About Us - Bespoke Western Front Battlefield Tours

Who are we?

We are a small group of passionate, dedicated battlefield guides and experienced hospitality hosts who have formed ‘Bespoke Western Front Battlefield Tours’ to provide unique tours of the battlefields of Northern Europe. Our main area of operation is providing fully guided trips, usually of four days duration, of the First World War Western Front battlefields, although we can also facilitate battlefield tours of other Northern European historical conflicts. We are happy to construct bespoke itineraries to cover the period from Waterloo to the end of World War Two. In addition, and upon request, we can provide ‘tailored’ scheduled trips for individuals and small groups to meet specific research or association needs. We provide a high level of personal service at very competitive rates.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

World War 1 Military Memorial — Australian Memorial Park, Le Hamel

Meet the team

Andy Steel

Founder & Tour Guide

Andy Steel is a fluent French speaker, and has been guiding groups around the battlefields of Northern Europe and researching individuals who fought there for over twenty years. His grandfather served on the Western Front and his great uncle lost his life in Palestine during the First World War. It is through the diaries and letters that they kept that he has resolved to help others discover more about their relatives who fought in both world wars. Always emotional, sometimes shocking and harrowing, his belief is that reading a personal recollection on the very ground that a young man lived and fought will remain with you for ever.

Mark Banning

Founder & Tour Guide

Mark Banning has been a Battlefield Guide for over ten years, and particularly enjoys being involved in personal research, to make a soldier’s story relevant in the modern age. His background is from the hospitality industry, but he became a self-employed guide as a means to further his interest in the battlefields of the Western Front, and to gain a greater understanding of the men who fought in the conflict. Mark believes strongly that education is essential to preserve the memories of a remarkable generation, two of whom were his grandfathers, both who served in the Ypres Salient. Mark lives with his partner in Llangollen, North Wales.

Dave Lombardi

Founder & Tour Guide

Dave Lombardi has a degree in history and has been a guide on the Western Front and in the UK for five years. This followed a career as a police inspector, where he retired from the Royalty Protection Department. He also plays in a band and conducts exclusive walking tours in Central London. Dave’s connection to the WW1 battlefields comes from his deep rooted passion for history. Whether he is conducting a Central London historical tour or a tailor-made tour in France & Belgium, building an informative story is his specialty.

Bryan Lightbody

Founder & Tour Guide

Bryan Lightbody is the host at Orchard Farm, the primary base for #bespokewfbt. He has modernised Orchard Farm since purchasing it in 2017 and runs it as a hospitality venue throughout the year. He has guided over the last four years across the Western Front battlefields as well leading other historical and cultural itineraries in the UK and Northern France. Previously, his career was with the Metropolitan Police, working in a variety of roles but completing his service as a close protection officer in Royalty & Specialist Protection. He has also published three historical novels and lives at Orchard Farm. Bryan has two great uncles buried on Somme.

Discover who we are and meet your Guides

Who are we?

Discover our Western Front Battlefield Tours

Meet the team

Andy Steel

Mark Banning

Dave Lombardi

Bryan Lightbody

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