LINKS

Below is a somewhat arbitrary, but we hope helpful, list of related websites in no particular order:  Do let us know which essential or useful sites should be added.  We have not included those irritating ones that play loud music, try and sell you something, or announce that you have won some silly prize:

www.cwgc.org
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site.

www.iwm.org.uk
The site of the Imperial War Museum.

www.britishlegion.org.uk
British Legion site.

www.westernfrontassociation.com
Established in 1980 by noted military historian John Giles, the Association has grown over the years to more than 6,000 members worldwide. The WFA has supported remembrance and research projects, from offering advice and assistance in the renovation of battlefield memorials, taking custodianship of the Medal Index Cards when they were under threat, and re-establishing the 11 o'clock two-minute silence at the Cenotaph on the 11th November each year.

www.sahr.co.uk
The Society for Army Historical Research was founded in 1921 with the object of fostering an interest in the history and traditions of the British Army, the Land Forces of the Empire, the Dominions and colonies and the Commonwealth, including such notable non-governmental organisations as the Honourable East India Company. The Society's principal aim is to encourage research in these fields.

www.firstworldwar.com
First World War.Com is a commercial site offering general and comprehensive information about the Great War - maps, articles, essays, photographs, information about battlefield tours and updated information about the Western Front today.

www.1914-18.co.uk/owen/
The site of the Wilfred Owen Association.

www.inflandersfields.be
In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres.

www.historial.org
The site of the new Historial de la Grande Guerre in Peronne, Somme.

www.anzacsite.gov.au
An educational site containing text, documents, graphics, timelines, video and audio about Australians in the Gallipoli Campaign.

www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/gallipolicampaign
Produced by the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, this part of the site is particularly good - and fair - on the stategic background and events

www.britishbattles.com
A commercial site that is both accurate and concise - and easy to use; it gives essential details about battles fought by British troops worldwide, including complete lists of units and regiments taking part, casualties and results.

www.collectionscanada.ca/firstworldwar/
The site of Library and Archives Canada contains very well presented and written accounts of the battles that Canadians fought in the Great War, including official maps.

www.codyimages.com
Good commercial image site, strong on military aviation, ships and battle pictures.  Other sources of military photographs are Getty Images (www.gettyimages.co.uk), Corbis (www.corbis.com), Popperfoto (www.popperfoto.com)... Bird Battlefield Tours holds a large stock of original archive photographs on the following subjects and people  - D-Day, Churchill, De Gaulle, American Civil War, World War 1, World War 2 warplanes, WW2 battleships.  Contact nick@nickybirddesign.com for more details.

www.normandybattlefields.com
Site of Dr. Carlton Joyce who organises excellent Normandy tours from the US in meticulous detail.

http://users.skynet.be/fa531049/home/index.html
The site of The Battle of the Bulge Tours, which caters for small groups and individuals and aims to provide the most intensive battlefield experience possible in the company of a knowledgeable and friendly British guide.

www.Military-Geneology.com
The Naval & Military Press' website for miliary historians and family genealogists.  Search for your family members in all their WWI and WWII databases in one search.

www.loc.gov
The Library of Congess site, which contains among its treasures some of the greatest photographs (downloadable, in high res) from the Civil War.  Also many great photos from WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam, most in the public domain.

www.history.navy.mil
The site of the US Naval Historical Center which manages the Navy Department Library, twelve Navy museums, art collections and archives...The NHC Website allows you to research naval history topics online and download a collection of fine photos of warships of all navies from almost the birth of photography.

www.nps.gov/archive/gett
The site of The Gettysburg National Military Park with much useful information about what to see and how to see it.

www.gettyburg.com
The official site of the Gettysburg Visitors' Center.  Contains up to date info - including latest weather forecast.

www.dday.co.uk
British site started by Eddie Clarke in 1999, and containing information about the fighting, the units, commanders, landing beaches...good on statistics and background.  Useful for the first time visitor to the D-Day beaches.

www.afhra.maxwell.af.mil
The official site of the US Air Force Historical Research Agency, the AF's document depository.  Photos and bibliographies online with complete guide to AF heraldry.

www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
The site of London's National Army Museum.

www.si.edu/history_and_culture/military_and_war
The Washington Smithsonian Institute's excellent online site devoted to America and war, with a constantly changing selection of original and readable articles, and much essential hisorical background and facts about US militaria.

www.trabel.com/waterloo/waterloo-thebattle.htm
The Belgian online guide [in English] to the battlefield of Waterloo with useful tourist info. 

www.avrilwilliams.com
Avril Williams, as battlefield guides and tourists know, runs a B&B in Auchonvillers in the Somme, where she has restored WW1 trenches and started to reconstruct new ones. After a very good lunch she gives guests a tour of her museum, which contains a cellar with Tommies names etched into the brickwork. The site of Owen's pillbox, where he suffered 'seventh hell' is close by (Serre) as, of course, are Pals monuments, cemeteries and the mementoes of July 1, 1916.

www.warpoets.org
Good site dedicated to war poets of both world wars, with illuminating articles.

www.1914-1918.net
An impressive site by Chris Baker, well presented, with good background on the WW1 British army, plus a particularly helpful section on touring the battlefields with limited time to spare.

www.spitfiresociety.demon.co.uk
The Spitfire Society's site; keeps visitors abreast of events and restorations etc., and - sadly - offers obituaries of the disappearing 'Few'.

Also of value is www.rjmitchell-spitfire.co.uk
Devoted to the memory of the Spit's designer, R.J. Mitchell.

www.100thbg.com
The Bloody Hundredth, the US 100th. Bombardment Group, were based at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, and the disused airfield still has its peri track and control tower, now a first class museum. This is an excellent site, perhaps the best of all the US Bombardment Group sites. The 100th. felt themselves a 'hard luck' outfit but in reality their losses overall were on a par with other Groups.

www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/NewsMedia/WarIllustrated.htm
'The War Illustrated' with dramatic covers by Stanley Wood, was one of the most successful British war magazines published during 1914-1918. It was a popular working class magazine, containing illustrations of derring-do. The reporting was, initially, sensational and patriotic, with lurid accounts and illustrations of German atrocities, mostly invented. After 1916, reporting became more serious and factual. This site offers a slice of social history and nostalgia.

www.art-ww1.com
This is an origiinal and excellent site for anyone interested in the art of the Great War. It illustrates 100 of the finest paintings of WW1 by international artists of the time. It was established to commemorate the 80th. anniversary of the War.

www.lastpost.be/index.asp
The site of the LAST POST ASSOCIATION that organises the playing of the Last Post every night by firemen buglers at 20.00 at the Menin Gate, Ypres. Essential viewing before a trip to Wipers as it gives details of special ceremonies at the Gate, schools and organisations attending etc.

www.jonbainestours.co.uk
Jon Baines ran Master Travel for 10 years, specialists in expertly guided tours, mostly of the east. He has now set on his own and his new company is as adventurous and efficiently run as Master Travel. Some of his tours are led by Dr. John Richardson, an expert in medical military history, well known to veterans of Bird Battlefield Tours.

http://www.rblsomme.org/Welcome.html
The site of the Royal British Legion Somme branch.  They have 8 meetings a year, the 1st July and 11th November meetings being always held on the Somme.  The branch organises commemorative events and ensures that the memory of the battles of the Somme, and of the sacrifice of 90 years ago, is properly preserved.

www.varletfarm.com
Charlotte Cardoen-Descamps, with her husband and children, has run an excellent, friendly B&B for ten years at VARLET FARM (the name first appears on WW1 British army maps) in the Ypres Salient, in the heart of the Passchendaele battlefield. She can accommodate groups of up to 18 people, with 7 comfortable and spacious en-suite rooms. The highlight of any visit is her collection of WW I 'iron harvest' munitions and equipment found by her husband (who still runs the farm) while ploughing the fields around the farm. Charlotte is a considerable expert on WW1 artefacts. Her talk on the 'iron harvest', and how the Hood Battalion of the RND attacked the German-held farm in 1917, is not to be missed (it was taken by the Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division on 26 October 1917 - see commemorative plaque). On her walls are trench maps and WW1 aerial photographs. Although the B&B is signposted with yellow information signs it is advisable to print out a map before a visit. It lies south-east of Poelcapelle, about midway between Poelcapelle and Passchendaele.

www.awm.gov.au
C.E.W. Bean founded the Australian National Memorial museum in Canberra to commemorate the sacrifice of Australians at Gallipoli and at Pozières on the Somme, where Australian divisions suffered 23,000 casualties in less than seven weeks in 1916. Bean's idea was to set aside a place in Australia where families and friends could grieve for those buried in places far away and difficult to visit. The Memorial complex includes commemorative areas, a sculpture garden, gallery exhibits and research facilities. The museum boasts some of the finest military artifacts, document and media collections in the world. Their excellent website is particularly useful for its comprehensive photographic collection.

www.albionhotel.be
This quiet, spotless, spacious hotel (without restaurant), is without doubt the best hotel in Ypres, two minutes from the Menin Gate. The owner, Christiane Decramer-Praet, ensures that guests feel welcome, and can offer battlefield tourists invaluable advice as to what to see and do. Rooms are large with high ceilings, and bathrooms are big and beautifully appointed. Breakfast in the elegant lounge/breakfast room is plentiful. We recommend walking round the corner to the Gros Markt for dinner - at Den Anker (good, inexpensive) or if you want to go upmarket try the Regina, but be warned, they have an irritating and somewhat pretentious affectation whereby they do not permit bottles on the table, so you are obliged to wait for them to fill you up. But the ALBION has no pretensions, only first class service.

www.fotosearch.com
Foto Search Stock Photography has, among its 3.1 million images [and motion picture video clips], good photos of military aviation, ships and battle pictures.

www.davidowens.typepad.com
David and Kathleen Owens live in Singapore, having relocated from Vancouver. David, who recently sold a very successful mining business, writes an outstanding blog, illustrated with his own marvellous photographs. BBT toured [2008] the D-Day beaches, the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Ypres Salient with the Owens [emphasising Canada's heroic contribution], an experience described on his site [some of it critical - particularly the insulting behaviour of English schoolchildren at the Menin Gate]. David's interests extend from history to flora and fauna, from architecture to aviation. His site is an education, and testimony to the virtues of curiosity.

UNRELATED SITES

www.digitalplot.co.uk
Anne Pennington, our web designer, offers design at affordable prices.

www.sylviasmother.co.uk
Dodie Buchanan, a regular on Bird Battlefield Tours, is an artist specialising in stained glass and silk scarves.

www.haime-butler.com
Haime & Butler design Bird Playing Cards and are leading specialists in visual communication.

www.birdplayingcards.com
As well as guiding tours to foreign fields, Tony and Nicky Bird publish themed playing cards with museums worldwide, not only on military subjects - Churchill, Battleships, De Gaulle, D-Day - but on art, music, transport and sport. Open the site and go to THE COMPLETE RANGE and you will find something for everyone, however rich and spoilt.