68 V i s i t www.theculturalexperience.com C a l l 0345 475 1815 XXX! XXX First World War WORDS MUSIC AND LANDSCAPES THE WAR POETS The War Poets created some of the most powerful expressions of the human experience of the Great War, which have moved generations of readers ever since. This tour takes us to the trench where Henri Barbusse was a stretcher bearer, the hillside where Ivor Gurney was wounded and the Somme crucifix where he composed one of his finest songs, to the battlefield which inspired Wilfred Owen’s ‘Spring Offensive’ and the cellar in which he wrote his last letter. To understand fully the works of these great writers and musicians, we consider the context of the battles they were fighting, and hear their words and music in the precise landscapes which inspired them. Our guide Simon Jones has taught the literature and art of the Great War at Liverpool and Lancaster Universities. He is ideally placed to juxtapose the idealistic beauty of poetry and music against the horrific realities of war in a poignant and moving way that cannot fail to leave a lasting impression. 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 26 - 29 July 2019 4 Days with Simon Jones with Simon Jones with Simon Jones with Simon Jones with Simon Jones Activity Level 2 Activity Level 2 ESSENTIALS Eurostar Standard Premier, 4 star hotel, buffet breakfast, 3-course dinner with drinks each evening, all entrance fees and expert guide throughout. Tour Price: £1375 Single supplement: £125 Deposit: £125 Price without train: £1275 Between the patriotism and idealism of the volunteers of 1914 and 1915, to the bitter reactions after the Somme in 1917 and 1918, the literature of the Great War occupies a far wider spectrum of reactions than is often understood. Engendered by the Battles of Loos and Artois in September 1915, Charles Hamilton Sorley's poems and Henri Barbusse's novel Le Feu (Under Fire) seem avant-garde in their anger and explicit detail. In these early battles, and on the Somme in 1916, we see soldiers trying to prepare themselves for the test of battle and death and, for many, writing was a means of survival. In the works of Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon we also see disillusionment, intense friendships and grief for lost comrades. Poets like Wilfred Owen began to educate and shock those at home who seemed unable to understand the reality of the war, as well as to exorcise their own nightmares. Day 1 – Depart. Depart London St Pancras by Eurostar to Lille. Travel to the Loos Battlefield and the deaths of Charles Hamilton Sorley and Kipling's son, MyBoyJack, and the Zouave MyBoyJack, and the Zouave MyBoyJack Valley beneath Vimy Ridge for Henri Barbusse. Check in to our hotel in Arras for three nights. Day 2 - O n the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, including Serre (Streets, Manning and Owen), Crucifix Corner (Gurney) and Pozières (Butterworth), Louvencourt (Roland Leighton), Bois Français (Graves and Sassoon), Devonshire Trench Cemetery (Hodgson), Mametz Wood (Sassoon, Graves, Jones and Wyn Griffith) and finally Lutyens' Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval. Day 3 – O n the Somme. To Vadancourt for Gurney's poem 'The Silent One' and Fayet for Owen's 'Spring Offensive', Joncourt for his ffensive', Joncourt for his ff Military Cross, then his final days in November 1918 in the cellar of the Forester's House and the canal at Ors. Day4 – Return.ArrasforthedeathsofEdward Thomas and Isaac Rosenberg, then back to the Zouave Valley for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Pastoral Symphony. Continue to Lille for our return Eurostar journey to London. "Simon Jones is a first class tour guide. He brings a wealth of his own research to the topic and delivers it in a unique and approachable style. I learn so much from him on his tours. " Wilfred Owen