We felt that the tour was excellent. Phil and Matilda(Millie) provided the historical knowledge and a personal approach to finding relatives. It was very important to have the Australian perspective although we appreciate this is not the only one. Food was very French and amazing. We enjoyed the first two days with our guides the most.

We decided to do a three day tour of the Western front whilst visiting Arras. There are a number of companies offering battlefield tours. We chose Sacred Ground on the basis of feedback on TripAdvisor and other places. We also chose this company as they concentrate on the involvement of the Australians (although not exclusively).Our guides Mathilde and Phil were very knowledgeable and very willing to tailor activities to suit our requirements – we had a need to visit a specific cemetery which was not on the itinerary, so we went there. The tour covers most of the battles and areas where the AIF was involved. The guides expertly told the story of what occurred at each site we visited. The tour covers 3 major areas…the two sides of the river Somme and areas of operation in Belgium.
We found the whole tour very informative and at times moving, and it gave us a much better understanding of what happened in these now peaceful areas some one hundred years ago. Highly recommended.

I was looking to trace my grandfathers WW1 experience including the battle for the village of Le Vergieur where he was awarded a DCM
Our guide Bruce Lees was able to take us to the very spot where it all happened. It was a very personal and moving experience
Many thanks to Bruce and Phil Hora from Sacred Ground Tours for an informative targeted tour that was brilliantly delivered.

A very professional and friendly tour. We did the day tour of the Somme and caught the train from Paris to Arras and were met at the station.
Tour guide Bruce’s knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious! He’s amazing, the little extra insights he brings really make the history come alive.
A very enjoyable lunch at a local bistro was included. There were only 5 of us on the tour which made it all the more enjoyable.
This is a must do tour!

My wife and I visited the Somme with Bruce and Belgium with Phil on consecutive days. Both tours were informative, emotional and provided insights that could not have been gained without these excellent guides.
Bruce has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Australia’s involvement in WW1 and conveyed it with enthusiasm and wit. I was particularly pleased that he took us to my great uncle’s grave, even though it was in a cemetery not usually on their itinerary.
Phil impressed me with the thorough research he had done on my great uncle so that our tour was tailored to follow the 13th Battalion around the battlefields of Belgium and northern France. Phil has a passion for WW1 history and it enhances the tours he provides.
I would highly recommend Sacred Ground Tours for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Australia’s war than the most well-known icons.

Last june, I joined in from Holland, together with my son – just for one day – on the tour friends from New Zealand made, following the Operations of the New Zealand Forces around Ypres.
We had a great experience under guidance of Mathilde who was, despite her young age, very well informed. Not surprisingly appears afterwards, because of her study history at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris. Field of study: The first Worldwar !
Later on, Phil Hora, who operates Sacred Ground Tours together with his wife, was so kind to return by post my book “Storm in Flanders” by Winston Groom, which I had forgotten when I returned to Holland.
Sacred Ground Tours: Strongly Recommended !

Wow what a great 3 days with Phil & Matilda, really enthusiastic aussie and french lady Matilda committed to telling the aussie story in every balanced way and giving due credit to an true icon Sir John Monash. My 19 yr old daughter was surprised and moved by the stories related by these professionals. My uncle was very emotional when I posted a photo of the final resting place of his uncle Cptn H G Fletcher 26th inf battalion , 2md div. I will.definitely be back to visit the places my grandfather passed thru in 3rd army field art brigade 8th battery Dec 1917 – Sept 1918

As a couple we did two one day WW1 battlefield tours that were both memorable experiences that were enhanced by the experience and thoughtfulness of Phil as our guide.
What was especially exceptional was Phil’s ability to make the battlefields come alive with the suffering of the troops 100 years ago.
We were tracing the movements of my wife’s great uncle who was killed at Boursies on the Bapaume to Cambrai Rd just before the 1st battle of Bullicourt.
Even though this areas was not on the itinerary of the tour we had booked, Phil worked a visit to this town into our tour. Phil’s flexibility and a willingness to give his customers the best possible experience is what makes Phil’s tours exceptional. He also went to great lengths to trace the name of a relative on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial for another member of our tour, as well as find a particular section of railways line for another member of our tour.
I can recommend Sacred Grounds Battlefield Tours to any Australia wanting to visit the WW1 battlefields and have an Australian perspective given of the sacrifices made by our emerging nation over 100 years ago.

My wife and I spent a day with owner/operator/guide Phil. From our initial email contact Phil he went out of his way to help us learn about my great uncle who died and is buried at Bray Cemetery (Phil went out of his way to ensure all the people on the tour got to visit gravesites of family they had). They day made us realise what huge sacrifice so many young men made – history does not prepare you for so many graves and at so many cemeteries. Their heroics and bravery. The wonderful respect the French Town of Villers-Bretonneux have for Australia and the beautiful school Australia helped build.The lunch stop and vehicle were all perfect but it was Phil’s knowledge and friendly manner that really topped off the day. A very special day. Would recommend it to all.

Fantastic! My Dad and I did the 3 day tour to visit 2 Uncles we have buried in France and Belgium. Phil researched both and took us to see the graves and battlefields where they fell. His and Matildas knowledge of the ANZAC sites is unsurpassed. If you want a truly ANZAC experience you cannot go past Sacred Ground. I will do this tour again in the future when my sons are old enough to appreciate it. Definitely the highlight of our holiday.