Valmai Holt

Valmai Holt is the 'Mrs' of Major and Mrs Holt who are well known as the authors of the leading guide books to the battlefields of the First and Second World Wars.

Both she and Tonie (the 'Major') began writing at their schools. Their first published works were for local newspapers and then for commercial radio.

They founded the company Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Tours in the early 1970s at which time it was the first and only company running such tours for the general public eventually covering wars as far afield as Viet Nam, the Crimea, South Africa, El Alamein, the American Civil War and of course the battles of both the First and Second World Wars.

In the 1980s they were asked to take over running the Pilgrimage programme for the Royal British Legion which they completely upgraded and then handed back to the Legion when the British Government re-instated the financial support for relatives to visit the graves of loved ones. Realising that no firm central record of overseas war memorials for our forces and allies existed they decided to make one themselves thus establishing the base for future books.

Having sold the company in the 1990s Valmai and Tonie began writing the series of guide books which is now accepted as the leader amongst such publications. Unlike many authors they do not have a team of researchers but do all their own research by travelling all the routes they recommend, visiting all the memorials and cemeteries and taking all the photographs.

Both are keen on sport - both played hockey, Valmai at University level and Tonie for the Army and County, but despite all efforts were unable to persuade their grand-daughters to follow suit. However both girls have followed in their grand- parents footsteps by being committed to remembering those who fought for our freedom.

Valmai spent some time on the board of the local hospital Trust and Tonie with the Prince's Trust organising the first exhibition of Work at the House of Lords.

Currently they are working to update their First World War books in anticipation of the 100th Anniversaries from 1914