Maj and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide Ypres Salient - Passchendaele [Paperback]

Tonie Holt (Author), Valmai Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997

A heavily illustrated guide to the historic Belgian town where the British and Germans fought three major battles during World War I. Today Ypres is one of the most heavily visited of the World War I sites. The text is backed up by a massive number of maps and photographs, and will be an indispensable source for both battlefield visitors and students of World War I.

Major and Mrs. Holt pioneered the concept of battlefield touring almost a quarter of a century ago, building up the company that still bears their name as well as writing numerous battlefield guide books.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These British authors have produced numerous books and travel guides concerning both world wars, including My Boy Jack: The Search for John Kipling. This battlefield guide book contains all the necessary information that one might need to explore the Normandy beaches and surrounding area. Numerous maps and color photographs are included, as is historical background on each major location. Several suggested itineraries cover the five landing beaches, with the mileage between each point recorded and the time it takes to reach each point also listed. There is an index of terms used as well as recommendations for local lodging. The importance of the Normandy Invasion cannot be overstated; needless to say, thousands never returned. There is no "glory" here, only raw courage and numerous sacrifices, and the book is well worth reading even if one doesn't plan on touring the beaches. This guide may appeal more to public libraries but is recommended for academic libraries also.AMark E. Ellis, Albany State Univ., GA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Leo Cooper (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850525519
• ISBN-13: 978-0850525519
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tonie Holt is the 'Major' of Major and Mrs Holt who are well known as the authors of the leading guide books to the battlefields of the First and Second World Wars as well as a notable biography of Rudyard Kipling's son John - 'My Boy Jack?'
Both he and Valmai(the 'Mrs') began writing at their schools. Their first published works were for local newspapers and then for commercial radio.

They founded the company Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Tours in the early 1970s at which time it was the first and only company running such tours for the general public eventually covering wars as far afield as Viet Nam, the Crimea, South Africa, El Alamein, the American Civil War and of course the battles of both the First and Second World Wars. As interest in battlefield touring increased they became Consultants to British Airways, Book Club Associates and the City of Portsmouth to whom they had suggested the idea of a D Day Museum.

In the 1980s they were asked to take over running the Pilgrimage programme for the Royal British Legion which they completely upgraded and then handed back to the Legion when the British Government re-instated the financial support for relatives to visit the graves of loved ones.
Having sold the company in the 1990s Tonie and Valmai began writing the series of guide books which is now accepted as the leader amongst such publications. Unlike many authors they do not have a team of researchers but do all their own research by travelling all the routes they recommend, visiting all the memorials and cemeteries and taking all the photographs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Guide to Memorials, May 29, 2000

By 

texmexfla "Seeker of Truth" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Maj and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide Ypres Salient - Passchendaele (Paperback)

This colorful guide to memorials/monuments of the World War I Battlefields of Ypres has 256 pages. There are suggested itineraries, maps, photos, eyewitness accounts, and info on how the monuments were built. A brief history of the battles is included, but this should not be interpreted as a complete history of the battles. Also listed are the various cemetery agencies.

Most attention is given to the forces of the United Kingdom, but there are items invloving all nations present in the Ypres battles.

Several side-trips with diving times are also added as a bonus to this helpful guide for travelers.