When I meet new people and tell them about my work, after the ‘wow, that’s so fascinating’, the next question I get is, ‘how did you get into that Sophie!?’

I first visited the Somme in 1990 as a babe in arms on the 74th anniversary of the Battle’s first day. My father had decided the night before that he wanted to get to Beaumont Hamel by 07:30 the next morning and so as a family we set out upon a mad dash to Dover. After taking a night ferry and a drive across France, we arrived just in time for my parents to hear the whistles blow and echo across the Somme battlefield.

Fast forward 15 years, and growing up with a father that loved all things military history meant that I was bound to inherit that fascination. I read history at the University of Birmingham and under the guidance of some excellent tutors, I grew my knowledge and love of military history.

My research uncovered that 16 Shrubsoles were killed in the Great War, eight of them on the Somme. More family members served but thankfully made it home.

I started my business after finding myself offering help & answering questions to those on the battlefields staring at maps, looking a little lost. Overhearing some dodgy stuff pushed me further and the desire to leave the London rat race was the final push before Sophie’s Great War Tours was born.

It fascinates and moves me that so many young men either chose to go or were forced from their lives to bear arms. I feel that it is a duty to tell their stories, both of their lives before wearing khaki and the experiences they had in the Great War.

The conflict may have been over 100 years ago, but it shaped and continues to shape the world we live in today.

We Will Remember Them.