UNIQUE TALKS ON THE GREAT EVENTS, THE HEROIC ACTIONS, AND ON THE PEOPLE AND PLACES OF BRITISH MILITARY HISTORY
Piers Storie-Pugh, one of Britain’s most experienced battlefield tour guides (Accredited Guide No.12 with The Guild of Battlefield Guides), has created six fascinating talks covering some of the United Kingdom’s most important chapters of military history. His deeply researched presentations, enhanced by his own long military service, his passionate style of delivery and supported by many never-before-seen images are a source of delight and inspiration to audiences young and old.
Piers will continue to give his presentations to assist charities with their fundraising for their particular good causes.
"Piers Storie-Pugh's talks always bring to life not just the effort and sacrifice on the battlefields, but also the personal stories which played out during and after the Burma Campaign"
Vicky Bowman, United Kingdom Ambassador to Myanmar 2002-2006.
"I just wanted to thank you so much for your magnificent talk.”
— The Royal Hospital Chelsea, Head of Fundraising
Battlefield Tour to Normandy, September 2023
From Neil Jackson, Managing Director of Pennywood Tours:
We were thrilled to have Piers as our guide once again, this time on our Battlefield Tours to Normandy and Colditz, in September 2022. As always, Piers turned what could have been routine into a fascinating story of endeavour, courage and achievement.
His encyclopaedic knowledge and reservoir of personal stories brought the whole campaign to life, from describing small but vital actions to the broad strategy of the invasion. He is a supreme raconteur, and we cannot recommend him enough.
Pennywood Tours are also pleased to announce that Piers will be leading our September 2023 tour which includes the famous PoW Castles of Spangenburg and Colditz where his father was a prisoner in The Second World War. ''
For details visit: https://pennywoodtours.com/tour/corso-and-colditz-2023/ or telephone 01622 434 981
THE GREAT WAR
A century after it’s conclusion, The Great War remains a graphic reminder of the horror and sacrifice of all-out war. The sheer scale of the conflict retains the ability to shock, while images of soldiers up to their knees in mud, preparing to charge into no-man’s land send a chill down the spine, and yet there were countless acts of supreme heroism and self-sacrifice. Piers’ intimate knowledge of the Western Front and his ability to share details of the war’s major campaigns, its leaders and its heroes provides a unique insight into a fearful episode in human history. His unrivalled work in Remembrance means that this is also a highly moving, relevant and educational presentation.5 Star Battlefield River Cruise, 2024
Piers Storie-Pugh was honoured to be invited back for the third year as guest speaker on board Great Rail Journeys Battlefield River Cruises in April 2023 (three departures.) He gave presentations on both The Great War and The Battle of Arnhem. Please follow the link below for more details about the tour and to see dates for the four tours scheduled in 2024.
“Piers, thank you for the inspirational presentations that you gave on our recent river cruise on the First War and on Arnhem. They were fascinating, informative and moving. You actually had people in tears about WW1 particularly. To have you present at Arnhem as a relative of Colonel John Frost and your father having been in Colditz added an extra poignancy to the occasion.”
COLDITZ CASTLE
Colditz Castle: the most famous prisoner of war camp in history. A legendary name that summons up images of dank castle walls and highly imaginative and impossibly determined escaping antics. It was claimed by the German High Command that Colditz Castle was escape-proof. Piers' father Peter was one of the longest-serving prisoners in Colditz and was involved in no-less than 21 escape attempts. This gives the Colditz talk an especially poignant edge.Unique Tour to Colditz and Spangenburg, September 2023
In September 2023, Piers is delighted to be leading a unique tour to the former POW castle at Spangenburg and, of especial importance, to Colditz Castle - the most famous POW camp of them all. Piers’ father, Peter Storie-Pugh, escaped from Spangenburg Castle before being sent to Colditz Castle in December 1940. He was involved in no less than 21 escape attempts from Colditz. This tour is seen through the eyes of one the longest-serving prisoners of that grim castle.
THE CHINDITS
A brilliant, unorthodox but controversial commander, a brutal and feared enemy and incomparably harsh fighting terrain: the Chindits - officially ‘Special Force’, were a fighting force born out of a series of British and Indian defeats in Burma. The brainchild of Brigadier Orde Charles Wingate, the Chindits were formed for long range penetration raiding operations behind the lines of the Imperial Japanese Army. There may be controversy over the high casualty rate and military value of the achievements of the first Chindit expedition ‘Operation Longcloth’. However, there is no doubt that the second expedition ‘Operation Thursday’, much larger in scale and with huge American air support, tied up large numbers of Japanese, blew up bridges and railways as well as actively supporting the American-Chinese Army under Stilwell. Wingate’s Chindits provided a much needed morale boost in the fight an enemy previously thought to be unbeatable in the jungle; and helped to frustrate the Japanese Imperial Army’s ambitions for reaching the very borders with British India. 
NORMANDY
The Allied Landings - by sea and by air - of 6th June, 1944 marked the beginning of the end of The Second World War. The largest amphibious assault in history brought together the combined military might of the Allied countries against a dangerous and skilled German Army under the command of Field Marshal Rommel. Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France - securing the flanks - while ground troops then landed across five assault beaches - Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold on the coast and could begin their advance into France, an advance that would lead inexorably into the heart of Germany.