal potatoes
and vegetables. This was a recipe encouraged among
Brits during the Great War and which was served at
Buckingham Palace as well as by the redoubtable Mrs
Bridges, both Upstairs & Downstairs in Eaton Square.
We begin the afternoon with a compelling coach tour
that tells the story of the first air raids on London by
Zeppelins the size of battleships. We’ll follow the
actual route of Zeppelin raids on the capital and
you’ll hear eye witness accounts of the attacks and
one hundred years later you will see the surviving
physical evidence of the shrapnel and bomb damage
from the Zeppelin attacks. This was the first time that
war came to the Home Front and the first time that
women became an essential part of the war effort.
Bearskin & Blighty:
The Great War in London
Strident Suffragettes put down their Votes for Women
banners and began to hand white feathers to young
men not in khaki and women from all social classes
were encouraged to volunteer for work in the
munitions factories, hospitals, soup kitchen and
canteens. To round off a fascinating day out choose
an afternoon visit from one of the following options:
From now until 15 June 2014:
The Great War in
Portraits exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
From 1 August 2014 to 2018 (yes 2018!)
: the new
First World War galleries at the totally refurbished
Imperial War Museum.
In each case we’ll stay on site to buy refreshments
before heading home at 4,45pm. All tour options are
available Mondays to Saturdays and cost £24.00 per
person including morning coffee with biscuits, main
course lunch, all admission costs and a donation to
the Flanders Memorial Garden. This price is valid for
all trips that take place on or before 31 March 2015.
Not too much walking is included in this day
To Book this Tour for your Group
Call us on 0208 692 1133.
