WHO WE ARE
We are a business with a passion to make sure we do not forget the sacrifice and pain that everyone concerned goes through in all conflicts.
Barbed Wire Tours have taken many groups on tour including local councils, schools, youth groups, and even the Army.
Peter Whapshott - Founder
We are also in a privileged position where we are honoured and delighted to be able to offer our clients the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.
The award is for young people aged 14 to 25 and we are now able to offer package deals at bronze and silver levels at competitive prices on the Somme Battlefield.
For more information on this please contact Chris Hills.
About us
BARBED WIRE TOURS WAS BORN OUT OF A TRIP SOME 20 YEARS AGO
I was asked if I would like to go on a battlefield tour with some friends from the Metropolitan Police. As a first timer I did not know what to expect so I read a book or two and went along. Our guide was a Policeman who had been doing the trips for a while.
“I can say now that the trip changed my life.”
To go and see, touch the iconic places that I had grown up hearing about was incredible. When I came home I did not stop talking about the trip at which point my wife said I should go back. Armed with pictures and details of my Granddad, I went again and again. Then friends started to ask if I would take them over to the battlefields, which I have done over many years, learning something new every time I go.
The biggest honour is taking people over to find a relation. To stand and tell the story behind the person and why they were here, holding the last letter they wrote. We try to make that small part of history come to life. What started as a hobby soon became my passion and that has never left me.
Peter Whapshott
Tour team
Mark Smith MA
Mark has been interested in military history all his life. He has been visiting the battlefields since 1986 and has led tours for over 20 years.
Peter Hart
Peter has worked as the oral historian at the Imperial War Museum since 1981.
Steve Roberts