A chat with Clive Harris
Clive Harris is an author, battlefield guide and military historian, who has been writing about, lecturing on and visiting the Somme Battlefields for 40 years. If you've joined one of our history tours in the past, you may have met Clive and learned from his knowledge and expertise.
As 2026 marks the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, there's no better expert to guide you through the key locations and commemorative events. Ahead of this trip, Clive joined us for a chat, to talk about his life, career and why the Somme is so special.
Can you pinpoint when you first had an interest in wartime history?
It was in my early teens when I was visiting Great War veterans living in my local community. What really stood out was that their own memories and perspective contrasted starkly to the clichéd narrative I was being taught at school. I decided then that I wanted to discover their war, what motivated them, and how the war shaped the world they returned home to.
Do you have a few highlights of your career as a military historian?
I have been lucky to have lectured at international conferences, had books and papers published, appeared on many television documentaries, and been recognised with accolades from my peers.
Yet, despite all that, it is still the Great War generation that motivates me to ensure their memory endures as the decades pass.
Are there any locations in particular that stand out?
Over the last 40 years, I have been fortunate to have led groups across the centuries of history and to all corners of the globe. From the Great Battles of the Western Front, Gallipoli, Salonika, Italy and Palestine, to the more recent conflicts in Vietnam and the Falklands - each one is very different, yet they share many common themes.
You're leading our commemoration of the Battle of the Somme tour. Can you tell us what makes the Somme so special?
The Somme completely encapsulates the British experience in the Great War. Having had two great grandfathers who fought there, it's still possible to see through the sheer size and magnitude of the battle and focus on the individual experiences of the soldier.
Today, the rolling Picardy countryside with its skylarks singing overhead on the wing, stands in stark contrast to the din and terror of war. Yet, the memory of the Great War generation still cast their shadows over us through the many immaculate, intimate cemeteries, and thought-provoking memorials that remind us such a seismic event took place over a century ago.
Can you give us a teaser of what you'll be talking about on the trip?
From the political and military decision making that led to the battle, the tactics and technology employed from July to November 1916, through to the human cost, literary legacy and impact the Somme still has on our collective national psyche today.
The tour offers us the opportunity to not only study the course of the battle in context to the Great War but to also honour the sacrifices of a generation that lived and died throughout it.
What are going to be the highlights of the trip?
Without doubt, for me personally, the highlight will be researching and sharing stories that emerge within the tour party.
Whilst the official commemorations and majesty of sites such as Thiepval, Beaumont Hamel or Delville Wood are impressively moving, there will be a moment where we are on the edge of a wood, the corner of a field or stood in a slight rise or fold in the ground discussing a relative for the first time, alone with just our thoughts, their memory and sound of a skylark overhead.
It's those moments that make each trip memorable for me. The Great War is a book we will never finish, which I guess is what makes it the enduring period of history it remains to this day.
So, personal visits can be incorporated into the itinerary?
Not only incorporated, but positively encouraged - these are the true strength of the tour. By remembering individuals, we remember them all, and by doing this on the ground and in context, will make it a truly special opportunity to look back and reflect on a conflict that changed so much in the day to day life we now take for granted.
"I look forward to sharing the once tortured landscape of the Somme battlefield with you, but most importantly, the stories of those who were there. The Somme, above almost any other battle of the Great War has come to symbolise the sacrifices of a generation. This tour attempts to contextualise their experience, alongside the legacy of their memoirs 110 years on."
- Clive Harris
"An excellent trip made special by the Tour guide Clive."
"Special praise for Clive Harris, who had been excellent in his presentations and talks, delivered clearly, precisely and with the crucial human dimension."
"Our Tour Manager and Guide, Clive Harris, was amazing. He is so knowledgeable, enthusiastic and approachable. He asked us to let him know if we had any relatives who had actively taken part in WW2 events in France. He would then do some quick research and build their unit contributions into his narratives at the appropriate times."
"A highly professional, knowledgeable and compassionate guide. He has complete mastery of his subject which gives him the flexibility to tailor the trip to suit individual members of the party while still holding the interest of all of us. I would be very interested in joining any trip led by him."
"Clive was very knowledgeable and gave clear and understandable information covering a wide range of WW1 topics. He had researched our particular interest, as well as others in the group so it made it seem a 'tailor made' experience."
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