Tour to mark centenary

THIS year marks the centenary of the signing of the armistice in the forest of Compiegne in Northern France that ended WWI.

French commander-in-chief Marshal Foch convened the armistice talks near the tiny village of Rethondes on November 11, 1918.

A memorial site now covers the treaty area. There is also a statue of Marshal Foch.

During WWII, a second armistice was signed in the forest between France and Nazi Germany on June 22, 1940.

Today, the site remains as a memorial to both major world events, and hosts a museum which houses a replica of the original railway carriage in which the treaties were signed.

This summer, Midlands-based research group Battlefield Memorial Tours will be taking a coach party to visit this historic site. The trip – from Friday, June 22, to Wednesday, June 27 – will also take in a number of key sites on the Ypres Salient, Belgium, and in the Somme area of northern France, the setting for much bloody fighting during 1914-18.

Battlefield Memorial Tours has evolved from a research group founded 45 years ago by the late Alex Bulloch.

Mr Bulloch, a former Birmingham policeman, had an extensive knowledge of military history, and was awarded an MBE in 2008 for his valuable work in guiding and helping large numbers of people to visit the battlefields and memorials of Europe.

The current organisers worked alongside Mr Bulloch on the battlefield trips over a number of years and wish to continue his legacy.

For details, visit www.battlefieldmemorial tours.co.uk or call organisers Malcolm Payne on 07850 775723 or Brian Long on 01629 650780. John Phillpott Battlefield Memorial Tours Legion tours: see main letters