I have had an interest in military history ever since childhood, listening to my grandfather’s stories of serving in the Royal Navy during World War Two and growing up in a military family with my father serving in the British Army. I joined the British Army too and spent a career serving in the ranks of the Royal Military Police. I have served in many countries around the world from Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East and have deployed on operational tours in Northern Ireland, Eastern Europe, the Falkland Islands, and Africa. It was as a young soldier based in Germany that I started to develop my interest in World War One, visit the battlefields, and later, start to lead battlefield tours.

After leaving the army, I moved to Ypres, Belgium, living on the former battlefields and established my own battlefield touring and research business, guiding both group tours and smaller, more personal, bespoke battlefield tours.  Using my military experience, knowledge of how armies function, and expertise honed on the battlefields, I shape my tours to bring the battlefields alive using history, the landscape, and the stories of the men and women who experienced these campaigns first hand.  Over the last twenty years, I have guided thousands of people over the Western Front, conducting many different types of tours: general introductory tours, tours focusing on specific battles, tours following the history and service of Regiments and other military units, and tours following in the footsteps of individual soldiers. Many of my more personalised tours are based upon in-depth research, guiding today’s family members of former soldiers in the footsteps of their relatives.

In addition to battlefield touring, I am a co-founder of The La Boisselle Study Group, a historical and archaeological research group on the WW1 battlefields; many of our projects have been filmed for TV documentaries. I am also a member of the Western Front Association, an organisation that keeps alive the history of WW1. During the winter months, I conduct research for clients interested in knowing more about their ancestors’ WWI service. I also serve as a guest lecturer for local colleges and historical interest groups.

One of my specialist interests in WW1 is the lesser known war that took place underground, many feet below the battlefields. I have spent numerous hours underground, working and studying in the miles of tunnels that crisscross the former battlefields. I am also a published author; the experience gained of being part of many of these historical and archaeological projects inspired me to write a book, Subterranean Sappers, about the efforts of a WW1 British Army Royal Engineer Tunnelling Company and its history both on and under the battlefields of the Western Front. 

I am originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. I divide my time between the battlefields of Europe and the Middle East and northern Florida, where I live with my wife.