Mat McLachlan's Living History

03/03/2025

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Join Lambis Englezos, the man who discovered the mass grave of Australians at Fromelles, on a tour to the Western Front in July this year! This is a very special group tour, and will commemorate the anniversaries of the Battles of Fromelles and Pozieres on the ground where the Anzacs fought and died. Spaces are extremely limited, so book fast if you wish to join us! Find out more here: https://battlefields.com.au/fromelles-pozieres-anniversary-tour-2025/

10/02/2025

New podcast!: Join me and historian John McManus as we discuss the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, on the latest episode of Living History. Listen for free here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1c5aSeyWYxF4KMPFmP1Amb?si=Y17ybBi7ToKcTdxiAiTnUg

23/01/2025

NEW VIDEO! Join me as I explore the war memorials of Hyde Park Corner in London, telling the stories of their history, design and significance to remembrance. Watch for free by clicking here: https://youtu.be/B5sOtcvHdAQ

23/01/2025

A new episode of my Living History podcast is now live, telling the story of the gruelling Somme winter of 1916/17. It was probably the harshest ordeal faced by Australian troops during the war, and one that those who survived it never forgot. Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/19kJmMWSc2sYacYk1CIXMC?si=52m1RZxmTVme-Kal6LeKyg

02/12/2024

From our historian Pete Smith in the Somme: The road and a garden in the centre of Beaulencourt appear to have fallen into what was almost certainly a large German dugout.
It’s going to be a big engineering job as the subsidence is quite extensive beyond the hole.

11/11/2024

Former private Richard Norden has received the Victoria Cross for gallantry in Vietnam in 1968. Pte Norden had originally received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but it was upgraded to the VC this week. Richard Norden died in a motorcycle crash in 1972 while serving with the ACT police.

05/11/2024

Planning a trip to Europe? Join one of our Explorer Tours and spend four days visiting the Australian battlefields in France and Belgium. The only Australian tour that begins and ends in Paris! Departs weekly. https://battlefields.com.au/western-front-tours-2025/

12/10/2024

04/10/2024

Controversial history: the 1815 Museum at Waterloo displays the skeleton of a soldier who died during the battle, complete with the musket ball that killed him. What do you think?

25/09/2024

My first visit to Waterloo, and what a place! I thoroughly recommend it!

22/09/2024

The remains of a Mills gr***de that was likely thrown by an Australian into a German dugout in 1916. Found today on the old German front line at Pozieres.

21/09/2024

A brilliant visit to Bertangles Chateau, General Monash’s HQ in 1918 and the place where he was knighted by King George V.

20/09/2024

More great adventures on the battlefields of France and Belgium.

19/09/2024

A brilliant day exploring the battlefields of the Ypres Salient. So great to be back in Belgium on tour!

18/09/2024

It’s great to be back on the Western Front visiting some pretty special places. Today we visited Maissemy German Cemetery, in an isolated part of the 1918 battlefields. A moving spot.

17/09/2024

Ocassionally you have an experience on the battlefields that makes you think there’s more than just history going on. Today on the tour we visited Jeancourt Cemetery for a unique reason: two passengers on the tour, who didn’t know each other, had relatives from the same battalion, who were killed on the same day, buried near each other in the cemetery. That’s never happened before. And then the cemetery revealed an even more fascinating story - originally constructed next to a German field hospital, and used by the Germans to bury their own men, plus prisoners who died in their hands. And several of those prisoners were British men killed fighting alongside the Australians at the First Battle of Bullecourt in April 1917. Just an extraordinary day.

16/09/2024

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Join me on the Western Front in 2025! Due to demand, we have launched a Western Front Signature Tour for Aug/Sep 2025! Exact dates to be confirmed, but register your interest by calling 1300880340. See you in Paris!

14/09/2024

Off to France to lead my Signature Tour with my talented assistant! See you in Paris!