BOOK REVIEWS

Major & Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme (4th Edition, 2003) Tonie and Valmai Holt

I've known about this book ever since it first appeared, in 1996 and I wish I had a pound for every time I've recommended it to someone (and its sister-publication the guide to the Ypres Salient.)  

What makes the books so valuable is the special insight which the authors have as a result of visiting the battlefields themselves, and leading tours, over many years. Their knowledge of places and events is vast, and the books are therefore more than just guides giving directions to travellers. They are full of interesting details, little stories and observations which can only be gathered through long personal interest in the subject. You tap into a lot of experience when you buy these books. Quite simply, whether you are planning a visit or actually "in the field" travelling from place to place, you'll find that all the hard work and research has already been done for you.

This new edition for 2003 brings the book right up to date and includes all the new museums, and memorials which have appeared since the last edition. It also includes new sections, covering the Australian actions at Bullecourt, the Durand Group for Historical Research into Subterranean Features, the Somme Association and  the work of the Ministry of Defence in identifying the remains of soldiers found on the battlefield.

It's also a really attractive book. It contains hundreds of colour photographs and there are easy-to-follow maps.

The guide contains details of how to get to the Somme, with details of interesting stop-offs on the way, and then the main body of the book begins - the itineraries. Each one contains details of a full 8-hour day spent on the battlefields (though one can be selective) and each gives directions for getting from place to place, the time you can expect to spend at each place and a running total (in miles) as each place is reached. So that nothing is missed out, some additional sites which don't fall readily into the itineraries are also included, as extra round-trips. In this new edition there is an extra, fifth itinerary, covering the 1918 fighting involving the American, Australian, Canadian and French actions of that year.

The book alone is an excellent guide, but there is more. Each book comes with a map, which is printed in colour and to a large scale (1:40,000) making it easy to use for navigation. The maps show trench lines, the positions of bunkers, farms or other named areas, private memorials, museums, cemeteries, sites of Victoria Cross Actions, Literary figures buried or commemorated in the area, the locations of other notable graves, etc. etc. On the back is another map showing the designated area within a wider geographical context and an alphabetical index of the various places of interest marked on the map. The map which comes with the new edition is also revised to include the new locations mentioned in the book.

Highly recommended for the first-time visitor and the more seasoned veteran alike.

Major & Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme

is published by:

Leo Cooper

Soft Covers

288 pages, 258 colour photographs, maps

ISBN: 0-85052-414-8

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