The Battlefield Guide

Who are we?

Hello and welcome to our site! My name is Charlie Bladon and I have long had an interest in history, having studied it at A level. My first memory of Britain’s war dead was on family holidays to Denmark aged 10 or so, when my father used to take us to see a grave in a local churchyard of some Second World War pilots, with Rupert Brooke’s immortal words carved on the gravestone. Those words have lived in my memory ever since and help explain my motivation for guiding – to remember everyone who lost their life for their country and whose grave represents their struggle, wherever they lie. Thus the personal aspect is more important to me than telling people which unit was where on which dates; this is still important, but more important, and more resonant with our customers, is who the people who fought and died really were.

I started guiding 15 years ago on the Somme and since then have taken charities, City institutions, military groups, business groups (it’s a fine way to do some team bonding) and private family groups looking to explore what happened to their relation and where.