About Us

Eyewitness Tours is a specialist company operated by Andy Thompson and Mike Scott who organise tours to the battlefields for groups, private tours and families following the personal stories of their relatives of WW1 and WW2. Our tours are led by Andy and Mike, both ex-teachers, who have been studying war and conflict for many years and who are able to interpret the significance of the places and sites included in the tours. As two of the most experienced battlefield guides working today, Andy and Mike understand how to draw those travelling with them into the subject of war. Emphasis is placed on the human aspects of these conflicts, illustrated with stories from the lives of individual soldiers and whilst many battlefield tours are no more than a scripted guided coach journey, Eyewitness Tours are a genuine experience.

Mike Scott

Tour Guide

Mike was a teacher and manager in education for nearly thirty years. During that time he was always sharing his passion for travel and history with his, and other school’s students. Once he left teaching Mike entered the travel industry full time running companies and leading tours. He is a seasoned guides on the battlefields of WW1 and WW2 including those in Central and Eastern Europe. Mike is now an experienced guide further afield having led tours to Asia and Africa. Mike is a cruise ship lecturer and published author. He is also a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides, Western Front Association, Last Post Association and Institute of Travel and Tourism.

Mike has written three books, as of July 2020. They tell the stories of the cemeteries of the Western Front, accessing the Front in three sections, Ypres, the Somme, and the battlefields between Ypres and the Somme. Importantly, the books focus on the stories of the men buried or commemorated in each burial site. Follow the links on each image to the publishers website

Andy Thompson

Tour Guide

Andy taught history for 40 years. In 1981 he followed his great uncle to the Ypres Salient and has been studying the Great War ever since. He took his first group of students to the battlefields in 1982 before forming Eye Witness Tours in 1998 and now takes regular tours to the battlefields of WW1 & WW2. He is an Accredited Member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides with Badge Number 111. He is widely read on all aspects of conflict and uses his extensive knowledge, numerous anecdotes and passion of the subject to educate and entertain in equal measure.

Mike Selcon

Head Researcher

Families don’t ‘start’ with our parents or grandparents and who we are today is linked to what our forbears did, often several generations ago. I started carrying out genealogical research following 6 years service as a Navigating Officer in the British Merchant Navy and 30 years service as a Police Officer, (over 21 of those years as an operational detective) and utilising the investigative skills that I developed during my time as a detective, I work to research your ancestors and bring their story to life.