Agent Diary: ‘Travel isn’t just about sun, sand and sea, it can provide a window into history’

Broaden your scope and maybe you will find that clients want something a bit different, says Thompson Travel owner Sharon Thompson

As I write this piece, a group of mine has just departed on a D-Day Landings tour, which got me thinking about the relationship between travel and history.

During lockdown, I took a trip to Liverpool and on a miserably cold day visited the Western Approaches Museum, which details the Second World War work of Western Approaches Command in planning Atlantic convoys, combating German U-boats and generally fighting the Battle of the Atlantic.

A group of mine has just departed on a D-Day Landings tour, which got me thinking about the relationship between travel and history

I initially thought it would just be a way of passing an hour or two before my flight home, but it was fascinating. I walked through hidden rooms and discovered war stories from the bunker that protected the British Armed Forces as they plotted to defend the Western Approaches from an underground building.

War is something we read about and see play out on television as we count our lucky stars we aren’t part of it. We, or at least the vast majority of us, think war is truly terrible and we collectively hope the world learns from the mistakes of the past. But as the conflict in Ukraine demonstrates, it never does.

Learn from the past

I hated history at school; it bored me to tears. But I have learnt so much about the history of our world from travelling to destinations such as Vietnam, France, Belgium, Poland, Israel, Africa and other places that have grown from the scars of their past. Of course, plenty of scars still exist in my native Northern Ireland and there’s much more to learn even here.

For me, visits to these places and others give a far better understanding of our history than any lesson where the teacher reads out something from a book or tells you someone’s perception of the truth.

I have learnt so much about the history of our world from travelling to destinations such as Vietnam, France, Belgium, Poland, Israel and Africa

And there are so many people who want to learn through travelling too, and it is this which presents us with a real opportunity.

We have seen a huge increase in the number of people who wish to respect and remember those from across the world who suffered in the past. Some customers lost a relative,  are proud of a relative or are just curious to learn.

Broaden your scope

As a member of the Last Post Association and the Brothers in Arms Project, I am proud to take groups to the Somme and Belgium for First World War commemorations. The towns are beautiful, the visits poignant and the trips rewarding.

The Brothers in Arms Project is amazing. It’s a fairly new idea to help commemorate family members who were lost or wounded in battle. In my town, one lady lost four sons in one day – I never knew of her or considered the names on my local cenotaph until I visited France on my first Battlefields Tour. I now walk past that cenotaph most days. It might sound morbid but I admire that woman’s family and everything they did to ensure our future.

I am proud to take groups to the Somme and Belgium for First World War commemorations

Travel isn’t all about sun, sand and sea. It’s about experiences and learning too. So broaden your scope and maybe you will find that clients want something a bit different.

As the writer Miriam Beard said: “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

Rest in peace, Your Majesty

The heartbreaking news of the Queen’s passing has been felt across the world. She was a wonderful lady who was consistent and constant throughout most of our lives. We live in a world where things are ever-changing, but the Queen’s constant presence was something many may not have fully appreciated until now that she has gone.

She saw the consequences of war first-hand and, as I write about the two world wars above, I hold her in the same respect and reverence as I do those who lost their lives during those conflicts. Remembrance Day was a very important event for the Queen, and she will be in my thoughts on November 13. Rest in peace, Your Majesty.